They have almost parallel lives and are from the same generation but, above all, Felipe and Letizia are friends, as well as counterparts, of Guillermo and Máxima from the Netherlands. On April 17 and 18, the two couples will meet in Amsterdam on the first state visit of the Kings to the Netherlands, twenty-three years after the one that Juan Carlos and Sofia made in 2001 during the reign of Beatrice of Holland.
In recent years, there have been several occasions in which both in Spain and in the Netherlands there have been meetings between the kings of both countries. Guillermo and Máxima were in Spain on September 18, 2013 on a presentation visit after the proclamation of the king of the Netherlands, then they were received by King Juan Carlos who months later, following in the footsteps of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, would abdicate of the throne giving way to the reign of Felipe VI.
In October 2014, it was Felipe and Letizia who also traveled to The Hague to “introduce themselves” as kings after the proclamation of Felipe VI.
However, the relationship between the two royal couples has deeper ties, also taking into account the sentimental connection of the kings of the Netherlands with Spain, since the then Prince William and the Argentine economist Máxima Zorreguieta met in 1999 in Seville, during the April fair. The couple, along with their daughters Amalia, Alexia and Ariana, have once again visited the Andalusian city where the queen and the princesses have not hesitated to dress as gypsies.
The kings of Spain and those of the Netherlands, in addition to bilateral visits and private contacts, have met on several occasions in third countries. Both at weddings and at funerals and other royal celebrations.
