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Dutch Royals Attend Netherlands and Curacao World Cup Matches
King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Princess Ariane watched the Netherlands defeat Sweden 5-1 in Houston before traveling to see Curacao earn its first World Cup point against Ecuador.
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King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Princess Ariane of the Netherlands attended two World Cup matches on Saturday. The royal party watched the Netherlands defeat Sweden 5-1 at noon in Houston. They then traveled roughly 800 miles north to Kansas City to see Curacao play Ecuador.
Curacao secured its first World Cup point in that match. All but one member of the Curacao squad was born in the Netherlands.
Willem-Alexander told RTL-TV the tournament was "extra-special" because it featured both the Netherlands and Curacao. "So we have twice as many teams to cheer for," he said. "It's a great opportunity to cheer on both the Blues and the Oranges." The king added that he hoped both teams would advance far in the tournament.
Curacao remains part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and has a population of 158,000. Queen Maxima holds joint Dutch and Argentine citizenship and may attend Argentina's match against Austria on Monday. King Willem-Alexander issued a formal apology in 2023 for the Netherlands' historical role in the slave trade.
