Royal couple: Shocked by the attack – Dutch royals in Berlin

Science, environmental education, history: under the impression of an assassination attempt on a well-known journalist in Amsterdam, the Dutch royal couple again completed several appointments in Berlin on Wednesday.

At the end of their three-day state visit, Willem-Alexander (54) and Máxima (50) found out more about key digitization technologies at the Technical University of Berlin (TU). After a visit to the Herzberge Landscape Park, which was about environmental education for children, the Humboldt Forum was the last official stop in the capital before the return flight.

The program was overshadowed by the attack on journalist Peter R. de Vries on Tuesday evening. He was gunned down while leaving a TV studio on the street and is critically injured in hospital. De Vries is recognized as an expert in the field of organized crime. The incident caused horror not only in the neighboring country to the west.

At his visiting stations, the royal couple did not show anything and did not comment on the attack. On the sidelines, however, Willem-Alexander was appalled by the Dutch journalists who had traveled with him. This is “an attack on journalism,” he said. Journalism is a «cornerstone of our constitutional state. This is also an attack on our constitutional state. “

Berlin’s governing mayor Michael Müller (SPD), who has accompanied the royals on several appointments in the city since Monday, assured the guests of his sympathy and solidarity. He called the attack “disturbing” in a message. A free press is “essential for a democratic society,” said Müller.

At the TU Berlin, the royal couple devoted themselves to an important key technology of our time: Willem-Alexander and Máxima received detailed information about photonics from scientists. Whether surfing the Internet, making phone calls, autonomous driving or in medicine – photonics applications are an important factor in digitization in many areas.

At various stations, Willem-Alexander and Máxima patiently listened to current possible uses and future visions in connection with photonics. Both were also very interested in European cooperation in the field. German and Dutch research institutions signed a cooperation agreement on the occasion. Scientists gave Maxima a microchip on which she could see a photo of the royal couple through a magnifying glass.

In the Herzberge Landscape Park, which stands for an urban coexistence of agricultural areas, biotopes, path systems and recreational areas, the focus was on environmental education projects. The royal couple got into conversation with children.

The Dutch royals then viewed parts of the “Berlin Global” exhibition in the Humboldt Forum, which opens to the public on July 20. The show is dedicated to important aspects of the city’s history and the international exchange between Berlin and other regions of the world. A testimony to recent history that is presented in the exhibition is the entrance door of the former techno club “Tresor” on Leipziger Strasse. In a storm of flashlights from photographers, the royal couple stepped through the mighty steel door.

Willem-Alexander and Máxima had been in Berlin since Monday and wanted to return to their homeland in the afternoon. As on the previous days, Maxima again set fashionable accents on Wednesday: While her husband appeared in a gray suit, the 50-year-old wore an airy robe in turquoise tones with plant patterns, a chic brown hat and elegant brown pumps.