“Without you, the atmosphere will never be the same. We are going to miss you so incredibly. Our hearts go out to your sweet, warm, happy family. Know that we will always be there for them”, reads the advertisement, signed by ‘Alexander’, Máxima, Amalia, Alexia and Ariane. The names of Marc ter Haar and Tijo baron Collot d’Escury, among others, are also below the advertisement. Together with Frans de Beaufort, they were witnesses at the wedding of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima.
King Willem-Alexander and Frans de Beaufort have been friends for years. Cornélie Sickinghe, Frans’s mother, was the governess of Princess Beatrix at Soestdijk Palace. In 1997 Willem-Alexander was master of ceremonies at the wedding of Frans and his wife Suzanne. Beaufort is also the godfather of Princess Alexia.