Princess Catharina-Amalia
of the Netherlands suffered an injury after falling from her horse. The Dutch Royal House announced on Tuesday, June 10, that
Queen Maxima
and
King Willem-Alexander
‘s 21-year-old daughter broke her arm while horse riding.
“The Princess of Orange broke her upper arm today after falling from her horse. She will undergo surgery at the UMC Utrecht,” the Royal House said in a statement translated to English. “More information will follow as soon as it becomes clear what the possible consequences are for official obligations and other agreements.”
According to
royal reporter Rick Evers
, Queen Maxima was informed of the news during a mental health conference at Noordeinde Palace. In a
video
shared by Rick, the mom of three can be seen getting up from her seat to talk on the phone before returning to the room.
The Princess of Orange, who is first in line to the throne, is the Queen and King’s eldest child. Amalia’s page on the Royal House’s
website
notes that in her “free time she enjoys horse riding.” Back in 2022, the Dutch Royal House commemorated World Animal Day with a photo of the Princess riding her horse Mojito.
In the book
Amalia
, the Dutch Princess told author
Claudia de Breij
(translated to English), “I am most who I am on a horse. If you really want to get to know me, you have to see me ride.”
The royal’s broken arm isn’t the first time she’s injured herself horse riding. Per
Libelle
, Amalia has previously dislocated her shoulder. “I fell off my horse. And I always know very well: it’s okay, or it’s not okay,” Amalia recalled to Claudia via
Libelle
. “And this was really not okay.”
The Princess also told the
Amalia
author that “Normally you always check first if your horse is okay. That goes without saying. You don’t let your trainer wash your horse either, you have to do that yourself, because you build a bond. If you don’t take care of your horse yourself, you don’t have the right to ride it. But yes, dislocated arm, sprained ankle, ambulance… so that really wasn’t possible.”
The future Queen added, “You know what they say, right: ‘You’re not an Amazon until you’ve fallen seven times.’”
