Palace dispute in 2001 between Beatrix and Willem-Alexander about Máxima | Inland

The makers of the four-part BnnVara documentary A Porcelain Marriage concluded this from previously unpublished reports by diplomat Max van der Stoel and conversations with those involved.

Willem-Alexander and Prime Minister Kok always stated that it was Zorreguieta’s own choice to be absent from his daughter’s wedding, exactly twenty years ago on Wednesday. However, the notes show that Kok felt that Zorreguieta could not be there because he was part of the civilian government between 1976 and 1981 during the Argentine dictatorship.

Consequences for future monarchy

That message came as a surprise to Beatrix. “Her Majesty was shocked, hadn’t heard it so clearly,” according to the conversation report. Willem-Alexander, who at the time wanted to ask Zorreguieta for permission to marry Máxima, became angry and felt put off by Kok. Beatrix then realized that the issue could have major implications for the future of the monarchy.

According to Reverend Carel ter Linden, confidant of the royal family, Willem-Alexander was so in love that he was willing to give up the kingship in order to marry Máxima. “It has also become clear that there were also limits when it came to the choice of his wife. That it was the case with Máxima, it’s either her or I get out,” said Ter Linden, who more than a year later would consecrate the church wedding of Willem-Alexander and Máxima in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam.

Father Zorreguieta

Zorreguieta was initially completely unwilling to stay away from the wedding. He could not empathize with the discussion that was going on in the Netherlands, was afraid of the reactions and the consequences for his social position in Argentina and was also not convinced that his absence was in the best of Máxima, as it turned out after talks between top officials with the father of Maxima.

In the end, Willem-Alexander and Máxima had to convince Zorreguieta to stay away. The text of Zorreguieta’s statement also had to be negotiated vigorously. Once he declared that he was willing not to attend, the cabinet was able to authorize the marriage.

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