The Princess of Orange has just celebrated a major milestone as she carried out her first solo engagement and she sailed through it.

Princess Catharina-Amalia visited Vlissingen on Saturday to christen a new ship, the Den Helder. It’s the first time she’s carried out such a high profile engagement without her parents, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. 

The navy vessel is a combat support ship that can help bring fuel, food, and supplies to ships anywhere, in addition to providing emergency aid and supporting refugee travel. The ship will be heading out in the second half of this year. 

“I baptize you Den Helder and I wish you and your crew a safe journey”, the princess said as she officially launched the ship with the traditional broken champagne bottle. 

Princess Amalia wore a light-pink trouser suit for the engagement and chose a camel-coloured wool coat to finish off her look. Following in the footsteps of her mother, she of course wore a hair accessory – her tan, twisted headband coordinated perfectly with her coat. 

Although the Princess of Orange has has a slower road to public engagements than other heirs in the past, her confidence and smile at this milestone event show a new chapter is beginning her.

She has faced significant challenges as a young adult, including receiving kidnapping and death threats from organised crime groups and had to live in Madrid for a while as she dealt with these issues.

When asked how her first solo engagement had gone, Princess Amalia said it had been an ”exciting” day.