The Dutch royal couple regrets their holiday in Greece amid the corona pandemic and publicly asks for forgiveness.
The Dutch royal family caused outrage in their own country with a vacation trip to Greece. While the corona restrictions were tightened again in the Netherlands, King Willem-Alexander (53) and Queen Máxima (49) wanted to have a good time with their three daughters in the Greek sun. But that met with severe criticism at home and so the king and queen broke off the trip after a day. However, two of her children did not return until a few days later. Now the royal couple turned to the public in a video message.
Great regret
The personal statement can be seen on the official Instagram account of the Dutch royal family. King Willem-Alexander declares that he regrets having violated the trust of his people. He also apologized for the trip to Greece. His family had come to the realization that they should not have made the trip. "It is a difficult time for everyone. A time of lack, limitations and worries. Also fear, anger and insecurity," said Willem-Alexander.
Together with his wife, who is sitting next to him in the video message, he will continue to campaign for his country in the Corona crisis. "So that everyone (…) can live normally again as soon as possible. We are involved, but we are not infallible."
Such a personal message from the king to his people is extremely rare and quite unusual.