A man suspected of planning an attack on two Dutch princesses was allegedly found with axes bearing disturbing inscriptions, according to prosecutors. The 33-year-old suspect is due to appear before a Netherlands court on Monday, May 4.
He was detained for allegedly plotting the murder of Princess Catharina-Amalia, 22, the heir to the Dutch throne, and her younger sister Princess Alexia, 20. They are the eldest daughters of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. They also have a younger sister, Princess Ariane.
A court order by prosecutors in The Hague said the man, whose identity has not been disclosed, was suspected of planning an attack there in February.
The axes bore the words “Alexia,” “Mossad” (the Israeli spy agency) and the Nazi salute “Sieg Heil,” the court document order said, as per the Associated Press. The man also allegedly had a handwritten note containing the words “Amalia,” “Alexia” and “Bloodbath.”
The Dutch royal family, the House of Orange-Nassau, is historically Protestant and not Jewish.
The details have come around the same time the royal family took part in public celebrations for King’s Day in Dokkum city on April 27.
Princess Amalia has faced repeated security threats in recent years. In 2022, Dutch authorities intercepted messages suggesting a possible plot by organised crime groups to kidnap her and then-prime minister Mark Rutte. Queen Maxima, at the time, withdrew Amalia from her student accommodation in Amsterdam and brought her back to the royal palace shortly after she began university.
At the time, Queen Maxima said Amalia “can’t leave home” and that the situation had “enormous consequences for her life.”
Amalia later moved to Madrid for several months to continue her studies under tighter security. Recalling that period in 2024, she said, “Of course, it was strange circumstances that made me go there. I’m still very grateful to everyone who made it possible for me to walk around there in freedom. I managed to find a little more freedom there than was possible here,” according to Dutch outlet Bild.
In 2020, one man was convicted of threatening the crown princess, while another was found guilty of sending menacing messages via Instagram to the then-teenage royal and one of her friends.
(With inputs from AP)