‘That was of course extremely painful and sad’
Happy people, sincere love and ‘the tear’: the wedding of Willem-Alexander and Máxima seemed like a true fairytale, but the fact remains that an important person was conspicuous by his absence at the time. Máx’s father was not invited, and Beatrix also thought something of that.
Major absentee
On the beautiful date of February 2, 2002, our current king and queen tied the knot in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. A day you will never forget – both for the lovebirds themselves and for everyone who witnessed the royal wedding. Someone who could not count himself among that group was Jorge Zorreguieta. Máx’s father is said to be closely involved in the Argentine dictatorship, and his presence would of course be particularly inappropriate in light of Dutch policy. Parliament therefore only approved the marriage when it was confirmed that Jorge would not be present.
Painful and sad
In 2005, Beatrix spoke out about the sad decision that was made about the marriage at the time. “I can’t imagine it has been easy, especially for my daughter-in-law who joined our family. New country, new family – I believe that everyone who joins a new family has difficulty with that and that this is a fairly well-known phenomenon,” she said. “But in this case it was of course extra difficult. A lot was also asked of her. The pressure was very high on her and on her family.”
“Ultimately the decision was made that her parents, or her father in this case, would not be able to be there. That was of course extremely painful and sad,” Beatrix admitted. “From my position, you are convinced that the decision is right and that you should make it. And then you have to try to make that clear, to explain why. And yes, don’t try to ease the pain; but at least to support someone through that sadness.”
Fortunately, the difficult choice did not have a negative impact on the relationship between Máxima and Beatrix. In fact, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have a very strong bond. An example that many other royals can learn from!
Source: Blue Blood | Image: NL Image
