Royal DIY

The chap painting the skirting boards did look familiar.  King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands led the Dutch Royal Family in a day of volunteering this week and everyone got their hands, and their hair, very dirty.

Have brush, will travel - the Dutch king does a bit of DIY 

While the king was snapped painting, Queen Maxima got on with a bit of sanding and Princess Beatrix donned some very impressive protective clothing to help with a bit of cabinet making.  The royals were taking part in a Day of Volunteering which encourages people across the Netherlands to help with a variety of jobs for community projects and other organisations.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands helping out with a community project in Rikswijk on the Day of Volunteering

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the volunteering days which are organised by The Orange Fund which was set up in 2002 to mark the wedding of the then Prince Willem-Alexander and Maxima Zorreguieta and is described as the largest social fund in the Netherlands.  It aims to promote participation in society.

Princess Beatrix gets involved in cabinet making for the Day of Volunteering

It's estimated that over 1.5 million volunteers have taken part in the special days in ten years.  And this year, for the first time, the couple whose wedding sparked the organisation took part as monarchs.  But when it comes to DIY there are no crowns or sceptres.  The king and queen were in the same outfits as every other volunteer on the day they did a bit of royal DIY.