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Heir apparent to the Dutch throne, Princess Catharina-Amalia won’t be having a super sweet 16 party. Queen Maxima opened up about her oldest daughter’s upcoming birthday (December 7) on the Dutch talk show RTL Boulevard. “There won’t be a big celebration,” King Willem-Alexander’s wife revealed. Instead of a soirée fit for a future Queen, Catharina-Amalia will be focusing on her studies and other events.
Maxima explained, “She still has a lot of work to do for school, the end of the year is coming, Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas' Eve is on December 5) and all kinds of festivities.”
During the interview, the Queen went on to praise her firstborn. “She is growing up fast and beautifully. She is an amazing daughter, an amazing friend, I am so very proud of her,” Maxima said. “We will be singing for her and let’s bring on the next two years, which will probably be the last two years of her living at home,” adding, “So I have to enjoy the moment.”
Maxima and Willem-Alexander are also parents to daughters Princess Alexia, 14, and Princess Ariane, 12. During the royal family’s annual summer photo session this year, the King noted that his eldest child is “perfect for her next role.”
Willem-Alexander has previously expressed his desire for Catharina-Amalia to find herself before ascending the throne. "You must first get to know yourself through and through. That's what I am constantly emphasizing with Amalia,” he shared in 2017. "I keep saying: know your own limits. Go everywhere. Make mistakes, as far as possible out of the eyes of the public. I did that, a lot. Festivals, parties everything and more — find your boundaries. It is a good thing to do, without doing it in the public domain."