Queen Beatrix starts a two-day visit to Turkey on Wednesday; the Dutch monarch will visit the capital Ankara as well as Istanbul. The visit is part of the celebrations marking 400 years of diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and Turkey.
It's the second time that Queen Beatrix has visited Turkey in the past five years; earlier this year Turkish President Abdullah Gül made a state visit to the Netherlands and this trip is in response to the Turkish state visit.
Palace and government officials had not yet decided on what to name the visit as it is not an official state visit and it is also highly unusual for two state occasions to take place in rapid succession.
The trip was also kept secret for quite some time as it would have aroused the ire of the PVV, the anti-Islam party that had until recently, been the minority government's parliamentary supporter. However, it is no longer necessary to keep it a secret as the Rutte government has fallen.
Read more: Queen Beatrix to visit Turkey | Radio Netherlands Worldwide
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