Photo: Ministerie van Defensie
Slept in a hammock: Amalia sailed a week on the Statsraad Lehmkuhl
Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands spent a week on the Statsraad Lehmkuhl as ordinary crew, from Edinburgh to Den Helder. She slept in a hammock and kept watches like everyone else. It is the first time a royal has done so, according to the foundation behind the ship.
Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, 22, has spent a whole week sailing on the Statsraad Lehmkuhl as an ordinary crew member. For security reasons, the press was not told about the voyage until it ended at the weekend.
"We have previously had visits from both kings and prime ministers, but this is the first time a royal has signed on and completed an entire voyage as ordinary crew on the Statsraad," Haakon S. Vatle, director of the Statsraad Lehmkuhl Foundation, told BA.
Princess Catharina-Amalia in a light blue uniform, in the middle of the front row, with the rest of the crew. Photo: Statsraad Lehmkuhl
Nobody on board knew she was coming
The princess signed on in Edinburgh, Scotland, and sailed with the 112-year-old ship from Bergen to Den Helder in the Netherlands. On board were 95 cadets and officers from the Dutch naval academy, who sail with the ship every year as part of their leadership training.
None of them knew the Crown Princess would be joining them until she was on board, Vatle said.
Hammocks and night watches
The princess wanted to be treated just like everyone else. She slept in a hammock below deck with the crew, kept watches and took the helm alongside the rest of the crew.
Captain Jens Joachim Hiorth described her as friendly, sporty and relaxed. "She took part in the voyage on the same terms as any other cadet, but I was left with the impression of something more," he told BA.
What struck the captain most was that she went over, unprompted, to someone on board who was having a hard time and comforted them. The crew had all kinds of weather during the week, and the princess showed she could handle rough seas.
The princess stands with the cadets high up in the main mast, 48 metres above the deck. Photo: Ministerie van Defensie
Promoted to sergeant on board
On Saturday 17 October, while the ship was in port in Den Helder, the princess was promoted to sergeant on board the Statsraad Lehmkuhl, the Dutch Ministry of Defence says. Following an old navy tradition, her new rank insignia were wetted with seawater.
The princess receives her sergeant's insignia. Photo: Ministerie van Defensie
Here comes the seawater: the new insignia are baptised according to old custom. Photo: Ministerie van Defensie
A military part-time job alongside her studies
Catharina-Amalia joined the Defensity College in 2025, a programme in which students have a part-time job in the armed forces alongside their studies. She has completed basic military training, worked at the Defence Staff and in the Air Force, and now works in the Navy. At the same time she studies at the University of Amsterdam.
Her father, King Willem-Alexander, also has a navy background. That is where he did his military service.