A well-deserved award!
Princess Margriet will receive the BeNeLux-Europe Award next Saturday. This year the theme of the award ceremony is Well-Being, Health and Humanity. Her Highness receives this award for her many years of dedication to the Red Cross.
Award
The princess will receive the 2024 award in the Port House in Antwerp during the Academic Session of the BeNeLux University Center. The Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, Prof. Frank Vandenbroucke, will also receive the award next week. Twenty years ago, Margriet’s husband, Prof. Pieter van Vollenhoven, also received this prize.
The non-profit BeNeLux University Center Foundation promotes cooperation between Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in the fields of education, science, culture and humanity. Since 1999, the award has been presented twice a year to individuals or institutions that have made great efforts in these areas within the Benelux or United Europe.
The prizes will be presented by Prof. Anton van der Gelden and Councilor Prince Charles-Louis de Merode. In addition, speeches will be given by the Netherlands and Belgium about how they contribute within the BeNeLux. The award recipients will also give a speech. So Margriet can start practicing!
Sports enthusiast
In 1980, the princess was involved as a director of the Red Cross in organizing the Paralympic Games in Arnhem. That year she opened the sixth edition of the event. Since then, the HKH has been following Paralympic sport. She is also now a member of the honorary board of the International Paralympic Committee. She is a true lover of the sport! To stay informed and to speak to the athletes, she regularly visits events surrounding the Paralympic Games on behalf of the Royal House.
Earned
The princess is not easily discouraged. In August, Margriet suffered an acute hernia, which almost forced her to miss an event she loved. She should mainly rest and therefore unfortunately cancel a number of appointments. Margriet, who is so committed to sports for the disabled, would of course not want to miss the first edition of the European Para Championships. She was not on stage, but had sent a video message so that she could still be involved in the event. In the video message, the princess briefly showed herself during the opening ceremony.
She always does her best to be involved in both the Paralympics and the Red Cross. She has more than earned the prize that Princess Margriet will receive next Saturday.
Source: Government Information Service | Image: NL Image
