Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands has been rushed to hospital for surgery after falling from her horse.
The future Queen, 21, was left with a broken arm following her fall, which took place on Tuesday, and is set to undergo surgery at the UMC Utrecht.
Her mother, Queen Maxima, reportedly left her engagement with the MIND Us Foundation at Noordeinde Palace after being informed of the news.
The Princess of Orange is the eldest child of the Queen and King Willem-Alexander – and has recently begun to take on solo engagements and more responsibility in the Royal Household.
A statement from the palace translated into English read: ‘The Princess of Orange broke her upper arm today after falling from her horse. She will undergo surgery at the UMC Utrecht.
‘More information will follow as soon as it becomes clear what the possible consequences are for official obligations and other agreements.’
Princess Catharina-Amalia’s page on the Royal House’s website notes that ‘in her free time she enjoys horse-riding’ and she’s known to be a keen equestrian.
In the book Amalia, the princess even told author Claudia de Breij: ‘I am most who I am on a horse. If you really want to get to know me, you have to see me ride.’
Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands has been rushed to hospital for surgery after falling from her horse. Pictured in February
It’s not the first time her risky hobby has led to injury, as she previously dislocated her shoulder when riding her horse Mojito as a teenager.
‘You know what they say, right: “You’re not an Amazon until you’ve fallen seven times,” Amalia said at the time, per Dutch news outlet Libelle.
The royal family is due to have their summer photo session on Thursday – although this may now be postponed.
Princess Amalia is the eldest daughter of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima and has siblings Princess Alexia, 19, and Princess Ariane, 18.
Amalia, who is first in line to the throne, is said to speak fluent Spanish thanks to her mother, who is Argentine by birth.
She is currently studying for a degree in Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics at Amsterdam University.
In February, she attended her first royal event alone as she begins a long preparation to one day be queen.
The princess christened a new ship – the Dan Helder – before it set out on its maiden voyage.
It’s not the first time her risky hobby has led to injury, as she previously dislocated her shoulder when riding her horse Mojito as a teenager (pictured together)
King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Princess Amalia and Princess Alexia on King’s Day in April
The future European queen recently spent over a year living in Spain as a result of growing fears for her safety after being threatened with kidnap by Dutch organised crime gangs.
Officials would not confirm details of Amalia’s initial departure from her studies in Amsterdam, but the move came weeks after reports that Amalia and Prime Minister Mark Rutte were mentioned in communications by organised crime groups – leading to fears of kidnappings.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at the time: ‘I’m very sorry for her and I’m obviously very concerned about it.’
He added that Dutch authorities were doing everything to ensure that the princess is safe.
‘She can’t live in Amsterdam and she can’t really go outside (the palace)… It has enormous consequences on her life. There is no student life for her like others have,’ said an emotional Queen Maxima at the time.
Amalia herself told reporters during a royal family tour of the Caribbean early last year that she missed ‘the normal life of a student’, having hoped she would be able to enjoy the student experience like her peers.
‘Sadly the reality was different,’ she said.
Dressed in a stunning red boho-patterned dress, a radiant Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands appeared fully in her element on an outing in April
Princess Amalia of The Netherlands visits the Taste of Bonaire festival in January 2023
King Willem-Alexander and his daughter Princess Catharina-Amalia pictured at a recent state banquet
Her father, King Willem-Alexander, said in the podcast Through the Eyes of the King that the situation had ‘had a very hard impact’ on his daughter and his family.
‘The uncertainty, the lack of freedom, that is not how you want to raise your children and what you want to pass on to your children,’ he said.
The Minister for Justice and Security, Dilan Yesilgöz, told reporters in the weeks following Amalia’s withdrawal from studies in Amsterdam: ‘I guarantee that our security services work hard day and night to guarantee her safety.
‘It is terrible that this is necessary, in the first place for the Crown Princess herself.’
NOS later said that Amalia was able to return from Madrid to live and study in the Netherlands again – though the threat had not completely disappeared.
Ahead of her 18th birthday, royal spoke openly about the benefits of therapy in an authorised biography – having lost her aunt Ines to suicide in 2018.
She said: ‘Sometimes it all gets too much for me – school, friends – and then I talk to someone.
‘If I need it, I’ll make an appointment… talking to a professional every now and then is quite normal.’
Princess Amalia of The Netherlands attends a diner gala the Council of State at Palace Noordeinde on September 18, 2024
Amalia had also been shielded for years from the public eye after the family after being the victim of cruel body shaming on social media.
In February 2023, Princess Catharina-Amalia was the subject of cruel body-shaming on social media, which prompted royal fans to jump to her defence.
One wrote on X: ‘People who are body shaming Princess Amalia of Netherlands are the same who body shaming Princess Catherine because she is too skinny with no curves.
‘That’s the reality in this social media, people hate that you are happy with yourself and that somebody loves you for the way you are.’
Another added: ‘I think she is absolutely beautiful!’
In July 2020, Portuguese magazine Cara issued an apology to Princess Amalia after they labelled the 16-year-old ‘plus-sized’ on a front cover and claimed she had ‘defended her figure of “real women”‘.
One critic wrote on Instagram: ‘Who gave you permission to comment on the body of a 16-year-old girl?’
Another added: ‘They are talking about the body of a minor, adolescent and growing.’
But in recent months she’s delighted royal fans by coming into her own – and in April donated a garden of tulips to the city of Madrid.
