Maxima's Time

She's among the most high profile royals on the continent and now Queen Maxima has made it on to the list of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people of the year. The Queen of the Netherlands is included for her work on inclusive finance.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands is on this year's Time 100 list

Maxima is the only royal on this year's list which contains other names like Leonardo di Caprio, Adele and Usain Bolt. She is included in the Leaders category which also features the US Presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, and European politicians including Francois Hollande and Angela Merkel.

Queen Maxima with Francois Hollande earlier this year - both are on the Time 100 list

Queen Maxima has been included for her work to bring financial opportunities to some of the poorest countries and people in the world. She is a UN Special Ambassador for Inclusive Finance and writing in praise of the Queen of the Netherlands, Tilman Ehrbeck said her 'intellect and charm' had help her bring about change in how communities accessed financial services.

Queen Maxima with the Preisdent of Pakistan during her visit to the country earlier this year to discuss inclusive finance

Ehrbeck, famous in the field of socially progressive finance, points out that when Queen Maxima first took on work in the field of financial inclusion over half of adults around the world of working age couldn't access the 'formal financial system'.

Queen Maxima at an event on finance in Amsterdam earlier this week

In the past year Queen Maxima has carried out a lot of high profile work in this area including a solo trip to Pakistan earlier in 2016.  Being included on this list is a big deal and there is no doubt that Maxima has earned her place. While she is rightly feted for her sense of style and her sense of humour, it is her sense of what is right and her efforts to do something about big social issues that is winning her praise this time round.

Photos: koninklijkhuis.nl