The radio DJ who was arrested by Belgian police earlier this month because he drove to Antwerp using the same route as princess Amalia has received a royal apology.

Serginio Piqué told broadcaster NOS the state information service Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst had phoned him to say sorry for the situation on behalf of the royal family.

Piqué and three friends found themselves hemmed in by Belgian police earlier this month and arrested at gunpoint. Footage of the arrest on social media shows how Piqué and his friends were ordered out of their car and made to kneel down. They were then handcuffed and taken to a police station for questioning.

During their interrogation they were told that they had taken exactly the same motorway exits as Amalia, and that the Belgian police had been alerted by the Dutch authorities.

It is unclear how close their car was to Amalia, but the Amsterdammers say they fear ethnic profiling may have played a role in the police decision to track them.

Piqué said while he understood the Belgian police action, he did not understand why Dutch police had not made the arrests. “The road from Amsterdam to Belgium is a long one,” he said.

In October 2022, Amalia was reportedly the target of threats from organised crime and was forced to return to her family home from her student flat in the Dutch capital. She also spent a period living in Spain.