This week a member of the Order of the Elephant came to visit the land of the elephants. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, who belongs to this distinguished Order, is in India. In the Netherlands, her state visit to this country was big news but here, in New Delhi, it wasn’t exactly the talk of the town — or of television either.

Queen Beatrix, like Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, is a ceremonial head of state. While she has made several personal visits to India, this is only her second official visit since 1986, six years after her ascension to the throne. After Delhi, the queen will be visiting Bangalore. Queen Beatrix is accompanied by her oldest son, Prince Willem Alexander, the first male heir to the throne for more than a century. His wife — the glamorous Argentinian-born Princess Maxima — was also here. Whenever the queen pays a state visit, a political and trade delegation goes with her and often receives more attention back home than the queen.

The Dutch media dogged every step taken by the royal family. There was lavish coverage of Queen Beatrix inspecting the presidential guard, President Patil’s banquet, her visit to Rajghat and her meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Dutch radio, NOS — which is the national broadcaster — even captured an interesting sidelight: Prince Willem Alexander had presided over a workshop on synergy between water management and micro-finance on Thursday, during which he had expressed his concern over sanitation. That evening, NOS visited a public convenience at Delhi railway station and was surprised by the level of sanitation. Similarly, when the Dutch royals visited Deepalaya school in South Delhi, where children receive instruction in health and hygiene, Dutch TV ran visuals of children chanting, “Comb your hair, every day,” even as Queen Beatrix and Prince Willem beamed their approval.

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