The 33‑year‑old man accused of preparing an attack on Princess Amalia and Princess Alexia denies any plan to harm them, his lawyer told a court in The Hague on Monday. This was the first preliminary hearing in the case against Anne Romke van der H. from Uithuizen in Groningen.
The Public Prosecution Service says officers found two axes with the words Alexia, Mossad, and Sieg Heil carved into them. They also found a handwritten note mentioning Amalia, Alexia, and the word “bloodbath”. Police arrested the man in January after he caused a disturbance at a hotel in The Hague. He stood on a balcony shouting, “I’ll kill them all”. According to the prosecutor, he later told investigators he believes he is in a romantic relationship with Princess Amalia and needed the axes to go survival camping with her.
His lawyer argued that he never intended to attack anyone. “He is a royalist. He has no intention whatsoever of attacking anyone from the royal family or of threatening the princesses,” the counsel said. Behavioural experts are now assessing whether he has a personality disorder, as police described him as very confused at the time of his arrest.
The defence asked the court to end his pre‑trial detention. However, prosecutors said the court should first receive the psychologists’ and psychiatrists’ reports. They also warned of a flight risk because he only has a postal address in Uithuizen and often stays in hotels. As a result, the court ruled that he will remain in custody. It noted the seriousness of the suspicion and the risk of reoffending. The next hearing is scheduled for 27 July.
@ANP | News Brainport
