Dutch Heir Princess Catharina-Amalia Promoted to Sergeant
Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands has a new rank: sergeant.
The 22-year-old heir to the Dutch throne earned the promotion on Saturday, Oct. 17. The Dutch Ministry of Defence announced the advancement on Oct. 19. Dutch Ministry of Defence
The ceremony took place aboard the Statsraad Lehmkuhl, docked in Den Helder. The ship is a Norwegian three-masted training vessel built in 1914 and used regularly by the Royal Netherlands Navy for officer training.
The promotion came during an “alle hens,” a naval assembly in which the entire crew gathers on deck. The princess, known in the Netherlands as the Princess of Orange, the title held by the heir, stood with first-year midshipmen she sailed with this fall. Town & Country
The sea posting is the latest rotation in a military work-study path. Catharina-Amalia enrolled in the Defensity College program in September 2025, a Dutch armed forces program that combines university study with service in different branches.
She completed basic military training, called the Algemene Militaire Opleiding in Dutch, in January 2026 and earned the rank of corporal. She then served a placement with the Royal Netherlands Air Force from April through July 2026 before starting the naval placement this fall.
The princess serves voluntarily and without salary. Outside uniform, she is pursuing a second bachelor’s degree in law at the University of Amsterdam. She finished her first bachelor’s degree in politics, psychology, law and economics in 2025.
What makes this stand out is how ordinary the setup has been. No separate track. No shortcut rank. She started as a student soldier, earned corporal, trained with an air force unit, then shipped out with new midshipmen learning the ropes on a century-old sailing ship.
