The younger sister of Queen Maxima of Holland has been found hanged at her home in Argentina.

Inés Zorreguieta, 33, was found dead at her apartment in Buenos Aires late on Wednesday night.

A spokesman for the Dutch Embassy in Argentina told La Nacion that authorities 'assume it was a case of suicide.'

Inés is thought to have suffered from depression and mental health issues.

Queen Maxima and her sister Inés are seen greeting each other in Buenos Aires in 2016

Queen Maxima of Holland's sister Inés Zorreguieta (pictured in a red hat at Princess Ariane's christening in 2007) was found dead in her Buenos Aires home on Wednesday night

Her body was removed from her home in the early of hours of Thursday morning and a post-mortem examination will take place.

She was a psychologist who worked for an office on social policies at the president's office.

Inés was also godmother to Queen Maxima's 11-year-old daughter Princess Ariane.

Queen Maxima, 47, has cancelled all upcoming engagements and is set to fly to her native Argentina in the coming hours.

She had been due to attend Holland Festival this week, but her appearance has been cancelled, according to Hello! magazine.

She had also been set to accompany her husband, King Willem-Alexander, on their tour of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia next week.

Inés was also godmother to Queen Maxima's 11-year-old daughter Princess Ariane. She is pictured on the day of Princess Ariane's baptism in October 2007

Inés Zorreguieta, pictured with her late father Jorge Zorreguieta last year, worked for the government in Argentina

Dutch Prime Minister said the news is 'intensely sad and heartbreaking.'

'The sudden passing away of Queen Maxima's sister comes as a great shock. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Queen and her family,' he said.

'I wish them all the strength they need to cope with this horrible loss. I trust that they will be afforded the space and privacy they need.'

It comes after Queen Maxima, her husband and their three children flew to Argentina last year to attend the funeral of her father after his death from cancer at the age of 89.

Inés was the youngest of government minister Jorge Zorreguieta and his second wife María del Carmen Cerruti Carricart's children.

Queen Maxima and Inés are pictured as the Dutch royal made a trip to Argentina after their father was hospitalised last year

Queen Maxima (pictured in Amsterdam on Wednesday) has pulled out of all upcoming engagements

The Zorreguieta family who have been landed gentry, professionals, politicians, and statesmen for generations.

Inés and Queen Maxima have two brothers as well as three half-sisters, Maria, Dolores and Angeles.

Inés travelled to Holland for her sister's wedding without her parents in 2002.

Their father was not permitted to attend due to his role as Argentina's Minister of Agriculture during the National Reorganization Process, the brutal military dictatorship led by General Jorge Rafael Videla that ruled the country from 1976 to 1983.

Inés was also godmother to Queen Maxima's 11-year-old daughter Princess Ariane.

Queen Maxima became the first Latin American-born queen-consort of Holland when King Willem-Alexander ascended to the throne after his mother's abdication on April 30, 2013.

The pair met in Seville, Spain, in 1999, but she was unaware he was a prince since he introduced himself only as 'Alexander.'

They announced their engagement two years later.

The news sparked controversy in Holland as her father's tenure as a minister was during the early stages of the Dirty War in Argentina - a period of state terrorism that saw up to 30,000 people killed or go missing during a seven-year military regime.