12-05-2026

Her Majesty Queen Máxima will visit the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) in Leiden on Tuesday morning, May 26. This year, KITLV is celebrating its 175th anniversary. KITLV is a research institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and was founded in 1851.

The institute’s original mission was to acquire and document knowledge about the former Dutch colonies. Today, KITLV focuses on the study of societal challenges, with particular attention to colonial history and its continuing impact on the present day in the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and the Netherlands in its international context.

Queen Máxima will speak with several researchers about their projects. Since 2005, Queen Máxima has served as patron of KITLV. King William III, Queen Wilhelmina, Queen Juliana, and Prince Claus previously served as patrons of the institute.