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The Netherlands

King Willem-Alexander celebrates King’s Day in Maastricht

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and his family have celebrated King’s Day in Maastricht.

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima, the Princess of Orange, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane began their day at Sint Servaasbrug, where the mayor and governor welcomed them. They watched water sports from the bridge before walking through two routes, ‘Maastricht life’ and ‘Limburg life.’

Throughout the routes, they watched dancers, spoke to locals, viewed the special Limburg Bike and took part in a toast. The royals also greeted those who had come out to meet them, with the King even being spotted taking selfies with people on the streets.

Members of the Royal Family also walked through the ‘European life’ and ‘Gateway to Europe’ routes in the city. It was during these routes that His Majesty and Princess Amalia minted the first two commemorative coins for the Maastricht Treaty.

The royals ventured down the ‘Student Life’ route that featured musical performances and dancing. The fun-loving Royal Family then competed against each other in a quiz game about Mestreechs – the local language. They also joined students in dancing on the streets after a performance, with Argentinan-born Máxima leading the charge.

Food was along the ‘Burgundian life’ route, where Princess Alexia helped to prepare some local dishes. The local carnivals were the theme of the ‘Cultural life’ route, the final course before the end of the festivities.

Before the day concluded, Rowwen Hèze performed at the Vrijthof, and King Willem-Alexander spoke to the audience and thanked them for an “unforgettable” King’s Day and expressed how grateful he was for the peace in the Netherlands as Ukraine is still fighting the Russian invasion.

The King told everyone: “What you have shown; a Maastricht of bridges. Bridges between the past and the future, between residents and newcomers. Between Europe and the Netherlands. Live Mestreech, Maastricht is alive! Thank you!”

King’s Day is marked in a different city each year on 27 April – the King’s birthday – with other parties going on throughout the Netherlands. This was the first public celebration in two years as restrictions from the global health crisis prevented normal celebrations in 2020 and 2021.

About author

Brittani is from Tennessee, USA. She is a political scientist and historian after graduating with a degree in the topics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in December 2014. She also holds a master's degree from Northeastern University. She enjoys reading and researching all things regarding the royals of the world. She's been researching, reading, and writing on royalty for over a decade. She became Europe Editor in October 2016, and then Deputy Editor in January 2019, and has been featured on several podcasts, radio shows, news broadcasts and websites including Global News Canada, ABC News Australia, WION India and BBC World News.