King and Princess Amalia visit qualifying in Zandvoort; 70 XR activists campaign against Formula 1

King Willem-Alexander attended qualifying for Sunday's Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Zandvoort circuit on Saturday with his eldest daughter, Princess Amalia. The visit of the monarch and the princess had not been announced.

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima, and daughters Amalia and Ariane also visited the Dutch Grand Prix in 2021, the year the race returned to Zandvoort after 36 years. The day before the race, the king watched qualifying with his cousin Bernhard, co-owner of the circuit in the Noord-Holland dunes. Bernhard has also been visited by his parents Princess Margriet, Pieter van Vollenhoven, and his brother Pieter-Christiaan, among others, over the past two years.

Then, about two hours before the start of the Grand Prix, the family met Max Verstappen in the pit lane. The driver allowed the royal family a look into his pit box and the cockpit of his Red Bull car. Max Verstappen’s father Jos and team boss Christian Horner also met the royal family.

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Near the well-attended race track in Zandvoort, about 70 demonstrators from Extinction Rebellion (XR) gathered on Saturday to protest against Formula 1. They did this by taking a protest ride by bicycle from Haarlem to Zandvoort. The activists want the races in the area stopped because they cause "noise pollution and a large emission of nitrogen" while also affecting the adjacent dunes, XR said.

About 100 demonstrators from Extinction Rebellion, Milieudefensie, Grandparents for the Climate, Rust bij de Kust, as well as the Dune Conservation Foundation, took part in the climate action to make it clear that people should be humble visitors to the dune area, home to vulnerable animals and plants, Trouw reported.

The group left around 11:30 a.m. and arrived at the seaside resort shortly after 12:30 p.m. The protesters stayed about 2 kilometers from the racetrack. According to an XR spokesperson, they did so because they did not want to hinder the visitors and the F1 drivers. On the beach, protesters formed XR's logo and shouted slogans. There were also speeches.

“We do not feel that we can stop the event immediately,” says spokesperson Lowie van Liere. "But we want to make our voice heard: Formula 1 is no longer possible," he explains. The activists find it undesirable that the racing cars emit nitrogen, which precipitates on the vulnerable dune nature, where the special sandstripe lizard and natterjack toad live, Trouw wrote.

A week ago, 10 XR activists were arrested for blocking the entrance to the circuit. David Moolenburgh, the mayor of Zandvoort, said earlier that good agreements have been made with the activists for this bicycle campaign.