Queen Maxima of the Netherlands was not mocking President Donald Trump during their recent audience at Huis ten Bosch Palace. A clip of Her Majesty appearing to mimic the way the American president speaks, while standing next to him went viral last week. However, Maxima set the record straight on Monday during the Dutch royal family's annual summer photo session.
According to AD, the Queen addressed her viral mouth movements, explaining, "I said: 'Thank you' to someone who had helped." Maxima also described her recent reunion with President Trump as "a pleasant experience."
The Dutch King and Queen were joined by their eldest daughter, Princess Catharina-Amalia, as they welcomed the American president to Huis ten Bosch Palace on June 24 for a dinner for heads of state and government who were attending the 2025 NATO summit in The Hague. The Princess of Orange, who is first in line to the throne, admitted on Monday that it was "really cool" that she was allowed to meet "the president of America."
Following the dinner, the president of the United States spent the night at the Dutch royal family's residence. Ahead of President Trump's trip to the Netherlands, a White House official told the AP, “President Trump has accepted King Willem-Alexander’s invitation to spend the night at Huis ten Bosch in The Hague," adding, “This is a historic event – marking the first time an American President will stay at the King’s residence.”
The morning after the dinner, the president had an audience with Their Majesties at the palace, where the King was overheard telling the president, "Well I hope you slept well," to which President Trump replied, "Oh, it was great."
Over on Truth Social, the 45th and 47th president of the United States praised his royal hosts. "The day begins in the beautiful Netherlands. The King and Queen are beautiful and spectacular people. Our breakfast meeting was great!" he wrote on Wednesday morning. "Now it’s off to the very important NATO Meetings. The USA will be very well represented!"
The King later spoke to RTL Boulevard about hosting the American president, saying (via AD and translated to English) that "it was fantastic to be able to offer the American president hospitality. It was a very nice day and a very nice evening for NATO and for the Netherlands."
Willem-Alexander was also asked if he and the president stayed up late. "What happens in the palace stays in the palace," the Dutch King said, laughing, via AD. "But we had a very nice dinner with all the heads of state and government leaders of all the NATO countries who were present."