THE JEUGDJOURNAAL INTERVIEW

Sunday, January 27th, 2002
The interview was given at Drakensteyn Castle to two reporters of the Youth News. Children sent their questions for Willem-Alexander and Máxima to them.

* Where did you meet? - Willem-Alexander and Máxima met at a party in Sevilla. They were invited by common friends. She didn't like him immediately. He first saw her camera and thought: "Oh, no!" But the same evening they started talking and they found out they liked each other a lot.

* Is all this interest nice? - Máxima: It is difficult to be in the limelight and to get used to it. You are aware of the fact that people look at you or take photos when you are doing something private, like buying a present for a friend. But before the relationship became known she was in The Netherlands several times and was never caught. She among others tried to hide by wearing baseball caps.

* Do you eat from golden plates? - Willem-Alexander: No! We don't even have them.

* Are there servants in the house everywhere? - We have servants, but not always and not everywhere. If we have guests they help to make it cosy and bring the food. If we are alone there are no servants around.

"Do you cook yourself? - Mostly not, and many times we just warm something up in the magnetron. Máxima says she likes to cook, but Willem-Alexander doesn't. Sometimes he helps her in the kitchen.

* Willem-Alexander says he likes sprouts, already from the time he was a child, although most children don't like them. He also loves pea-soup, but Máxima tells it is not really her favourite food. She thinks croquettes are delicious, although taste a bit different from the Argentinian ones.

* Did you have pets when you were a child? - Willem-Alexander has two labradors now. He got his first labrador, Carry, when he was a child. He visited a breeder, who didn't want the labrador because he had a black spot behind one of the ears. They also had lots of chickens and rabbits at home.

* How were you as a little girl at school? - Máxima: I talked and laughed too much in the classroom, I had lots of friends, was very sportive.

* Did they ever punish you at school? - Willem-Alexander: "Of course! I surely wasn't the most honest boy in the class". And Máxima tells she sometimes had to write 100 times "I am not allowed to laugh loud in the classroom".

* Kylie Minogue or Jennifer Lopez? - Máxima and Willem-Alexander: "Jennifer Lopez"

* Hip Hop or Rythm and Blues? - Willem-Alexander: "R & B".

* Do you still like to dance? - Máxima says she likes to dance and go out, but it is more difficult to go out now to dance because you are well-known. But she dances at home sometimes, also together with Willem-Alexander.

* How will the wedding be? - There will be many friends. Máxima says that she knows about 70% of her friends from kindergarten or primary school, and also some of the friends of Willem-Alexander are from this time. Willem-Alexander admits he sometimes wakes up at night and thinks about all the things that still have to be done, but that he isn't really afraid that something goes wrong. Máxima says that she still didn't practise how to walk in her wedding dress. She admits she is a bit afraid that something goes wrong if she walks in her dress and steps on it. Willem-Alexander doesn't know what she is going to wear.

* How are you going to tell your parents about the wedding? - Máxima: "I will call them" and then of course as soon as it is possible.

* Are you going to kiss at your wedding? - Máxima: "That will be a surprise."