Did You Know… Who Princess Juliana Was?
Origins of Princess Juliana International Airport
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people land on St. Maartens Princess Juliana International Airport, colloquially known as “PJIA”, “airport Juliana” by visitors and “SXM” by airport experts and many residents. But who was Princess Juliana, and why was this airport named after her?
Princess Juliana of the house of Orange was born in 1909 to Queen Wilhelmina and Prince (consort) Hendrik. She was the sole child of the royal pair, and hence designated queen to be as of birth.
During the second world war, the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Surinam were the sole parts not occupied by either the Germans or the Japanese. The oil refineries on Aruba and Curacao were an important asset for the allied war effort, producing a considerable part of the fuel needs of United States war planes.
The Germans were informed about this ongoing supply and positioned submarines in the region to destroy fuel shipments making their way north. In addition, the submarines tried to attack the strategically important refineries. This led to a need by allied airforces for bases throughout the Caribbean to scout these “U-boats” and destroy them.
This is how what was later to become Princess Juliana International Airport, came to be in 1942. The flat, sandy isthmus bordering the Simpson Bay Lagoon was the best location on otherwise hilly St. Maarten to create an airstrip. It was named after the crown princess, at this time residing in Canada with her family. Their escape from the occupied European Netherlands had been a close one, with a German bomb exploding only 200 yards from Julianas family when boarding ship from the Netherlands. If this miss would have been a hit, it would have led to an interesting succession crisis as both Julianas mother Wilhelmina and herself were the only child of their parents. Queen Wilhelmina kept residing in Britain, becoming a symbol against the German oppressor.
Princess Juliana’s Visits to St. Maarten
Juliana was to first visit the airport in 1944. As of that year, the airport was to carry her name and was opened to civilian aircraft.
In 1948, Queen Wilhelmina abdicated and Juliana became queen of the Netherlands. Juliana was the 12th member of the House of Orange to become head of state of the Netherlands. As is commonplace with schools and institutes in the Kingdom named after crown princes and princesses, this did not lead to a name change of the airport. As a queen, Juliana was known as a warm and sociable personality, with keen interest in the societies she was head of state of.
Throughout her reign, the Kingdom would change profoundly. Indonesia (1949) and Surinam (1975) would become fully independent countries, after the latter and the Netherlands Antilles had already become autonomous states within the Kingdom in 1954.
As head of state of the Netherlands Antilles, Queen Juliana was to visit St. Maarten many times, traditionally staying at the Royal Pasanggrahan Hotel where you can still find portraits of her and her husband Prince Bernhard. She would remain head of state of the Netherlands Antilles and the European Netherlands in 1980 when she was succeeded by her daughter Beatrix.
Juliana’s Legacy and the Airport Today
As is commonplace in the Dutch kingdom, Juliana regained her title of princess after abdication. Her title would match the name of St. Maartens national airport for 24 more years until she passed away in 2004 at age 94. During that timeframe, the airport had seen major expansions in 1964 and from 1997 to 2006.
After a thorough revamp, her daughter Beatrix – returning to princess title herself again in 2013 – ceremoniously reopened the airport in 2024 with a speech referring to her mother. At this point, the Netherlands Antilles had dissolved in 2010 and St. Maarten had become an autonomous country. As of that year, Princess Juliana Airport has become not just an international airport, but also a national one for the new country St. Maarten.