His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will be visiting St. Maarten in the fall of this this year.
The visit will be the Kings and Queens first official visit to Sint Maarten in their capacity of King and Queen. The King and Queen last visited Sint Maarten in 2011 while they were still prince and princess, when they accompanied Queen Beatrix.
Earlier this week Governor Holiday convened the Kick-off meeting with the special committee, the National Organizing Committee Royal Visit 2013, which has been established by National Decree to organize and coordinate the upcoming royal visit. The committee is comprised of seven members, these are: Keith Franca (Chairman), Cassandra Janssen (Secretary), Emilia Thomas, Catherine Arrindell-Conner, Marcel Gumbs, Olga Williams and Bastiaan Bolt.
Today a delegation from the Netherlands, the pre-advance team, visited Sint Maarten to meet with the relevant authorities and to discuss how the royal visit later this year can be prepared optimally.
Governor Holiday stated that the friendly island of Sint Maarten is looking forward to host the royal visit and that the visit by the King and the Queen will be a celebration of Sint Maarten’s culture and our bond with the Royal Family and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Further details on the dates and locations for the 2013 visit will be provided at a later date.