POWER COUPLES
After all the pomp and pageantry of
a regal wedding is behind them, young royal romances eventually
blossom into hardworking royal families. Royal couples must into
hardworking royal families. Royal couples must learn to juggle
sovereign duties, parenthood, and the media spotlight and to do so
with grace, dignity, and a constant smile.
Here we look at the crown princes and princesses of
the Netherlands, Belgium, and Greece, as well as their gorgeous
royal children. In their official portraits, all appear
picture-perfect, with happy smiles and sunny complexions, but
raising a royal family can be hard work. Not only must they
successfully maintain their own royal duties, but they must raise
the next generation of royals and see to it that the right values
are instilled within them.
A life of extreme privilege can often breed
disaster in adulthood, so these royal parents work hard to
demonstrate the importance of charity and an entrepreneurial
spirit. Crown Princess Marie-Chantal, who started a successful
children’s clothing company all on her own, is a great role model
for her five children. Prince Willem-Alexander, Crown Princess
Maxima, Crown Prince Philippe, and Crown Princess Mathilde all
strive to relax the ceremonial pomp and circumstance of their
positions so their children can have a down-to-earth upbringing and
remain as normal as possible.
Without exception, the young royal families of the
Netherlands, Belgium, and Greece are using their royal titles for
the greater good, with a huge array of philanthropic commitments.
Yet through it all Maxima, Mathilde, and Marie-Chantal still make
the time to take their children to school each day just like any
regular loving parent would. Surrounded by such fantastic role
models and raised in such a loving environment, we can be sure that
the next generation of princes and princesses will make us
proud.
PRECEDING PAGE:
Dutch Royals Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and
wife Crown Princess Maxima with their daughters Princess Alexia,
Princess Ariane, and Princess Catharina-Amalia
ABOVE:
Crown Prince Willem-Alexander with Princess Ariane
and Princess Catharina-Amalia, and Crown Princess Maxima with
Princess Alexia
HRH WILLEM-ALEXANDER, PRINCE OF ORANGE, AND HRH CROWN PRINCESS MAXIMA OF THE NETHERLANDS
THE PRINCE: Born April 27,1967, Prince
Willem-Alexander is the oldest child of Queen Beatrix of the
Netherlands. The tall, blond prince is first in line to inherit the
Dutch throne and is a direct descendant of the British King George
II.
Queen Beatrix insisted that her children have a
normal upbringing and told others to call her son by his first name
rather than his title until he was sixteen. She also made sure that
Willem-Alexander was educated in local grammar schools, where he
could mix with children from all social backgrounds. As a result,
the prince is extremely down-to-earth.
The prince enjoys running, tennis, skiing, sailing,
golf, rock climbing, horseback riding, and diving, but his greatest
love is flying. Since gaining his military pilot’s licence, the
prince has flown humanitarian relief missions in Kenya and has
worked as a pilot for Dutch government officials.
In 1999, Willem-Alexander met a striking
Argentinean blonde named Maxima at party in Seville. He was
instantly taken by Maxima’s winning smile and unassuming nature and
crossed the Atlantic one month later in order to visit her. They
announced their engagement in 2001.
THE PRINCESS: Princess Maxima was born in
Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 17, 1971, as Maxima Zorreguieta.
She was working for Deutsche Bank in New York City when she started
dating Willem-Alexander. The couple married in royal style on
February 2, 2002, making Prince Willem-Alexander the first male
heir to the Dutch throne to marry in the Netherlands. (Willem I,
II, and III married in the native countries of their brides.)
Maxima now represents the Dutch Royal House at
official occasions of all kinds and accompanies the queen on state
visits.
THEIR ROYAL OFFSPRING: The proud prince and
princess have three beautiful daughters: HRH Princess
Catharina-Amalia (born December 7, 2003), HRH Princess Alexia (born
June 26, 2005), and HRH Princess Ariane (born April 10,
2007).
USING THEIR TITLES FOR THE GREATER GOOD:
The Prince of Orange has a strong passion for ethical water
management and believes that solving problems related to water
access and sanitation will play a central role in eradicating
poverty. The prince is an honorary member of the World Commission
on Water for the 21st Century and chair of the Water Advisory
Committee in the Netherlands. He also chairs the UN’s Advisory
Board on Water and Sanitation, which contributes to solving
water-related problems all over the world.
Prince Willem-Alexander is also a patron of the
Global Water Partnership, which supports the sustainable
development and management of water resources at all levels.
http://www.gwp.org/
Meanwhile, Princess Maxima feels passionately about
the integration of immigrants into Dutch culture and stresses the
importance of learning the Dutch language—as she did upon her
engagement—in order to fully participate in Dutch society. Her
Royal Highness also works as patroness to Scouting Nederland, the
Royal Orchestra Foundation, the Royal Tropical Institute, and the
Royal Institute for Culture and Language.
Most recently, the princess has been busy promoting
the importance of “inclusive finance” to reduce poverty and due to
her expertise in the field, she has been named the UN special
advocate for inclusive finance for development.
Finally, both Princess Maxima and Prince
Willem-Alexander are patrons of the Orange Fund, which promotes
social welfare and cohesion in the Netherlands. The royal couple
regularly visit projects supported by the Orange Fund, and every
year, Princess Maxima presents Appeltje van Oranje awards to
institutions that set an example in the field of welfare. http://www.oranjefonds.nl/
PRECEDING PAGE:
Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium and his wife
Crown Princess Mathilde with their children Princess Elisabeth,
Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel, and Princess Eléonore
ABOVE:
Crown Prince Philippe, Crown Princess Mathilde,
and children
CROWN PRINCE PHILIPPE AND CROWN PRINCESS MATHILDE OF BELGIUM
THE PRINCE: Born in Brussels on April 15,
1960, Crown Prince Philippe is the son of King Albert II and Queen
Paola of Belgium. He studied Constitutional History at Oxford
before completing a master’s degree in Political Science at
Stanford University in California. Some thought he might remain a
bachelor forever, but just before he turned forty, the prince gave
the Belgian people their longed-for princess. He married Mathilde
on December 4, 1999 (the marriage ceremony was repeated in three
languages), in what became the last royal wedding of the twentieth
century.
THE PRINCESS: The glamorous Mathilde was
born on January 20, 1973, the daughter of the Count and Countess
Patrick d’Udekem d’Acoz. The intelligent, down-to-earth aristocrat
studied Psychology and was working as a speech therapist in her own
practice when she met Prince Philippe during a game of tennis.
Because she was raised in the French part of the country yet hails
from a noble Flemish family, Princess Mathilde was welcomed by both
sides of Belgium. She’s fluent in Dutch, French, English, and
Italian, and when Philippe becomes king, Mathilde will be the
country’s first ever Belgian-born queen consort.
THEIR ROYAL OFFSPRING: The crown prince and
crown princess have been blessed with two sons and two daughters:
Princess Elisabeth (Belgium’s future queen, born October 25, 2001);
Prince Gabriel (born August 20, 2003); Prince Emmanuel (born
October 4, 2005), and Princess Eléonore (born April 16,
2008).
USING THEIR TITLES FOR THE GREATER GOOD:
Prince Philippe created the Prince Philippe Fund in 1998 with the
aim of fostering dialogue between the different cultural
communities of Belgium through educational and professional
exchange programs. Prince Philippe also acts as honorary chairman
of the Belgian Federal Council for Sustainable Development, which
supports research into energy, climate, and biodiversity.
Meanwhile, Princess Mathilde is very concerned
about the plight of vulnerable people, particularly children, and
as a result she set up the Princess Mathilde Fund in December 2000.
Each year the fund awards prizes to laudable projects that help
improve the situations of children at risk.
In addition, Princess Mathilde is patron to several
associations that work to help vulnerable women and improve
education. In conjunction with UNICEF, the princess has presided
over several humanitarian missions abroad, promoting the importance
of children’s rights, health, the empowerment of women, poverty
eradication, and good governance. She has also worked as a United
Nations envoy for the International Year on Micro-credit and as a
UNICEF special representative for their campaign to help children
orphaned by HIV/AIDS.
PRECEDING PAGE:
Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess
Marie-Chantal with children, Princess Maria Olympia, Prince
Constantine Alexios, Prince Achileas-Andreas, Prince
Odysseas-Kimon, and Prince Aristidis-Stavros
ABOVE:
Prince Pavlos holding son Prince
Aristidos-Stavros, Princess Marie-Chantal, Princess Maria-Olympia,
Prince Achileas-Andreas, Prince Constantine Alexios, and Prince
Odysseas-Kimon
CROWN PRINCE PAVLOS AND CROWN PRINCESS MARIE-CHANTAL OF GREECE
THE PRINCE: Born May 20, 1967, Crown Prince
Pavlos is the eldest son of King Constantine II. If Constantine
were ever restored to the throne, Pavlos would be his heir
apparent. Prince Pavlos is also the highest ranking person in the
British line of succession to be triply related to Queen
Victoria.
Pavlos was educated in London, at the Hellenic
College, before training at the UK’s Sandhurst military academy.
Later he attended Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where he
completed a master’s degree in foreign service and shared an
apartment with his cousin, Prince Felipe of Spain.
The crown prince met the stunning American heiress
Marie-Chantal on a blind date at a friend’s dinner party, and later
proposed to her on a snowy ski lift in Gstaad. Pavlos was one of
the first European princes of his generation to marry a commoner,
starting a trend that the princes of Norway, Spain, and Denmark
would soon follow.
THE PRINCESS: Marie-Chantal Claire Miller
was born September 17, 1968, to an American father and a South
American mother. The delicate blond socialite grew up in Hong Kong
and went to school in Switzerland and New York before fate brought
her and Prince Pavlos together at a friend’s dinner party. She
declares that when she was seated next to the handsome Greek royal,
it was “love at first sight.”
Her wedding to Prince Pavlos brought together the
largest group of royals in London since Queen Elizabeth married
Prince Philip in 1947. Today, Pavlos and Marie-Chantal are known as
one of the most popular and glamorous couples in international
society.
Celebrated for her elegant fashion sense,
Marie-Chantal successfully launched a line of luxury children’s
clothing that is sold in London, New York, and Greece. http://www.mariechantal.com
THEIR ROYAL OFFSPRING: The prince and
princess are proud parents to five bouncy blond children with
traditional Greek names: Maria-Olympia (born 1996), Constantine
Alexios (born 1998), Achileas-Andreas (born 2000), Odysseas-Kimon
(born 2004), and Aristidis-Stavros (born 2008).
USING THEIR TITLES FOR THE GREATER GOOD:
Crown Prince Pavlos is the U.S. committee chairman of United World
Colleges and sits on the board of the New York City Ballet.
Along with his three siblings (the aforementioned
Prince Nikolaos, Prince Philippos, and Princess Theodora), Prince
Pavlos is an acting board member of The Anna-Maria Foundation,
which provides aid to people who have suffered due to natural
disasters. http://www.greekroyalfamily.gr/index.cfm?get=foundation
Crown Princess Marie-Chantal sits on the board of
the New York School of American Ballet and the Animal Medical
Centre, and is a founding member of the Board of Venetian Heritage.
She is also a trustee for London’s Royal Academy.
Pavlos and Marie-Chantal cochair the U.S. Committee
for World in Harmony—a nonprofit founded by the prince’s aunt,
Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, to provide humanitarian
assistance to those who need it most. http://www.worldinharmony.org/index_en.html