Swedish princess to act as godparent to Amalia

9 June 2004

AMSTERDAM — Sweden’s Princess Victoria will be one of Dutch Princess Catharina-Amalia’s godparents when the baby daughter of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima is christened in The Hague on Saturday.

The 26-year-old Swedish Princess will attend the christening ceremony in the Grote of Sint Jacobskerk, along with representatives of the Belgian and Luxembourgian royal families, royal sources told newspaper De Telegraaf.

Like his parents, Prince Willem-Alexander has also chosen a Scandinavian godparent. In 1967, the Queen of Denmark, known then as Princess Margrethe, was chosen as a godparent for Willem-Alexander, the heir to the Dutch throne.

About a 1,000 guests — including a large number of Dutch dignitaries — will attend Amalia’s christening in the Sint Jacobskerk in The Hague. At the request of Willem-Alexander and Maxima, a large part of the church has been reserved for family and friends.

The christening of Princess Amalia — who was born on 7 December 2003 at the Bronovo Hospital in The Hague — will be performed by Reverend Carel ter Linden.

In conjunction with the christening, 442 children who were born on the same day as Princess Amalia — the future Queen of the Netherlands — will be given a special set of coins.

The coin set — which were developed by the Royal Dutch Mint at the request of Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima — contain the eight euro coins Amalia’s birth year and a specially designed silver medallion.

The medallion displays Princess Amalia’s coat of arms and her portrait on the other side. The coins will be distributed by the mayors of the various cities where the babies live.

Subject: Dutch news