Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange

Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange ([kaːtaːˈrinaː ʔaːˈmaːlijaː]; Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria; born 7 December 2003) is the heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of the countries of the Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten.

Princess Catharina-Amalia is the eldest child of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. She became heir apparent when her father ascended the throne on 30 April 2013.

Princess Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria was born at 17:01 CET on 7 December 2003 in the HMC Bronovo in The Hague, the first child of the then Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima. Upon the public announcement of her birth, 101 salute shots were fired at four places in the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Den Helder and The Hague in the Netherlands, Willemstad in the Netherlands Antilles, and Oranjestad in Aruba.

On 12 June 2004, Catharina-Amalia was baptised by the Rev. Carel ter Linden in the Great Church in The Hague. Her godparents are her uncle Prince Constantijn, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, the (then) vice-president of the Council of State of the Netherlands Herman Tjeenk Willink, friend of her mother Samantha Deane, her uncle Martín Zorreguieta, and friend of her father Marc ter Haar.

Catharina-Amalia's maternal grandparents, Jorge Zorreguieta and María del Carmen Cerruti Carricart, were prohibited from attending her parents' wedding in 2002 due to Zorreguieta's involvement in the regime of General Jorge Rafael Videla, but were present at her baptism, which was a private rather than a state affair.

Princess Catharina-Amalia has two younger sisters: Princess Alexia (born in 2005) and Princess Ariane (born in 2007). She lives with her parents and sisters in Huis ten Bosch palace in The Hague.

Starting in December 2007, Catharina-Amalia attended the public primary school Bloemcampschool in Wassenaar. She now attends the Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet in The Hague, where her aunt Princess Laurentien attended.

Her birthdays are traditionally celebrated with a concert at the Kloosterkerk in The Hague, which is attended by ambassadors and members of the royal household and the Council of State of the Netherlands. She speaks Dutch, English, and some Spanish.

On her seventh birthday, a Douglas C-47 Skytrain once owned by her great-grandfather, Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, was named after Catharina-Amalia by Peter Hartman. The princess herself was prevented from attending the naming ceremony by school obligations.

Catharina-Amalia's paternal grandmother, Queen Beatrix, abdicated on 30 April 2013 and her father ascended the throne. Catharina-Amalia, as the new heir apparent, assumed the title of Princess of Orange, becoming the first to do so in her own right. Princess Catharina-Amalia will assume a seat in the Advisory Division of the Council of State of the Netherlands upon reaching the age of majority at 18.

During a rare interview on King's Day in 2019, Catharina-Amalia, then 15 years old, said that it was sometimes unreal for her to realise that this really is her life.

Titles

• 7 December 2003 – 30 April 2013: Her Royal Highness Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau
• 30 April 2013 – present: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Orange, Princess of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau

Like her sisters, Catharina-Amalia was born a Princess of the Netherlands and a Princess of Orange-Nassau. As heir apparent she is also the Princess of Orange. This title is substantive and used without her name.

Arms

Through her paternal grandfather, a member of the House of Amsberg, Catharina-Amalia is descended from families of the lower German nobility, and through her paternal grandmother, from several royal German/Dutch families such as the House of Lippe, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the House of Orange-Nassau, Waldeck and Pyrmont, and the House of Hohenzollern. She is descended from the first King of the Netherlands, William I of the Netherlands, who was also a ruler in Luxembourg and several German states, and all subsequent Dutch monarchs.

On her mother's side, Catharina-Amalia is descended from wealthy Spanish Argentines and Italian Argentines, with some Basque ancestry.