King and Queen volunteer at Hoofddorp care home during NLdoet volunteer drive
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima joined residents and volunteers Friday to clean up and refresh the inner gardens of care home Bornholm in Hoofddorp as part of NLdoet, the annual volunteer campaign organized by the Oranje Fonds, RTL reports.
The royal couple spent the afternoon pruning plants, sweeping paths, scrubbing surfaces, and filling numerous flower boxes alongside residents and other volunteers at the woonzorgcentrum, which provides care and guidance to elderly and vulnerable people.
When they arrived in Hoofddorp, rain had just stopped. While drinking coffee with those present, Queen Máxima reassured attendees that the weather would hold for the rest of the afternoon. “My husband checked the rain radar, and it will all work out,” she said. King Willem-Alexander added with a laugh: “And otherwise we’ll just keep drinking coffee a bit longer.”
Their first task took them to one of the complex’s inner gardens, where flower boxes needed to be filled. The king also cleaned a garden bench. He discussed his retraining program to become an Airbus pilot with those present, announcing the news on Thursday.
Volunteer Jaap, 78, said he appreciated the king’s presence. “He is very pleasant; he just chats along nicely,” he told RTL afterward. Jaap usually works in the gardens, he said, and previously drove residents around in a small bus that has since broken down. “Unfortunately I forgot to ask the king if he wanted to subsidize a new one,” he added.
Elsewhere in the care home, the royal couple sat at a long table to fill flower boxes together with residents. Later, the pair moved outside to another inner garden.
Organizers reportedly briefly held their breath when the queen made a bold step across a pond to reach a terrace, but she managed the move without getting wet. On the terrace, Máxima removed weeds while the king dug old roots out of the ground to make room for new plants.
At their final stop, the king again filled flower boxes while the queen pruned a small willow tree. She became so absorbed in the task that she ended up standing deep in the bushes. Afterward, she also helped fill a flower box while the king swept up soil that had fallen onto the ground.
