Dutch Princess to undertake solo engagement

 Queen Maxima  and  King Willem-Alexander  of the Netherlands’ daughter Princess Alexia will be carrying out her first solo engagement next month. The 18 year old will christen the Vox Alexia, a Van Oord ship, in Rotterdam on Sept. 9.

The vessel is a dredger that can “suck up sand, clay, [and] silt from the water bottom and deposit it at another location,” per the Dutch Royal House. The Vox Alexia can run on liquefied natural gas, which “contributes to a lower CO2 footprint compared to conventional trailing suction hopper dredgers.”

Following the christening, Alexia will be given a tour of the ship and speak with crew members and members of the Young Van Oord association.

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Alexia’s upcoming engagement is taking place over three months after her high school graduation. The Princess graduated from UWC Atlantic in May. After receiving her diploma in July, Alexia—who celebrated her 18th birthday in June—shared a personal message on X (formerly Twitter). “Many thanks for the many congratulations I received for both my birthday and my diploma. Wow!!!” she wrote.

Alexia revealed during the Dutch royal family’s annual summer photocall that she planned on taking a gap year. The Princess shared that she has “a lot of plans,” but “nothing is planned yet.” She said (via  AD ), “A bit of travelling, working and everything.”

Alexia, who is second in line to the Dutch throne, is Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander’s second child. The royals are also parents to Princess Catharina-Amalia, 19, and Princess Ariane, 16.