Dutch Queen to cheer for Oranje on Friday, despite Argentine roots

Queen Maxima will cheer for Oranje on Friday when the Netherlands takes on Argentina in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. “As a Dutch and Queen of the Netherlands, she is for the Netherlands,” a spokesperson for government information service RVD said when asked.

At the Meet the World event on Thursday, the Argentine-born wife of King Willem-Alexander got congratulated on Argentina’s victory over Poland. After a thank you, Maxima called on everyone to “cheer” for the Dutch team.

It is still unclear whether Queen Maxima or her husband will go to Qatar to cheer for Oranje in person.

Oranje and Argentina have played against each other nine times in the past, most recently in the semifinal of the 2014 World Cup, where Argentina defeated Oranje 4-2 on penalties. Ahead of that match, RVD gave NOS a very similar statement: “Queen Maxima is Dutch and is therefore cheering for the Netherlands.”