About a year ago, Dutch Crown Princess Catharina-Amalia graduated from (the equivalent of) high school and announced her plans to take a gap year and then start her university studies. Packaged within those announcements was a really interesting story: Princess Cat was turning down a $2 million annual allowance from the state because she didn’t feel like she was ready to earn the money by being a full-time princess. I interpreted her refusal of the allowance as Cat just wanting to be a teenager and student for several years, without all of the royal stuff and without people breathing down her neck. She spent her gap year quietly and now she’s announced plans for her university education:
Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, heir to the Dutch throne, is heading to college this fall. The palace announced Monday that the 18-year-old daughter of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima is heading to the University of Amsterdam. She plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in politics, psychology, law and economics.
Although the royal’s study time is considered private, the office added that Princess Amalia will live in Amsterdam with fellow students come September. Along with the announcement on Instagram, the palace shared a photo of Princess Amalia sitting beside one of Amsterdam’s famous canals.
Princess Amalia took a gap year after graduating from high school. In keeping with Dutch tradition, she raised the country’s flag along with her backpack in a video shared to the family’s social media accounts after passing her final exams at the Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet in The Hague.
While Princess Amalia is keeping her studies in the Netherlands, her younger sister Princess Alexia, 16, is studying abroad at UWC Atlantic in Wales. In fact, she has another royal classmate: Spanish heir to the throne Princess Leonor, 16, also attends the U.K. school.
Many European royals study abroad for their higher education – they’ll go to the Sorbonne or Oxford or Harvard, just to get out of their comfort zone and, I would assume, network for their future royal/business/government careers. The vibe I’m getting from Cat is that she wants to be “normal” and to live like her friends and peers. It’s interesting. I imagine there would have been political rumbles if Cat had gone to university abroad, but I also suspect that this is simply what she wanted and her parents were cool with it. The Dutch royal family seems so tight-knit too, I doubt her parents wanted her to move too far away. Now she’ll be living it up in Amsterdam and living on campus/with friends.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
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- . C0DE: UTRECHT THE ROYAL FAMILY OPF THE NETHERLANDS SUMMER PHOTO SESSION. 13-7-2018 Wassenaar, The Netherlands. . King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane during the annual royal photo session in the garden of Villa Eikenhorst.,Image: 538949639, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Spain, Portugal and South America only – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 sales@avalon.red, Model Release: no, Credit line: Robin Utrecht/Look Press / Avalon
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- . C0DE: UTRECHT THE ROYAL FAMILY OPF THE NETHERLANDS SUMMER PHOTO SESSION. 13-7-2018 Wassenaar, The Netherlands. . King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane during the annual royal photo session in the garden of Villa Eikenhorst.,Image: 538949652, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Spain, Portugal and South America only – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 sales@avalon.red, Model Release: no, Credit line: Robin Utrecht/Look Press / Avalon
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- King Willem-Alexander and Princess Amalia of The Netherlands at Palace Huis Ten Bosch in The Hague, on July 16, 2021, posing for the media during the annual Photo session before their summer vacation,Image: 621804525, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Netherlands OUT, Point De Vue OUT, Model Release: no, Credit line: Albert Nieboer / DPA Picture Alliance / Avalon
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- King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Princess Amalia, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane of The Netherlands at Palace Huis Ten Bosch in The Hague, on July 16, 2021, posing for the media during the annual Photo session before their summer vacation,Image: 621804578, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Netherlands OUT, Point De Vue OUT, Model Release: no, Credit line: Albert Nieboer / DPA Picture Alliance / Avalon
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- LA Haye, NETHERLANDS – The Royal Family of the Netherlands in the gardens of the Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. Pictured: King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, Princess Amalia, Princess Alexia, Princess A BACKGRID USA 17 JULY 2020 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- LA Haye, NETHERLANDS – The Royal Family of the Netherlands in the gardens of the Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. Pictured: King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, Princess Amalia, Princess Alexia, Princess A BACKGRID USA 17 JULY 2020 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- LA Haye, NETHERLANDS – The Royal Family of the Netherlands in the gardens of the Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. Pictured: King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, Princess Amalia, Princess Alexia, Princess A BACKGRID USA 17 JULY 2020 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- The Hague, NETHERLANDS – King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima with their daughters Princess Amalia, Princess Alexia, and Princess Ariane at the final repetitions of The Streamers (a band with multiple Dutch artists), before the live concert, takes place at Noordeinde Palace, that everyone can stream from their home. Pictured: King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Princess Amalia, Princess Alexia, Princess Ariane BACKGRID USA 27 APRIL 2021 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- The Hague, NETHERLANDS – King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands with their daughters Princess Amalia, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane during the annual summer photo session of 2021 at Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague. Pictured: King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Princess Amalia, Princess Alexia, Princess Ariane BACKGRID USA 16 JULY 2021 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Am actually surprised that she is not going to Leiden University, as that University is traditionally associated with the Royal Family. In the sixteenth century, William of Orange (not the British king William III, who is this William’s descendant) helped set it up. According to legend, this is because Leiden resisted the Spanish troups that had put it under siege.
I think most students in the Netherlands don’t live on a campus, but in the cities where the university is located. It helps that most cities are small and universities are usually at cycling distance from where they live 😉
Thanks for posting articles like this. The British royal family is interesting but it’s great to see all the variety on the site today.
She goes by Amalia. The Catharina part was an ode to an ancestor, but she doesn’t use it as an everyday name. The three girls are known as the A-Team by their parents because they all have (or go by) names starting with A (Amalia, Alexia, Ariane). Wax and Max have gotten in trouble a few times in recent years over money (foreign holiday home, security for holiday home, use of military planes for holidays, their COVID jaunt during lockdown). Amalia refusing to take her royal stipend is really a recognition they need to be careful re. angry taxpayers.
Europe’s future young queens are off to an impressive start in ljfe. Netherlands, Spain.
Surprised we haven’t heard more about Ingrid Alexandra’s uni or gap year plans. Wonder if she’ll follow her father to Berkeley.
Quite a lot of Dutch students do an exchange year abroad, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she does as well at some point.
The UvA doesn’t has a campus, but Amalia won’t have any trouble finding a nice place to live. Her uncle Constantijn is one of the biggest landlords in Amsterdam. Also not a populair guy, last year a student died after falling out of a window that hadn’t had proper safety guards.
What’s considered proper safety guards? In NYC they are only required if children 10 and under live or regularly visit the home. I’m not sure what it is for commercial properties though.
They aren’t mandatory, but are usually advised. It was an old house with low placed windows.
The royal orange family seems to never have the petty money problems like everyone in the brf as they all are rich, so it isn’t a good look at all.
They are lucky this kind of news didn’t make it into the international newspapers
These family photos look so…….normal. Like, just folks having a casual family photo done for grandma and Facebook, etc. Good on them for that, anyway.
Laura-Lee MacDonald, what I saw was how proud W-A looked in some and how happy they all look. I know that pictures can be deceiving, but they really look happy. I always think when I see them together like this that I want to get to know them.
I love how dynamic all the women of the DRF are. They’re very well educated back to the 1800’s and they practiced their educations.
I love reading about princesses, NGL.
I’m so happy I googled before I came on here and made a fool of myself. I was going to ask why you are all saying she isn’t going abroad, Amsterdam is a different country! Glad I have myself a quick geography lesson first.
Notice how every other monarchy in Europe is low-key, relatable, honest and helpful. And the people really like them and they like the people? Can’t the Windsors listen and learn from them? And this time really learn and copy a good thing and not just fashion, smiles or hand movements?
@J. Ferber
Nah, people from other European countries will disagree with your assertion.
I hope she gets the chance to have her freedom for a little while. Even princesses deserve the chance to screw up and grow up.
Good for her! I hope she has a great time and has great success with her studies. I also hope those are subjects she’s truly interested in and not foisted upon her because she’s in the royal family.
I really don’t know much about other royal families but I’m still waiting to hear about one of the children deciding to break the mold and become a veterinarian or a marine biologist.