THE DUTCH ROYAL VISIT
- Willem-Alexander and Maxima of the Netherlands visit Australia this week to mark the 400th anniversary of Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog landing in Western Australia.
- Willem-Alexander has been king since April 2013 and is the first male monarch of the Netherlands since the death of his great-great-grandfather William III in 1890.
- The Argentinan-born Maxima and Willem-Alexander met at the Seville Spring Fair in 1999, but Maxima did not know he was a prince or heir to the Dutch throne until later.
- Her father Jorge Zorreguieta was a cabinet minister during the Argentinian dictatorship and did not attend the wedding.
- Willem-Alexander and Maxima have three children - Princess Catharina-Amalia, 12, Princess Alexia, 11, and Princess Ariane, 9.
- The Dutch connection to Australia stretches back to 1606 when Willem Janszoon, a trader with the Dutch East India Company, was the first European to set foot on Australian soil.
- In 1616, Hartog landed on Australia's west coast, leaving behind an inscribed pewter plate which is the oldest physical evidence of European contact with the continent.
- The royals will unveil the dish, which is on loan from Amsterdam's popular Rijksmuseum until the end of April 2017, at the WA Maritime Museum on Monday.
- Between 1947 and 1971 around 160,000 Dutch people emigrated to Australia.
- The royal couple will also visit Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane before heading to New Zealand.
