A year after her ski accident, Princess Alexia hit the slopes with her family in Lech, Austria. The young Dutch royal along with her parents King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, in addition to her sisters Princesses Catharina-Amalia and Ariane returned to the picturesque Austrian resort for their annual holiday, where they posed for their winter photo session on February 27. The King beamed as he stood sandwiched between his wife and oldest daughter Amalia. Meanwhile Ariane, dressed in a vibrant red ski jacket, and Alexia, wearing blue like her father, stood in front of Queen Maxima.
Photo: Robin Utrecht
The King, who turns fifty on April 27th, joked with members of the press at the photocall after he was asked if he enjoyed skiing at his age. He replied, “Fifty is the new thirty.” In addition to the sweet family photo, the Palace also released a tender father-daughter photo of Willem-Alexander proudly looking at the heir to the Dutch throne, Amalia.
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Photo: Robin Utrecht
Another image showed the royal family-of-five in action skiing in the Alps. Ariane led the way in the photo as her older sisters and parents followed suit. The royals’ photo session is one of two yearly photo ops that the family partakes in with the press. It was established in 2005 as part of a media code with the Dutch royal family. The royals pose for photos once in the summer and again at the beginning of their skiing holiday and in return the media respects their privacy outside of royal engagements.
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Photo: Robin Utrecht
Following their winter photo session last year, Alexia suffered a broken leg and underwent surgery. At the time, a spokesperson for the royal family said, “[Alexia] was immediately taken by helicopter to a hospital, where the fracture was found on the right thigh.” A couple months after the accident, Queen Maxima called her middle child "a fighter" as she recovered from the injury. Alexia's accident isn't the first time the Dutch royals have been plagued by tragedy in Lech. Back in 2012, the King’s brother Prince Friso, was buried in an avalanche for 25 minutes. He later fell into a coma and died August 2013 due to complications from the accident.