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Crown Princess Mary of Denmark isn't the only royal who has suffered a COVID-19 safety slip-up in the last week. Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands briefly forgot to practice social distancing during their summer vacation in Greece. On Monday, the Dutch Royal House tweeted a statement from the monarchs, which read: “‘A photo appeared in the media in which we keep too little distance. In the spontaneity of the moment, we did not pay attention to that. Of course we should have. Because compliance with corona rules is also essential when on holiday to get the virus under it’-WA & Máxima.”
The Dutch royals have been vacationing in Greece on board their new luxury yacht. Although the Dutch Royal House didn’t specify which photo the royals were referring to in their statement, RTL News reports that the image in question is one Maxima and Willem-Alexander took with the owner of a restaurant on the Greek island of Milos. The Queen, wearing a summer-ready Ulla Johnson dress, and the King did not social distance from the owner in the snapshot. While the King had his mask in his hand, no face coverings were worn for the photograph. The photographer told RTL News that “the photo was for a private photo album,” and that “it was a mistake” to violate COVID-19 rules.
Social media users responded to the royals’ statement noting that Maxima and Willem-Alexander are human and can make mistakes. “Enjoy your vacation, this is human. Everyone makes mistakes, but we are not photographed. Stay healthy and enjoy yourself together,” one tweeted, while another wrote, “This ‘mistake’ - if you have to call it that - proves that you are human people. Spontaneous and genuine. It’s nice that you apologize, but don’t feel guilty.”
Crown Prince Frederik’s wife owned up to her mistake last week after she accidentally shook hands during her visit to the Grenaa sea aquarium, Kattegatcentret. “On land, at sea and in the air - we have to get used to wearing sanitary napkins. It is important that we follow the recommendations of the health authorities together,” Mary later captioned selfies of herself wearing a face mask.
“Yesterday I was in Grenaa for my first official visit after the summer holidays. At sea and in the air it went fine, but on land it slipped for me and I unfortunately came to shake hands,” the Crown Princess continued. “It reminded me how important it is that we help each other live up to the recommendations. Take care of yourself, and take care of each other.”