European RoyalsThe Netherlands

Dutch majority still in favour of the monarchy

Every year, in connection with King’s Day, the Dutch poll agency IPSOS conducts a survey, commissioned by NOS (one of the entities behind the Dutch National Television), to gauge the monarchy’s popularity.  2021 was a challenging year, with the royals being plagued by what was seen as an insufficiently empathetic response to the COVID-19 restrictions, and the popularity percentage fell…
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Belgium

Belgian royals celebrate King's Day

King Albert, Queen Paola and Prince Laurent took part in a Te Deum (or Thanksgiving Service) in St Michael and Gudule Cathedral in Brussels. The service is held every year on the 15th of November in the main church in Brussels to celebrate King’s Day. The…
European RoyalsThe Netherlands

Dutch royals head to Eindhoven to celebrate scaled-down King's Day

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima and their daughters, the Princess of Orange, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane, have left Paleis Huis ten Bosch to travel to Eindhoven to celebrate a scaled-down King’s Day. A photo was released in which the royals posed in front of the Palace. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the celebrations have been scaled down for the second year in a row. In…
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CoronavirusThe Netherlands

King Willem-Alexander kicks off King's Day at Home with heartfelt speech

King Willem-Alexander opened his live-streamed birthday speech by thanking the orchestra that played the Dutch national anthem just before. He was joined by his wife Queen Máxima and their three daughters, The Princess of Orange, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane. He said, “How special it is that we have managed, despite social distancing, to form a unity and to be an example for many…
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European RoyalsThe Netherlands

Looking back at the Queen's Day attack of 2009

Though Queen’s Day is now celebrated as King’s Day in the Netherlands, the 2009 celebrations in Apeldoorn will forever be marked by tragedy. De Naald by Brbbl – CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons Ten years ago – on 30 April 2009 – Karst Tates drove his black Suzuki Swift through a crowd of people who had lined the streets to watch the Dutch Royal Family go by in a…
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