Princess Margriet, invited onto the Honorary Board of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in 2005, will attend the Opening Ceremony of the Games on March 7 and be involved in a number of medal presentations at various competitions up until March 11.

The 71-year-old will be joined in Sochi by her husband Pieter van Vollenhoven, where they will also visit the Paralympic Villages to meet the Dutch athletes and the couple are also planning to watch alpine skiing and ice sledge hockey events.

The Princess has been a strong supporter of Paralympic sport for a number of years and was a key member of the Organising Committee for the 1980 Paralympic Games in Arnhem.

Princess Margriet has been a big supporter of the Paralympic Movement, particularly in her native country the Netherlands ©AFP/Getty Images



Since becoming a member of the IPC Honorary Board in 2005, Princess Margriet has attended Turin 2006, Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and London 2012.

Vancouver was a particularly special Games for the Princess as she was born in Canada in 1943 after the Dutch Royal Family moved there following the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands at the outbreak of World War Two.

The role of the members of the IPC Honorary Board is to help create opportunities and raise awareness and funding for the Paralympic Movement through their network of contacts and sphere of influence.