Maxima dazzles in pink amid reports she will soon be queen

Crown Princess Maxima of the Netherlands was on sizzling form in a hot pink matching jacket and dramatic wide-brimmed hat this week at the launching ceremony in Holland of a ship named in her honour.
 
As the Argentinian royal fulfilled the official duty, her adopted country was abuzz with reports she could soon be stepping into the role which was her destiny as soon as she married Crown Prince Willem-Alexander .
 
Stories are sweeping the local press that her mother-in-law, Queen Beatrix, is preparing to vacate the throne in favour of her son. While Britain's monarch retains her role even though she's in her 80s and her heir, Prince Charles, is approaching retirement age himself, in the Netherlands Dutch queens have a tradition of stepping aside for the next generation

Photo: © Rex