The royal couple received the news about De Vries shortly after a performance by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. “It was the first time that we attended another concert. Then you go from such a beautiful moment to such a hole,” said the king.
The king was also abroad when lawyer Derk Wiersum (2019) and politician Pim Fortuyn (2002) were shot. “You feel hopeless and also helpless. That feeling happened to me again.” Ending the state visit has not been considered, the king said. “A state visit is a serious visit. It’s good to finish the work and get on with it.”
Beautiful things
The visit to Berlin concludes a series of visits to German federal states that began in 2013. According to the king, that means visits to different Germanys, with different mentalities about, for example, doing business.
He considers the state visit important to broaden and deepen relations with Germany. “There are huge opportunities. Germany has so much to offer the Netherlands and vice versa, we are partners in Europe and the world.”
Willem-Alexander also discussed the benefits of a state visit and business missions for the Netherlands. “It does not immediately yield euros, but contacts are made. And SMEs also come along, for example. These are people who do not even think about going to Germany to do business. But we only open the door, the rest does them themselves. That’s how beautiful things are created.”
daughters
When asked, the king also stated that all three of his daughters are vaccinated. Young people aged 12 to 17 can be vaccinated with the vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech from the beginning of July:
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