DJ arrested for following same route as Queen Maxima's daughter: report

A radio DJ was reportedly arrested after driving the same route as Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands. According to NOS and Dutch News, four individuals, including radio DJ Serginio Piqué, allegedly drove the same route as Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander's eldest child from Amsterdam to Antwerp earlier this month.

The NL Times reported that the Belgian SWAT team stopped the group in Antwerp city center and "talked them out of the car under gunpoint." They are said to have been handcuffed and taken to a police van, where they were questioned for about an hour.

“The Belgian officers said they had been formed by a Dutch security service that the friends had taken the exact same route as Princess Amalia,” lawyer Vito Shukrula, who is representing Serginio, told Het Parool (via NL Times). “Amalia is said to have left from the Singel in the center of Amsterdam for Antwerp. My client and his friends are said to have taken the exact same exits.”

© Patrick van Katwijk

Vito added, “The Belgian police chief eventually told my client and his friends that they were upset that the Dutch services had given them incorrect information and that they had, therefore, deployed on such a large scale for nothing. They were told that at least they now had a good story and that they could continue on their way.” 

Per NOS, the arrest followed a tip from a Dutch service. "It was a situation in which the Crown Princess was involved, something that we must take seriously. We therefore had well-founded reasons to carry out the check in such a way," a spokesperson for the police told NOS (translated to English).

In September of 2022, De Telegraaf reported that security measures had been “stepped up considerably as an attempted kidnapping or an attack is taken into account," and earlier this year, it was reported that the Princess of Orange had secretly lived in Spain to escape threats made against her. During King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain's state visit to the Netherlands this past April, King Willem-Alexander confirmed, “Last year, circumstances required her to live in Madrid for a while. From there, she was able to continue her studies at the University of Amsterdam.”

“This was made possible by the kind efforts of many of your compatriots and yourselves,” the Dutch King continued. “A touching demonstration of friendship at a difficult time. I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to you and everyone else who helped arrange this.”

On King's Day 2024, Amalia admitted (via AD) that her time in Spain made life in the Netherlands “somewhat possible again” and that she was “happy to be back.”