Rulers of each other's hearts! Queen Máxima and King Willem-Alexander got married on this day – and are still in love 22 years later…

On your 22nd wedding anniversary, a bouquet of flowers or dinner for two might seem appropriate. But not if you are King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands.

When it comes to commemorating his wedding to Queen Máxima every year on February 2, the Dutch monarch prefers a grander gesture.

For example, last year he attached a red lock with their initials engraved on a bridge for lovers on the Caribbean island of Curacao, but instead of throwing the key into the river, he swallowed it.

And in 2021, the monarch celebrated their 19th anniversary (they married in 2002) by recreating his proposal to then-Argentine banker Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti by getting down on one knee as they skated on a frozen pond near one of their palaces.

That sense of fun, private jokes and such open adoration are clues as to why the pair have one of the strongest relationships on Europe's royal stage.

Maxima is also known for her fashion sense, love of striking colors and striking hats.

'I am Latin, and I will remain Latin. I dance, I sing, and I will continue to dance and sing,” Buenos Aires-born Maxima, 52, has said.

And Willem, 56, is more than happy with that. “I fell in love with this Maxima: spontaneous, interesting, fun,” he said before their wedding. “I hope she remains the same person she is now.”

And he has praised his glamorous wife for being an “extraordinary woman who can keep me grounded.”

The couple are focused on family and have insisted on giving their three daughters Catherine-Amalia, 20, Alexia, 18, and Ariane, 16, as close to a normal childhood as possible, away from publicity.

They are also devoted to their three black Labradors Luna, Skipper and Nala and their miniature white poodle, Mambo.

Meanwhile, their love story resembles a plot from a Hallmark movie.

In April 1999, Maxima, who worked in the financial sector in New York, was on holiday in Seville when she met a tall Dutch man named Willem-Alexander at a party during the Seville Spring Fair.

He didn't tell her who he really was at first, and when he revealed his identity, she thought it was a joke.

By May 2000, Máxima had moved to Brussels, Belgium, and in 2001, Prince Willem-Alexander popped the question while the pair were skating near the Royal Palace Huis ten Bosch.

However, their wedding, which was supposed to take place on February 2, 2002, sparked a national debate when her father Jorge Horacio Zorreguieta's past began to haunt her.

As minister of the Argentine junta, he had long been involved in a dictatorship responsible for the torture, death and disappearance of 30,000 people.

The issue was resolved when the Dutch parliament investigating her father's past concluded that Máxima, who had attended primary school during the junta years, had known nothing of the atrocities.

The wedding ceremony itself took place in the grand 15th-century Nieuwe Kirch in Amsterdam, for guests including Prince Charles, Swedish Crown Princess Victoria and Norwegian Prince Haakon.

But Maxima's father was not invited or welcome on Dutch soil. Her mother also stayed away.

“As a daughter, I find it terrible that my father will not be there, but that is how it is and I understand the feelings of the Dutch about this,” Máxima said at the time.

The bride looked beautiful in an ivory-colored mikado silk Valentino dress with a draped neckline, three-quarter sleeves, a lace train of over 5 meters and a tiara topped with star brooches from Queen Beatrix's collection.

Prince Willem-Alexander shone in his captain's suit in the uniform of the Royal Navy, including a series of medals and insignia.

And as the newlywed royals left the church, they were greeted by an arch of swords held by Royal Navy officers.

The newlyweds honeymooned in St. Moritz before spending time with the bride's family in Argentina and traveling to New Zealand.

Since then, Maxima's popularity has only grown, first as princess and then as queen consort.

'She's exotic, she has passion, sparkle and flamboyance and she doesn't try to be aloof [her mother-in-law and former Queen, Beatrix]', says the Dutch historian Han van Bree. “That's why we love her, people can feel the authenticity.”