Maxima

Freedom unites us, our differences do not divide us, and the pursuit of happiness should not be an obsession: Those were the main themes of King Willem-Alexander's annual Christmas Day address to the Netherlands, the seventh such speech he's delivered during his reign. The Dutch king recorded the five-minute address last week at the Huis ten Bosch palace in The Hague, where he has resided with his family since January.

Next month Queen Maxima will launch the Netherlands' first artificial intelligence course for children. The National AI Junior course is aimed at teaching kids between the ages of 10 and 14 the principles of AI, and to get them enthusiastic about technology and improving their technological skills. "In this way the can function optimally in a world in which technology plays an increasingly important role", the government said in a pre release.

Queen Maxima is facing criticism over a meeting she had with Mohammed bin Salman at the G20 summit in Osaka on Friday. The controversial crown prince of Saudi Arabia is accused of orchestrating the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October last year. Multiple Dutch parliamentarians criticized the meeting. UN rapporteur Agnes Callamard, who investigated the journalist's murder, called it "extraordinarily disappointing" that the Dutch Queen did not broach this topic. Prime Minister Mark Rutte is baffled by the commotion.

Prime Minister ark Rutte and the American Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo opened the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in The Hague on Monday afternoon. Some 2 thousand entrepreneurs, investors and representatives of government organizations from 134 countries will meet and make deals at the business summit over the next two days.

In addition to entrepreneurs and others from the business world, a number of prominent people like Queen Maxima and Ivanka Trump will also attend the summit. 

The Netherlands remembered the victims of the Second World War with commemorations across the country on Saturday. King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Prime Minister Mark Rutte attended the National Commemoration in Amsterdam on Saturday evening. Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema stressed that the the lack of freedom during the war must be passed on so that it can be remembered "as if the war were yesterday. Even if no one remembers what it is like to live in an occupied country", Het Parool reports. 

After months of preparations, King's Day is only one day away and Amersfoort is just about ready to receive King Willem-Alexander and his family on his birthday. The city center, which the Royals will tour through on Saturday, is covered in flags and the final stages are being built along the route, Metro Nieuws reports.

Support for the Dutch monarchy among young people fell sharply over the past years. In 2007, 70 percent of Dutch between the ages of 18 and 34 were enthusiastic about the Royal Family, last year it was only 55 percent, according to surveys by Ipsos commissioned by NOS. 

Queen Maxima fulfills all her tax obligations in Argentina, government information service Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst said following reports in Argentine media accusing the Dutch queen of tax evasion.

Argentine investigative website El Cohete a la Luna reported that Queen Maxima never reported improvements to the real estate and infrastructure on the land she and King Willem-Alexander own in Argentina, her country of birth. As a result, Argentina is losing out on tax revenues, according to the site.

In his sixth Christmas Day address to the Netherlands, Dutch King Willem-Alexander spoke in support of equal opportunities and the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, even quoting former U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Willem-Alexander used his annual platform to speak out against intimidation, extremism, and marginialization of people deemed "different".

Argentine president Mauricio Macri invited Queen Maxima to attend the gala evening to kick off the G20 summit in Buenos Aires on Friday evening. The Dutch Queen was invited in her role as special advocate for the Secretary General of the United Nations in the area of inclusive financing, ANP reports.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte will also attend the G20 Summit. The Netherlands was invited to the summit as an extra country, just like last year when Germany invited the Netherlands to attend.

King Willem-Alexander expressed his regret and concern about the United Kingdom's imminent departure from the European Union, speaking to British journalist ahead of his state visit to the U.K. later this month. The Dutch King is particularly concerned about the consequences the Brexit will have for trade between the Netherlands and England, the Guardian and the Independent report.