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Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
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Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
Máxima (born Máxima Zorreguieta on 17 May 1971) is Queen of the Netherlands as the wife of King Willem-Alexander.
Argentine by birth, she worked in finance when she met Willem-Alexander, eldest son and heir apparent of Queen Beatrix, in 1999. They married in 2002, and became king and queen on the abdication of her mother-in-law on 30 April 2013. Máxima has promoted social integration of immigrants, LGBTQ rights, and financial inclusion. She and Willem-Alexander have three daughters, Princesses Catharina-Amalia, Alexia, and Ariane, who are first, second, and third, respectively, in the line of succession.
Máxima Zorreguieta was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17 May 1971. She is the daughter of Jorge Zorreguieta (1928–2017), who served as Secretary of Agriculture under General Jorge Rafael Videla during Argentina's last civil-military dictatorship (1976–1983), and his second wife, María del Carmen Cerruti (born 1944). She is named after her paternal great-grandmother Máxima Bonorino González (1874–1965), of Italian and Spanish descent. Originally from the Basque country, her ancestor carrying the Zorreguieta surname, José Antonio Sorreguieta y Oyarzábal Gamboa y Sagastume, migrated to Argentina around the year 1790. She also has Portuguese ancestry through her father's side, and is a descendant of King Afonso III of Portugal.
She grew up in the Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires and studied at Northlands School, a bilingual school of the city of Olivos. She graduated with a degree in economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (UCA) in 1995. This private university is governed by a directory of local bishops, which included Pope Francis, then Archbishop of Buenos Aires and Grand Chancellor of UCA. During her student years, Francis presided over the traditional Mass at the beginning of classes. She later completed her studies with a master's degree in the United States.
From 1989 to 1990, while still in college, she worked for Mercado Abierto Electrónico S.A. From 1992 to 1995, she worked in the sales department of Boston Securities SA in Buenos Aires, where she conducted research on software for financial markets. From July 1996 to February 1998, she worked for HSBC James Capel Inc. in New York City, where she became vice president of institutional sales for Latin America. From then until July 1999, she was vice president of the emerging markets division of Dresdner Kleinwort Benson in New York. From May 2000 to March 2001, she worked for Deutsche Bank in Brussels.
Máxima met Willem-Alexander in April 1999 in Seville, Spain, during the Seville Spring Fair. In an interview, they stated that he introduced himself only as "Alexander", so that she did not know he was a prince. She thought he was joking when he later told her that he was the Prince of Orange and heir apparent to the Dutch throne. According to the unauthorised biography "Máxima. La construcción de una reina", she was invited to Seville by a friend living in New York who openly said she would introduce her to two European princes. They agreed to meet again two weeks later in New York, where Máxima was working for Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. Although they first met in Seville, their relationship apparently began in New York.
The news of the couple's relationship and eventual marriage plans caused controversy in the Netherlands, due to the involvement of Máxima's father Jorge Zorreguieta as a cabinet minister during the National Reorganization Process, the most recent Argentine dictatorship. Her father's 1979–1981 tenure as a minister took place during the later stages of the Dirty War (1974–1982), a period of repression that saw about 30,000 people killed or disappeared during the seven-year military regime. At the request of the States General, Michiel Baud, a Dutch professor in Latin American studies, carried out an inquiry into the involvement of Zorreguieta in the Dirty War. Zorreguieta claimed that, as a civilian, he was unaware of the Dirty War while he was a cabinet minister. Baud determined that Máxima's father had not been directly involved in any of the numerous atrocities that took place during that period. However, Baud also concluded that Zorreguieta was almost certainly aware of them; in Baud's view, it was highly unlikely that a cabinet minister would not have known about them. After becoming queen, Máxima's popularity increased. As of 2024, she is the most popular Dutch royal.
A television series Máxima Zorreguieta: Motherland began airing on Videoland in the Netherlands in 2024. The series is set to focus on her early life in Argentina and meeting King Willem-Alexander.
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Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
Máxima (born Máxima Zorreguieta on 17 May 1971) is Queen of the Netherlands as the wife of King Willem-Alexander.
Argentine by birth, she worked in finance when she met Willem-Alexander, eldest son and heir apparent of Queen Beatrix, in 1999. They married in 2002, and became king and queen on the abdication of her mother-in-law on 30 April 2013. Máxima has promoted social integration of immigrants, LGBTQ rights, and financial inclusion. She and Willem-Alexander have three daughters, Princesses Catharina-Amalia, Alexia, and Ariane, who are first, second, and third, respectively, in the line of succession.
Máxima Zorreguieta was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17 May 1971. She is the daughter of Jorge Zorreguieta (1928–2017), who served as Secretary of Agriculture under General Jorge Rafael Videla during Argentina's last civil-military dictatorship (1976–1983), and his second wife, María del Carmen Cerruti (born 1944). She is named after her paternal great-grandmother Máxima Bonorino González (1874–1965), of Italian and Spanish descent. Originally from the Basque country, her ancestor carrying the Zorreguieta surname, José Antonio Sorreguieta y Oyarzábal Gamboa y Sagastume, migrated to Argentina around the year 1790. She also has Portuguese ancestry through her father's side, and is a descendant of King Afonso III of Portugal.
She grew up in the Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires and studied at Northlands School, a bilingual school of the city of Olivos. She graduated with a degree in economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (UCA) in 1995. This private university is governed by a directory of local bishops, which included Pope Francis, then Archbishop of Buenos Aires and Grand Chancellor of UCA. During her student years, Francis presided over the traditional Mass at the beginning of classes. She later completed her studies with a master's degree in the United States.
From 1989 to 1990, while still in college, she worked for Mercado Abierto Electrónico S.A. From 1992 to 1995, she worked in the sales department of Boston Securities SA in Buenos Aires, where she conducted research on software for financial markets. From July 1996 to February 1998, she worked for HSBC James Capel Inc. in New York City, where she became vice president of institutional sales for Latin America. From then until July 1999, she was vice president of the emerging markets division of Dresdner Kleinwort Benson in New York. From May 2000 to March 2001, she worked for Deutsche Bank in Brussels.
Máxima met Willem-Alexander in April 1999 in Seville, Spain, during the Seville Spring Fair. In an interview, they stated that he introduced himself only as "Alexander", so that she did not know he was a prince. She thought he was joking when he later told her that he was the Prince of Orange and heir apparent to the Dutch throne. According to the unauthorised biography "Máxima. La construcción de una reina", she was invited to Seville by a friend living in New York who openly said she would introduce her to two European princes. They agreed to meet again two weeks later in New York, where Máxima was working for Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. Although they first met in Seville, their relationship apparently began in New York.
The news of the couple's relationship and eventual marriage plans caused controversy in the Netherlands, due to the involvement of Máxima's father Jorge Zorreguieta as a cabinet minister during the National Reorganization Process, the most recent Argentine dictatorship. Her father's 1979–1981 tenure as a minister took place during the later stages of the Dirty War (1974–1982), a period of repression that saw about 30,000 people killed or disappeared during the seven-year military regime. At the request of the States General, Michiel Baud, a Dutch professor in Latin American studies, carried out an inquiry into the involvement of Zorreguieta in the Dirty War. Zorreguieta claimed that, as a civilian, he was unaware of the Dirty War while he was a cabinet minister. Baud determined that Máxima's father had not been directly involved in any of the numerous atrocities that took place during that period. However, Baud also concluded that Zorreguieta was almost certainly aware of them; in Baud's view, it was highly unlikely that a cabinet minister would not have known about them. After becoming queen, Máxima's popularity increased. As of 2024, she is the most popular Dutch royal.
A television series Máxima Zorreguieta: Motherland began airing on Videoland in the Netherlands in 2024. The series is set to focus on her early life in Argentina and meeting King Willem-Alexander.
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