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Queen Máxima starts training to become a Dutch army reservist
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This image provided by the Netherlands Ministry of Defense shows Queen Máxima beginning training as a reservist for the Royal Netherlands Army, Feb. 4, 2026, in Breda, Netherlands. - photo by Phil Nijhuis/Netherlands Ministry of Defense via AP
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch military has got a new high-profile volunteer as it seeks to boost recruitment to counter growing fears about peace and security in Europe. Queen Máxima, the 54-year-old Argentinean-born wife of King Willem-Alexander, started training this week to become a reserve member of her adopted homeland's army as the Dutch military seeks to boost enlistment amid geopolitical turmoil and Russia's war in Ukraine on Europe's eastern edge. “Because the security of the Netherlands can no longer be taken for granted, Máxima has decided to become a reservist,” the Ministry of Defense said in a statement after she began training on Wednesday.