ATHENS – King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands were welcomed to Greece by Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias at the Athens International Airport at around 22:45 on Sunday.

The Dutch royal couple is on an official three-day visit at the invitation of the President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

Their official schedule began on Monday with the laying of a wreath at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma Square.

They were also welcomed by Sakellaropoulou in a ceremony at the presidential mansion.

At 10:30 on Monday, the Dutch king and queen met with the Ombudsmen of Greece and the Netherlands at the Netherlands Institute in Athens, and at 13:30 they are to visit the archaeological site of the Acropolis.

At 15:00 the royal visitors will meet with Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis at Technopolis (“Gazi”) and attend a reception by the Dutch community, while at 20:00 President Sakellaropoulou is hosting an official dinner at the presidential mansion in their honor.

At 09:35 on Tuesday (Nov. 1), the king and queen of the Netherlands and Sakellaropoulou will attend a round-table discussion on violence against women at the National Library of Greece, at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), after which (at 11:00) they will attend the 14th competition of innovation and startup entrepreneurship “The Squeeze” at the SNFCC’s Faros (Lighthouse) building.

Later on the same day (12:25), the royal couple will visit the “Elpida” Oncological Unit, the country’s first paediatric oncology hospital, and at 15:00 they will visit a school and housing facilities for young people. Their Tuesday schedule will end with a dinner in honour of President Sakellaropoulou, hosted by the Dutch royals at the Megaron Concert Hall (20:00).

On Wednesday (Nov. 2), the king and queen will travel to Thessaloniki to continue and complete their official visit to Greece.