Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. He was the last of the dozens of heads of state invited to the Paleis Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, the straight-backed footmen in braided gold tailcoats swaying in place by the time he climbed out of his armored limousine.

NATO’s summit in the Netherlands has been described as “transformational” and “historic.” The 32 members of the world’s biggest security organization endorsed a plan to massively ramp up defense spending.

As NATO leaders convened in The Hague for a two-day summit on June 24–25, allies and Kyiv braced for the first annual meeting since U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to office. With the srael-Iranian conflict dominating the news and the summit agenda focused on the new 5% defense spending target,