Queen Maxima of the Netherlands speaks with students after visiting Anne Frank The Exhibition at the Center for Jewish History in New York City on Feb. 25, 2025.Photo:ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty
Queen Máximaof the Netherlands left an impression during her meaningful morning atAnne Frank The Exhibitionin New York City.
On Feb. 25, the Queen of the Netherlands, 53, visited the special new exhibit at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan during her official visit to the United States. Anne Frank The Exhibition opened on Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27 to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest death camp.
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girlhas since been translated into over 70 languages, and the house where the Franks hid with four other people is now a museum that welcomes over a million visitors per year, according to theAnne Frank House.
Queen Maxima at Anne Frank The Exhibition in New York City on Feb. 25, 2025.Patrick van Katwijk/Getty
Patrick van Katwijk/Getty
Queen Máxima was reflective and asked Anne Frank House Executive Director Ronald Leopold many questions during the tour, which PEOPLE attended. Over 100 objects on display (some never seen before publicly) included items such as Anne’s album with school photos, a replica of her first diary and a poem that she wrote.
Later, the Queen shared a discussion with freshman students from Great Neck North High School in New York, who visited the exhibit in connection to their curriculum, and privately met with exhibition benefactors including Leo Ullman, a Holocaust survivor.
Tom Brink, Queen Maxima and Ronald Leopold at Anne Frank The Exhibition in New York City on Feb. 25, 2025.ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty
Exclusively speaking to PEOPLE, Ullman says that it meant much for the royal to tour the exhibition.
“I think it’s very important because the Royal House of the Netherlands has been extremely supportive of the Jewish history and the Jewish population of Amsterdam and the Netherlands, which is very small at this point, but they have been extremely supportive, and I think we owe the royal family quite a lot,” Ullman, 85, tells PEOPLE.
The Queen “is amazing. She’s very nice and outgoing, reaches out with her hand. I was afraid I’d have to curtsy or do something, and she’s very approachable and very, very nice,” he says.
Queen Maxima at Anne Frank The Exhibition in New York City on Feb. 25, 2025.ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty
Ullman was born in Amsterdam and survived World War II as a “hidden child.” He later immigrated to the United States, attended Harvard, served in the Marines, became an attorney and headed the Anne Frank Center USA for 20 years, per abiography.
As a supporter of the exhibit, Ullman says his wish is that the spotlight of Queen Máxima’s stop will draw more visitors. The showcase was originally slated for a three-month run and extraordinary demand has prompted its extension to Oct. 31, 2025.
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“I think the Queen puts an imprimatur on the exhibit in terms of its quality and its importance and its meaning for the story of Anne Frank, and the story of the Anne Frank House in Holland. I think it’s also testimony to the brilliance of the people who created this exhibit,” Ullman tells PEOPLE. “It’s the most phenomenal exhibit, and it goes through a lot of history of the Anne Frank family that you wouldn’t catch if you just go to the house in Holland. So it’s very special, and to have her be here gives it a sense of significance and quality that’s really welcomed.”
Ronald Leopold, the director who showed Queen Máxima the space, exclusively tells PEOPLE that he especially hopes more students can come view it.
Queen Maxima meets with students at the Center for Jewish History in New York City on Feb. 25, 2025.Patrick van Katwijk/Getty
“We’re thrilled about what we see in New York. It’s an overwhelming success. The response of the visitors is very moving so we are really very grateful for the opportunity to present Anne Frank’s story here in New York. We hope that tens and tens of thousands more visitors will come to the exhibition. Hopefully, especially, students, right?” he says. “This exhibition has been designed for the general public, but it’s specifically geared for students. And the New York City public schools can come with their classes for no cost to the exhibition, same for Title 1 schools. We hope to see hundreds of thousands of them coming over.”
As for what it’s like to spend the morning with Queen Máxima, the longtime director of the Anne Frank House says the royal is utterly lovely in real life.
“She is exactly the same person behind the scenes and in front of the cameras. She’s a wonderful person. I know she’s very dedicated to the cause,” Leopold tells PEOPLE.
Queen Maxima (center) with Ronald Leopold (left) and students at the Center for Jewish History in New York City on Feb. 25, 2025.Patrick van Katwijk/Getty
“She’s very dedicated to eradicating the hatred from our communities because it’s endangering how we live together. Obviously being the Queen of each and every one in the country, regardless of your background, regardless of your ethnicity, your religion, you are the Queen of each and every citizen of a country. That’s why this message of a shared humanity that comes from this exhibition is so incredibly important to her.”
Queen Máxima is married toKing Willem-Alexanderand the couple share daughtersPrincess Catharina-Amalia, 21,Princess Alexia, 19, andPrincess Ariane, 17. The royal couple’s children are not far in age from the high school students that the Queen met with at the Center for Jewish History, and the outing took her to the city where she previouslyworked as a bankerbefore meeting her husband in 1999.
source: people.com