June 16, 2026
AMSTERDAM – The Emperor and Empress, who are in the Netherlands for an official visit, watched the Japan-Netherlands FIFA World Cup soccer match on TV with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima at Het Oude Loo Hunting Lodge on Sunday.
The Imperial couple arrived in Amsterdam on Saturday evening via a government-chartered aircraft. It marked their first visit to the Netherlands in 13 years, since attending the king’s coronation in 2013.
The Royal House of the Netherlands released a photo showing the Emperor and Empress wearing Samurai Blue national team towels around their necks and watching the Japan-Netherlands match with the royal couple.
The Imperial couple will stay at Het Oude Loo Hunting Lodge, used by the Dutch royal family as a country house, until Tuesday. In August 2006, when they were the crown prince and princess, the Emperor and Empress stayed at the lodge with their daughter Aiko, who was 4 years old at the time, after receiving an invitation from then Queen Beatrix.
The visit this time came at the invitation of the king and queen, with whom the Emperor and Empress share a close friendship. The Imperial couple remarked that returning to the lodge for the first time in 20 years felt “very nostalgic,” according to the Imperial Household Agency.
They will attend a welcoming ceremony and a banquet hosted by the royal family among other events on Wednesday in Amsterdam and will travel to neighboring Belgium on Saturday.