What Keeps a King Up at Night?

Chris Beytes

I’ve long joked that I don’t have to work for a living the way you growers and retailers do, which is why I get to do all the travel that I do, bringing back stories and photos from far-flung places, while you stoke boilers and wait on customers.

And I’ve done some cool trips to most corners of the world. But the trip that tops them all—so far, anyway—was my visit in May to the Netherlands to interview King Willem-Alexander.
Now, I’ve been to the Netherlands probably 15 times to interview growers. But to interview the king? How often does that happen? And to a lowly trade editor, no less!

The trip started with an email from the Netherlands Embassy in Washington inviting me on a five-day press trip in advance of the king coming here to the states. He would be visiting Washington, D.C., Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Chicago; journalists from those cities were invited to tour the Netherlands to see the various medical and agricultural technologies he would be promoting while in the U.S. Would I like to join them?

Did I happen to mention that we six (plus a Reuters reporter based in Amsterdam) were the first U.S. journalists ever to interview King Willem-Alexander? Some honor!

We arrived Sunday morning and our meeting with the king was Wednesday afternoon, after two and a half days of visits to some of the country’s most cutting-edge businesses and research facilities, and interviewing some of the world’s smartest scientists. Impressive!

Wednesday came quickly. On the bus ride to the Noordeinde (north end) Palace, the king’s office, there was lots of nervous chatter and joking. One of our Dutch guides said, “It’s just a conversation with a guy … who happens to be king.” This did not comfort us.

After a bit of waiting in a magnificent parlor and a meeting with the Grand Master of the Royal Household in his palatial office, at 2:00 p.m. on the dot, we were led up a staircase, down a hall and into the ornate “Putty Room,” where 48-year-old King Willem-Alexander was in the doorway to greet us with a handshake and a smile. Just like any other business meeting … except for my never-before-uttered greeting of “It’s an honor to meet you, your majesty”—which I somehow got out in one piece without stuttering.
 
We were seated around a conference table, the king and his entourage on one side, journalists and Embassy guides on the other. The king gave a few minutes of briefing about the long relationship between our two countries and his upcoming trip to our cities, and then opened the floor to questions.

After a moment of polite silence, I suggested “Ladies first?” and indicated Meghan Morris, a grad student and freelancer from Northwestern University seated at my left. Meghan’s question about what he was looking forward to seeing in Chicago broke the ice and things proceeded just like any other interview.

My question to the king was the same one I have asked some of you: “What keeps you up at night?”

The king had to pause before answering. He finally said that his function as a monarch is a strange one. He has to serve everyone—even if they don’t want to be served by him—and be as impartial as possible. He has to gather enough information to make good decisions, all while remaining in the background, as he’s not a politician or an executive in the government.

I asked if he has to bite his tongue on topics as he stays in the background. He replied that his tongue would fall off, he’s bitten it so many times. This drew laughter from everyone, including his staff.

Now comfortable, we could have gone on for hours, but, alas, we had just 30 minutes of the king’s time. Upon departing, we got another handshake, and I told him that I hoped to see him during his visit to the new Gotham Greens rooftop greenhouse atop the Method eco-friendly soap factory just south of Chicago (see page 10).

Then it was back outside to the real world—and an interview with Dutch television network NOS. Several of my Dutch friends were surprised to see my face on their nightly news and links to the story were sent all the way back to the States.

It must have been a slow news day in the Netherlands. But it was a big day for me. GT