Agenda for Dutch state visit to Portugal released

The Royal House of the Netherlands released the agenda for King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima’s state visit to Portugal, which will take place from 10th October to 12th October.

During the state visit, which will be made at the invitation of S.E Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Portugal’s President; Their Majesties will visit Lisbon, Alverca, Sintra and Cascais.

On 10th October, Their Majesties will start their visit with an official welcoming ceremony hosted by President Rebelo de Sousa at Mosteiro dos Jeronimos in Belem, Lisbon. They will then lay a wreath on the tomb of Luis de Camoes. Luis de Camoes is considered as Portugal’s greatest poet and a national hero. His poem Luisadas is the most important work about Portugal as it is a story about the origins of the country. Luis de Camoes also served in Portugal’s Army and fought in the colonies. Portugal’s National Day is on 10th June in honour of Luis de Camoes who died on 10th June 1580.

To conclude the morning, the King and Queen will visit the Jeronimos Monastery, meet with the President in Palacio Belem and meet the President of the Parliament, Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues.

They will have another official meeting in the afternoon as they will be received by the Mayor of Lisbon. After that, they’ll go to the neighbourhoods of Mouraria and Intendente by tram. During the economic crisis, these communities created initiatives aiming to help the entrepreneurial climate. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will meet with the founders of these initiatives.

The day will end with the traditional State Banquet, in Palacio Belem, where both the President and the King will give a speech.

The second day of the visit will start in Lisbon, with a visit to the Champalimaud Center for the Unknown, which has laboratories for biomedical research and a clinic for treatment of cancer patients. This centre has different partnerships in The Netherlands; thus the Royal Couple is already familiar with its abilities and methods.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will then lead the Dutch delegation at Lisbon’s University where they will meet students and talk with them about the challenges faced by the European Union. During lunch, both delegations will meet, and the couple will attend the signing of several cooperation agreements.

In the afternoon, the couple will visit the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (National Museum of Ancient Art) where they will officially open a temporary exhibition about Dutch art in which several pieces from the royal collection and a ‘rare landscape’ by Rembrandt (lent by Rikjsmuseum) can be seen. They will then meet with Portugal’s Prime Minister before hosting a reception in honour of President Rebelo de Sousa at the Teatro Nacional Dona Maria II during which Dutch-Friesian singer Nynke Laverman and fado singer Cristina Banco will perform.

For the last day, Their Majesties will leave Lisbon and head to Alverca. They will visit OGMA, Portugal’s Aeronautic Institute and talk with thee delegations and companies working there about possible Portuguese-Dutch cooperation.

They will then go to Sintra where they will Escola Nacional de Bombeiros, the national fire department institute, and Palacio de Vila, where Portuguese monarchs used to live.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will conclude their visit with a reception for Dutch community in Portugal in Cascais.

This will be the first state visit to Portugal by a Dutch monarch since 1990.