Princess Beatrix Misses Dutch Ballet Gala Because of a Cold
Princess Beatrix will not attend the Dutch Ballet Gala because she has a cold, the Dutch Royal House has said. The evening was due to take place on Monday, 2 November, at the Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam, the city's main theatre.
The gala is the 28th edition of an event run by the Dansersfonds '79 Foundation, a body set up by Alexandra Radius and Han Ebbelaar. It is a performance held to support young and established dance talent, so the programme mixes emerging dancers with better-known names. The edition Princess Beatrix was due to see was dedicated to the choreographer David Dawson. The programme included The Big Crying, performed by Nederlands Dans Theater, one of the Netherlands' best-known contemporary dance companies.
The Royal House announcement set out that the princess would not be there. The gala went ahead as planned without her.
Princess Beatrix is 88. She was queen of the Netherlands for more than three decades, and she is now usually known by her royal title of princess. She came to the throne on 30 April 1980, when her mother, Queen Juliana, abdicated, which means formally giving up the throne. Princess Beatrix did the same thing herself on 30 April 2013, handing the crown to her son, Willem-Alexander. Hello Magazine reported the cold as the reason for her absence.
Her absence from a public event is a small, specific item. The palace gave one reason, a cold, and the gala carried on as scheduled. Ballet audiences in Amsterdam will have seen the programme without the former queen in the royal box.
