©picture alliance / ATP photo agency | Foto Leo Vogelzang VOF
Monday begins in court in The Hague with the first preliminary hearing against a 33-year-old man suspected of preparing an attack on princesses Amalia and Alexia in February of this year.
It's not clear how concrete the 33-year-old man's plans were. But he is said to have been in possession of two axes with the words "Alexia," "Mossad" and "Sieg Heil" carved into them. He also allegedly had a handwritten text with the words "Amalia," "Alexia" and "massacre" on it. For now, his motive remains guesswork. As of Monday, exactly what was going on may gradually become clearer.
A spokesman for the public prosecutor already emphasized in the press that the suspect is a "vulnerable" person. The suspect's lawyer reports that the defense has chosen not to share any further information with the media at the present time.
The pro forma hearing will take place on Monday, May 4, at the District Court of The Hague (around 11:30 a.m.). Details about the suspect's motive and concrete plans may therefore be discussed then.
Princess Amalia (22) has been living under tighter security for years due to serious threats. For example, in 2022 she couldn't go to live in her room in Amsterdam. It was later revealed that she lived and studied in Madrid for over a year due to the threat, as it was considered that she had a little more freedom of movement there. In 2023, the princess publicly said that she was having a hard time with the threats addressed to her.
In 2020, Wouter G., a 32-year-old man from Zwolle, received 3 months in prison and TBS (a Dutch criminal law measure combining mandatory psychiatric treatment with secure detention for offenders with severe mental disorder) for seriously threatening Princess Amalia via social media. He had sent obsessive messages to her private account, with violent fantasies, and had previously been spotted at her residence, Villa Eikenhorst.
©picture alliance / ATP photo agency | Photo Leo Vogelzang VOF