Satisfied faces in Meppel after the visit of King Willem-Alexander this afternoon. Fans of the king beam when looking at the much-desired selfies with the king, administrators and companies are satisfied with how they were able to tell their story to the majesty.
Four boys are looking at each other’s screens on Wednesday afternoon with big smiles. “Wooh, we did it,” one of the teens cheers. The phones show selfies of the boys with a smiling king who also looks into the camera. “He’s just a normal guy, the way he is here,” says another.
In between company visits, the monarch has taken a moment for the public in Meppel, and quite a few people come to see it. Immediately upon getting off the water taxi, Willem-Alexander receives a gift from Paulien de Ram. “A box of chocolates,” she says. All day long De Ram has been looking forward to the chance to see the king up close. “I’ve seen him two or three times before. But now I’m also in a picture with him,” beams the Meppel royal family fan.
Nicolai Romashuk from Assen has also found a spot on the waterfront. A good spot, because he also manages to put something in the king’s hands and have his picture taken. “A book about Armenians that I wrote myself,” says Romashuk, who himself comes from Armenia. “There has been good contact between Armenians and the Netherlands since the Golden Age. I would like to convey that story.”
The king himself walks among the people with a big smile. “Good afternoon, good day, hello,” it sounds incessantly. Waving to someone on a roof along the route: “Yes, I’ll see you.”
Just before that, the king visits Daan van Veluwen at boat builder Alumax. “I was only told yesterday that I would have an interview. Fortunately, there was not much tension, but there was a bit of healthy tension. It was a lot of fun. He saw a nice part of the company.”
Among other things, the difference between the use of steel and aluminum in boat building is discussed. Asking questions is not an option for Van Veluwen. “That wasn’t allowed, he had to ask the questions. We talked about my school, what kind of training I did and we talked about the company.”
Gijs Pappot from Distribugs introduces his royal guest to innovations in the field of nutrition in the Circular Economy Field Lab. “He tasted a dry sausage made from mealworms and a hamburger, also made from mealworms. That was special and unexpected. He liked the taste, but the texture took some getting used to.”
Pappot calls giving the tour ‘very fun, but intensive’. “He had delved deeply into all the topics. For example, he asked whether we all get the insects from the Netherlands or elsewhere in Europe. We get everything from the Netherlands. I thought those were interesting questions, they are questions that you get more often, but if you ask them receives from your own king, that is of course very special.”
This January 17th became ‘a day to remember’ for Pappot. Because despite the tension, everything goes as desired. “It went well all week, until he arrived. Then you get a bit nervous. But as soon as you shake hands, you just tell your story and it actually goes very well.”
Director of Port of Zwolle, Jeroen van de Ende, did not suffer from tension, he says. “I thought it went very well. And I have the impression that everyone had a great time. That the king also received a lot of information and asked a lot of questions. So I had the idea that it was a nice visit,” he concludes. “It is nice that the king has taken the time to visit our port company.”
‘Excellent’, is how Mayor Richard Korteland summarizes the afternoon’s proceedings. “I think we were able to show a lot of what we wanted to show: the Port of Zwolle, the collaboration between Meppel, Zwolle and Kampen. The fact that we do this together with companies and educational institutions has worked out well.”
Korteland receives confirmation from the king himself, who before he leaves Meppel tells the hosts that he had a nice day and that he is looking forward to his next visit to Drenthe: King’s Day in Emmen.
View an impression of the king’s visit to Meppel: