New York, September 09: Dutch Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife, Princess Maxima, met dignitaries up and down the Hudson River, lunched with military cadets and lauded their country’s long friendship with the United States as they marked the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s historic voyage.
The crown prince of Orange and his wife on Tuesday traced the path Hudson’s ship, the Half Moon, made four centuries ago — albeit on a helicopter and accompanied by Dutch media. Events in New York City on Tuesday morning and evening bookended visits upriver in West Point and Albany.
The royal couple watched a flotilla of ships, including a replica of the Half Moon, sail past in New York City while a Dutch naval ship blasted a 21-gun salute. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Mayor Michael Bloomberg welcomed them to New York.
Hudson was an Englishman working for the Dutch in September 1609 when he sailed up the river that would later bear his name. The Half Moon (called the Halve Maen in Dutch) made it to present-day Albany before heading back.
“We can only speculate about the feelings of a small group of men on board of the Halve Maen when they first arrived on these shores exactly 400 years ago,” said the Crown Prince. “They must have been struck by the beauty of these islands and by the riches they behold.”
About 200 people came out to watch the ceremony on the deck of the Intrepid, a World War II aircraft carrier that is now part of a museum.
Standing on the deck, Annemiek Rademaker-Matte wore a navy blue “Holland” T-shirt with a picture of the country’s famous windmills and was sporting an orange hat and jacket.
“I feel Dutch. Very Dutch,” said the 56-year-old native of Soest, a town in the central Netherlands. “Even though I’m an American citizen, my heart is very much Dutch. I’m proud of that heritage. I’m proud of what Holland accomplished during those years.”
The royal couple then flew roughly 40 miles to the U.S. Military Academy, where they sat down in the sprawling mess hall for a baked ziti lunch with cadets. Maxima, dressed in a red suit, was conspicuous in the sea of gray-clad cadets.
They reviewed cadets marching into the mess hall and were given a standing ovation when they were introduced inside. The prince told the future U.S. Army officers about the two countries’ shared democratic values and long history.
“As a Navy officer, I am proud and honored and a bit scared to be here in front of you,” he told the cadets.
After a tour accompanied by West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Franklin “Buster” Hagenbeck, the couple and their retinue took a helicopter to Albany.
They were to meet with New York Gov. David Paterson, Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings and tour a quadricentennial exhibit at the State Museum before heading back to New York City.
—Agencies