Queen Máxima Leaves the Palace to Drive a Tractor and Harvest Hemp

Queen Máxima traded the palace for the driver’s seat of a large green tractor during a visit to a hemp field in the Achterhoek region of the Netherlands.

The 55-year-old queen visited the area of Gelderland on Thursday, September 3, as part of an official tour focused on the use of natural and renewable materials in construction. Her first stop was a field in Hengelo, where industrial hemp is grown.

Máxima learned about the crop and its harvesting, then took part herself by helping compress the harvested hemp into large bales. The day’s highlight followed when she climbed into the tractor and drove part of the way through the field.

The scene may have looked unusual, but tractor driving was apparently not new to the queen. Contractor Bernd Bösing, who accompanied her during the harvesting demonstration, told a Dutch outlet that Máxima said she had driven tractors before. “She drove the tractor for a little while. She told me that she often drives tractors. I could understand that,” Bösing said.

The hemp grown in the area is industrial hemp, not a narcotic crop. Its fibers can be used to make construction materials, including insulation. Máxima later visited a new housing complex in Doetinchem that uses sustainable materials, as well as a municipal school built with wood and other bio-based materials.

Her appearance drew almost as much attention as the demonstration. Rather than wearing work clothes, Máxima kept her elegant style, choosing a chamomile-colored Ulla Johnson outfit consisting of the Clarisse midi skirt and Estela short-sleeved cotton top. She completed the look with a black Chanel East West Flap Bag and Ray-Ban sunglasses.

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She drove the tractor for a little while. She told me that she often drives tractors. I could understand that.