Whensday: Day of the princes

Yesterday, the 3rd Tuesday of September, was a day for hats, briefcases, pictures with the Dutch royal family and the King’s speech. It was Day of the Princes - originally the day to celebrate the birthdays of the royal princes. This is now the day every year that the current government presents their budget for the coming year and that the King gives a speech - written by the sitting government. For many it is a day to do some royalty watching as the Dutch royal family takes a ride in the glass coach, waves from the balcony in Amsterdam and enjoys celebrations. 

All of the politicians and very important people in the land gather at the Knight’s Hall in The Hague to listen to the King’s speech. Women wear all sorts of special hats for the occasion. It is a bit like Oscar evening in the US with journalists all talking about who is wearing what hat and who looks good. 

The finance minister of the country arrives with a briefcase. The briefcase holds the budget which has been agreed upon by the governing parties in the coalition and sets out the policy for the coming year. It is this policy that the King alludes to in his speech. The speech is written by the new prime minister, but the King presents it. 

Plenty of pomp and circumstance, bright colors and lots of formality. This year the two eldest daughters of the King will also take part, since they are both older than 18. The youngest daughter has to wait her turn. Princess Amalia (the oldest daughter) will some day be Queen of the Netherlands after her father. 

In the news people are questioning whether this day should become an official holiday. Some say that it should not. There are plenty of other things that happened and are celebrated at this time. In Eindhoven, the city celebrates Operation Market Garden (the film “A Bridge Too Far”) since Eindhoven was the first city in the Netherlands to be freed by Allied forces in 1944. This year cities all over the Netherlands, including Maastricht, are celebrating the 80th anniversary of this liberation.  

Whodunit Wednesday - Kings and queens, princes and princesses

Royals. It’s something Europe is certainly well-known for. Although in the US people might be most familiar with the British royal family (William and Kate), there are plenty of people here who are enamored of their own royals and those around them. In Belgium and the Netherlands this is no different. 

Belgium has only been a monarchy since 1831 when King Leopold took the throne as its first king. This Leopold could have become King of England (he was married first to Charlotte, heir to the British throne), turned down being king of Greece and in the end became king of Belgium where he oversaw the first railway line on continental Europe in 1835. 

It was Leopold II who is better known in Belgium. This is not so much because of his amazing accomplishments, but because of how poorly he treated people in his conquests of the Congo. Following Leopold comes some very interesting history with Albert (the first), a third Leopold, Baudouin and a second Albert. The current king of Belgium is Philippe. His wife is Mathilde. But most people these days are keeping a close eye on their daughter, princess Elisabeth. She, in her time, will be the next royal and the first Queen of Belgium, if all goes normally. 

In the Netherlands, they know what it means to have a Queen. Although they started out with a king, the first of three Willems came in 1815, by 1907 the monarch was Wilhelmina. And so the Netherlands entered into quite a long period of queens. Wilhelmina was followed by Juliana who was followed by her daughter Beatrix. In the Netherlands they had understood early on that it was okay to have the oldest child become the monarch, even if the oldest was a girl. 

In 2013, Beatrix stepped down to allow her son, Willem Alexander to become King. His wife, Maxima, came from Argentina and quickly became a favorite of the people, even if Willem Alexander was not. This couple has three daughters, with Amalia being the eldest. So the Netherlands is preparing to welcome another queen when the time comes, although Amalia is only 19 at the time. 

It is normal here to speak of royals, kingdoms, kings and queens and being a child of the king. This month King Willem Alexander of the Netherlands will be spending his birthday celebration on April 27 in Maastricht. Many people will want to be able to see or be seen with him and his wife, Maxima and daughter Amalia. We ourselves are most thrilled to be known as children of the King of kings.