New York - Dutch Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife, Princess Maxima, visited on Tuesday the US Military Academy at West Point on the Hudson River, as part of celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of the river's discovery by their compatriot. The royal couple were welcomed in New York City by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Mayor Michael Bloomberg before heading to West Point, news reports said.
To mark the historic occasion, a fleet of 18 Dutch flat-bottom boats sailed into the New York harbour on Tuesday to begin month-long celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of New York by Dutch Captain Henry Hudson.
The small boats began their historic journey from the Dutch port of Harlingen aboard a Dutch freighter in August. The craft are the same design as the Dutch vessels that plied European coastlines the 17th century.
Hudson began his own trip up the river that now bears his name aboard the Halve Maen on September 11, 1609.
The fleet will remain in the New York harbour through mid-October to take part in a series of activities in commemoration of Hudson's journey that bound the Netherlands to the New World.
The flat bottom boats are to sail up the Hudson River and make stops at historic ports before reaching New York State capital Albany on September 20. They will return to the Netherlands after Albany.
The festivities throughout this week involve Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York state officials. The events will be broadcast live to the Netherlands.
News reports said the 400th anniversary hopes to attract visitors to landmarks in the city of 8 million people, including a brewery in the city's borough of Brooklyn, formerly named after the Dutch town, Breukelen, and Harlem, also named after a Dutch town.
