How cool that a member of the royal family mingles with the people. However, we can imagine that she herself would have imagined her marriage to the future king to be a lot rosier at the time than stirring the waste plastic with her hands….
Anyway, maybe she should have listened to her father-in-law. That good man also emigrated to the Netherlands at the time.
Such a conversation would have gone something like this:
“Hey Claus, what’s it like to get engaged to the heir to the throne?” Are you being taken care of by those Dutchmen?
“Honestly Maxima? They are a nice people, those Dutch, but there are a number of things you have to take into account when you get married in that family:
1. The Dutch have a total inability to read between the lines. The rules are hard rules and they also apply to the royal family. Otherwise, feel free to ask Bernhard, who will confirm this.
AND
2. The concept of hierarchy is not in the vocabulary of the Dutch. You don’t really fit in until you mingle with people and do the same thing as them.
Do you really want to score? Then it is recommended to spend a day with the garbage service or something..”
“What!!! Do they want me to join the garbage service? Hurry up! What kind of separate people is this?”
“Don’t believe me?
When me and Trix got something, the mother-in-law thought it would be a nice idea to go on holiday to Limburg for a few days with the whole family. Anyway, as a member of the Dutch royal family you can’t just go on holiday, you always have to work a few days on the side. We thought a student for a day at De Staatsmijnen would be a good idea. It must have been during the period of carnival because we all had to dress up as miners. Mother-in-law took a walk above ground that day. However, myself and uncle Piet were married so we had to go underground on our student for a day and that means: into the coal mine. So we go down that shaft and spend a day chipping coal.
Once back up there was nothing but praise and cheers! We were part of it. Moreover, such a visit can provide great insights. Uncle Pete loved it! “What do I have to do to return here as often as possible?” Investigate security incidents, I advised him. Later, he returned to Geleen many times.
“Yes, but…! I can do something else, right? Something to do with finances? Inclusion and diversity or something!? If necessary, I will sit at the Council of State for a few days a month.”
“Of course that’s allowed, but the Dutch just want to think that you’re so normal. That creates a bond with them. So do yourself a favor: Go and pick up garbage for a day or work in a factory or something. There’s nothing wrong with getting your hands dirty.”
“Thanks for the tip Claus… I’m going to think about it… Give me about 20 years…”
And so it happened.