Queen Maxima

Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti was born on May 17, 1971, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is the daughter of Jorge Zorreguieta, a former state secretary under the controversial regime of dictator Jorge Videla, and María del Carmen Cerruti Carricart. She grew up in Buenos Aires with her siblings and studied economics at the Universidad Católica Argentina. She later earned a Master of Business Administration from New York University. In 1999, she met Prince Willem-Alexander at a party in Seville, Spain. After a year of secret meetings, their relationship was made public. They became engaged in 2001 and married on February 2, 2002, in Amsterdam. The wedding stirred controversy due to her father’s role during the dictatorship, which saw thousands of people killed or disappear. Máxima and Willem-Alexander have three daughters: Amalia, Alexia, and Ariane. When Willem-Alexander became king in 2013, Máxima became queen consort. Since then, she has been active in causes such as microfinance, entrepreneurship, and the fight against child labor. She also supports Dutch business interests abroad.