Princess Maxima of the Netherlands is a spirited Argentinian, and while her recent engagement wasn't exactly a return to her roots, it was very, very close – a dancing session in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Maxima and her husband, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, are currently two days into an action-packed tour of the South American country.
When they visited the Jockey Club on Wednesday, there were lots of smiles and sleek Samba moves. Naturally, the Netherlands' future queen was at the heart of the fun. "I am Latin and I will continue being Latin in respect to some aspects of my culture. I dance, I sing and I will keep on dancing and singing," Princess Maxima said on marrying the heir to the Dutch throne. And she vowed to encourage the man who would be her husband to join in the fun. "I keep trying to push him. His hips are a little rigid," she joked. Staying true to her vows all those years ago, Maxima had coaxed her husband onto the dancefloor, and Willem-Alexander looked to have his hands full with a sequinned dancer who was putting him through his paces.
Despite his best efforts, the spotlight belonged to his wife, whose warm, radiant demeanour was reflected in an elegant orange dress. The figure-hugging number was the very same one she wore to the Monaco royal wedding in 2011. After some testing times of late, the royal couple certainly had reason to disconnect, if not celebrate outright.
Earlier in the week, there had been a glimmer of hope for the Dutch royal family after it was reported that Prince Johan Friso woke briefly from his coma. Willem-Alexander's younger brother has been unconscious since being involved in a skiing accident last March, but palace officials announced the royal had shown signs of "minimal consciousness". Representatives for the House of Orange also said that "the prognosis, however, remains very uncertain and the medical team is still very concerned". In September, hopes were once again raised when the prince woke briefly. At the time, family friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu said Johan Friso's wife Mabel witnessed her husband opening his eyes to smile at her, before falling back into a coma. Speaking to a Dutch TV channel the Archbishop - who knows Mabel through her time as a human rights activist - added: "It's horrible for her to see her husband in bed inert. I pray for him every day and try to talk to her regularly, so she knows that we support them". One person who has been a constant source of support is Mabel's sister-in-law Maxima. The Argentinian was on hand when Prince Friso's wife made her return to public life following her husband's tragic accident.
