Applications for military reservist positions jump 30% after Queen Máxima joins
Queen Máxima’s recent registration as a part-time reservist has sparked a 30 percent rise in applications, information requests, and contact inquiries for reservist positions in the Dutch Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defense reported.
Máxima, 54, completed a brief military training before officially joining the reserve force last week. She registered just before the age limit of 55 for reservists. The ministry reported that the official recruitment website, werkenbijdefensie.nl, was visited 48,000 times on the day her enrollment was announced, double the normal traffic. A day later, when Máxima formally began her training, the site recorded 51,000 visitors.
Applications for jobs, information sessions, and contact requests also rose by 30 percent over the previous week. The ministry cautioned, however, that the surge in interest may not immediately translate into new reservists. “That is something for the longer term. The extra attention for reservists due to the queen’s registration is a welcome side effect for Defense,” a ministry spokesperson said.
Interest in reservist positions also spiked. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, the dedicated reservist page received more than 22,700 visits, compared with an average of 1,870 per day in January.
Máxima follows in the footsteps of her daughter, Princess Amalia, who completed the General Military Education (AMO) program at the Defensity College in January and was promoted to corporal. Amalia is combining her reservist training with a bachelor’s degree in Dutch law at the University of Amsterdam.
