‘Bonds will endure’: British, Dutch monarchs urge their countries to look beyond Brexit

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands have both urged their countries to look beyond Brexit to a shared future. As the Dutch monarch and his wife are on a state visit to the UK, the queen said at a Buckingham Palace banquet that Britain was looking toward “a new partnership with Europe.” In a rare mention of Britain’ impending EU exit, she said that as “innovators, traders and internationalists we look with confidence to the future,” AP reports. The Dutch king said that, amid the focus on the technical details of Brexit, “we should not lose sight of the greater narrative that continues to bind us… of freedom, openness and co-operation.” The king and Queen Maxima will meet Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 Downing St. on Wednesday.