Silver Jubilee of Queen Beatrix

[lucys]

I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I wish the hat-wearing royals would give hats a rest except for maybe weddings and a few sundry events. They all look younger and much much more modern without them, including this energetic Queen.

In any case, I hadn't previously had an opprtunity to see the photos of her 25th anniversry trips and they are a pleasure to see. So thanks to all the posting.

[Marengo]

I believe 'Iain' posted that anecdote somewhere, and it took place in Edinburgh. I highly doubt if most Londoners knew who Queen Beatrix (or any other foreign royal for that matter) is, the english are pretty isolationistic and still convinced of their own supriority (I recently saw a programme on the BBC about Europe and two ladies could only exclaim 'we are superiour', which was rather hilarious for non-english people to see, it brought back memories of Margaret Thatcher).
However, the british media often compared Queen Elizabeth II to the more relaxed Queen Beatrix I during the crisis of the british monarchy in the 90-ties.

To Squidgy:

A lot of funds are wasted here as well, especially on officials who are doing a bad job and have to be fired (but get so much money afterwords) or on public buildings (I believe the CEO's of the goverment organ which deals with social benifits had marble (!) toilets, which caused a big scandal and because of public outrage two of them were fired....after receiving a bonus, of course :(
Now the royal palace on Dam square and Palace Noordeinde have to be restored, it will take years.

BTW: The boys who threw the eggs were released from jail but they have toappear for court in due date and can receive up to 5 years in jail. After so many pie-throwing left-leaning people, the murders on Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh and the flow on deaththreads on public persons the last 5 years the rules are much stricter then they used to be and these foolish boys won't get away with this easily!

[Squidgy]

Originally Posted by Marengo

I believe 'Iain' posted that anecdote somewhere, and it took place in Edinburgh. I highly doubt if most Londoners knew who Queen Beatrix (or any other foreign royal for that matter) is, the english are pretty isolationistic and still convinced of their own supriority (I recently saw a programme on the BBC about Europe and two ladies could only exclaim 'we are superiour', which was rather hilarious for non-english people to see, it brought back memories of Margaret Thatcher).
However, the british media often compared Queen Elizabeth II to the more relaxed Queen Beatrix I during the crisis of the british monarchy in the 90-ties.

To Squidgy:

A lot of funds are wasted here as well, especially on officials who are doing a bad job and have to be fired (but get so much money afterwords) or on public buildings (I believe the CEO's of the goverment organ which deals with social benifits had marble (!) toilets, which caused a big scandal and because of public outrage two of them were fired....after receiving a bonus, of course :(
Now the royal palace on Dam square and Palace Noordeinde have to be restored, it will take years.

BTW: The boys who threw the eggs were released from jail but they have toappear for court in due date and can receive up to 5 years in jail. After so many pie-throwing left-leaning people, the murders on Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh and the flow on deaththreads on public persons the last 5 years the rules are much stricter then they used to be and these foolish boys won't get away with this easily!

It is kind of funny - reading British articles about monarchy throughout most of the 1980s & part of the 1990s, it was always, as you say Marengo, about how superior the British RF is compared the "Bicycle-loving" royal families on the continent! The reporters were always looking down their noses at the other royal families - they were too common. I have to confess that as much as I admire some members of the British RF, it certainly didn't bother me to see them (& their snooty advisors) eat a bit of "humble pie" after Diana died. I think Beatrix has the right mix - people feel a sense of admiration & respect for her, while at the same time I think they feel an affectionate connection to her. As a Canadian, I admire my Queen (Elizabeth of the UK), but I can't really say I feel a great degree of affection for her.

Of course my opinions on Beatrix are based on observations from afar. I could be way off ... do the Dutch people feel only respect for their Queen, or do they have a strong sense of affection for her as well?

[Marengo]

Originally Posted by Squidgy

It is kind of funny - reading British articles about monarchy throughout most of the 1980s & part of the 1990s, it was always, as you say Marengo, about how superior the British RF is compared the "Bicycle-loving" royal families on the continent! The reporters were always looking down their noses at the other royal families - they were too common. I have to confess that as much as I admire some members of the British RF, it certainly didn't bother me to see them (& their snooty advisors) eat a bit of "humble pie" after Diana died. I think Beatrix has the right mix - people feel a sense of admiration & respect for her, while at the same time I think they feel an affectionate connection to her. As a Canadian, I admire my Queen (Elizabeth of the UK), but I can't really say I feel a great degree of affection for her.

Of course my opinions on Beatrix are based on observations from afar. I could be way off ... do the Dutch people feel only respect for their Queen, or do they have a strong sense of affection for her as well?

Of course there will always be people who hink the queen is aloof and distant, they especially compare her to her mother, Queen Juliana, who iseemed to be the nicest woman in the country. But the last 10 years the mood is changing and people do feel affection for her (not everybody of course) and not only respect. But it was the queen herself who caused this change, she seems more relaxed in public, shows her emotions a bit more etc.

And of course the queen shared many emotional private moments with the dutch thee last years, as the burials of her husband, parents, the marriages of her sons, the birth of her grand children and the scandals about Margarita and Mabel (which did not reflect badly on the queen, on the contrary).

After the queen did her rap a few weeks ago the next day everybody, even people who I thought were staunch republicans was talking about how great it was that we have such a queen who shows that she is a part of the dutch society, just as we all are. And in the most left-leaning newspaper of the country, the most left-leaning columnist I know devoted his column to Beatrix and called it a declaration of love :).

[Squidgy]

Originally Posted by Marengo

Of course there will always be people who hink the queen is aloof and distant, they especially compare her to her mother, Queen Juliana, who iseemed to be the nicest woman in the country. But the last 10 years the mood is changing and people do feel affection for her (not everybody of course) and not only respect. But it was the queen herself who caused this change, she seems more relaxed in public, shows her emotions a bit more etc.

And of course the queen shared many emotional private moments with the dutch thee last years, as the burials of her husband, parents, the marriages of her sons, the birth of her grand children and the scandals about Margarita and Mabel (which did not reflect badly on the queen, on the contrary).

That's a good point Marengo - about the Queen herself being in large part responsible for the change in the way people view her. I imagine in the first few years of her reign, she must have been somewhat insecure about how she would handle things, how the public would accept her, etc. And being insecure, she probably appeared a bit more stiff to people and maybe did not let the public get a true sense of her personality. Over the years, as she gained confidence, I think she has relaxed more in public. And as you say, the Dutch have witnessed much grief in her life over the last few years and perhaps seen a more vulnerable side of their Queen, thereby making them feel a stronger sense of attachment to her.

To me she is at her prime - confident, more relaxed, well loved. That's why I can never understand all the questions about when she will abdicate. I mean, on a basic level, I can understand that people would like to see the younger & more glamourous W-A & Maxima take over. But, the Queen has all of this wisdom & experience that it has taken 25 years to accumulate. Why should all of that be discarded? As long as she is still enjoying her work (& by all appearances she seems to be), why quit. I really hope that she doesn't abdicate for at least another 10 years.

[Iain]

Originally Posted by Marengo

the english are pretty isolationistic and still convinced of their own supriority (I recently saw a programme on the BBC about Europe and two ladies could only exclaim 'we are superiour', which was rather hilarious for non-english people to see, it brought back memories of Margaret Thatcher).

Imagine how the Scots, Welsh and Cornish feel, we have to share an island with them and they look down on us too.

[Marengo]

Originally Posted by Iain

Imagine how the Scots, Welsh and Cornish feel, we have to share an island with them and they look down on us too.

I understand your problems with the english indeed. And why they (or some of them) feel superior is beyond me. I see english tourists every day here in Amsterdam and they are horrible, loud and vulgar (I 'caught' english pee-ing against the royal palace in the night four times already), which people living in the Spanish costa's or the canary islands can confirm. Of course I know that the more respectable english people do not make such a fuss and hence I do not notice them, but still the people I discribe are in majority here.

[BeatrixFan]

I highly doubt if most Londoners knew who Queen Beatrix (or any other foreign royal for that matter) is, the english are pretty isolationistic and still convinced of their own supriority

Hmmm. I have to disagree here. We certainly don't believe we are still superior even though we'd like to be. The glory days of the Empire are now a distant memory and we're told by this government that it was a terrible thing and it should be forgotten and covered up. Britain, as a nation, is crumbling down and we're becoming an extra state of America which most people find extremely undesirable.

I admire Queen Beatrix alot because of the way she behaves. Our Queen can't be blamed for her personality. She's doing things the way her father did, whereas Queen Beatrix came to the throne at a later time when the world had changed alot - she knew when and how to adapt.

Also, Beatrix hasn't had the scandal and problem of a vindictive press to deal with. Elizabeth has.

When foreign royals come to Britain, the news usually let's people know who they are but the level of interest is quite low.

[Marengo]

Originally Posted by BeatrixFan

Hmmm. I have to disagree here. We certainly don't believe we are still superior even though we'd like to be. The glory days of the Empire are now a distant memory and we're told by this government that it was a terrible thing and it should be forgotten and covered up. Britain, as a nation, is crumbling down and we're becoming an extra state of America which most people find extremely undesirable.

I admire Queen Beatrix alot because of the way she behaves. Our Queen can't be blamed for her personality. She's doing things the way her father did, whereas Queen Beatrix came to the throne at a later time when the world had changed alot - she knew when and how to adapt.

Also, Beatrix hasn't had the scandal and problem of a vindictive press to deal with. Elizabeth has.

When foreign royals come to Britain, the news usually let's people know who they are but the level of interest is quite low.

I have respect for the british monarch as well, she seems to do her job almost perfectly, never makes any mistakes, and that for so many years! That even the british tabloits cannot touch her that much says a lot about the esteem the british have for there queen.

The image I got during this programme was the traditional 'we are superior' theory the Tories are so fond of. But I believe you when you say that it is just something which a minority believes.

---

To susanalicia:

The pee-ing happens at an hour when the shops are long closed & when darkness has fallen on the good city of Amsterdam. I recognised that the persons in question were english because they were there with a group of (loud) people, many english guy's celebrate their bachelorparties in Amsterdam, combining the pleasures of the red-light district with getting drunk (which is not something exclusively done by english, I must add). As you live in the center you must know the type, which is to be found at damrak, leidseplein, rembrandsplein and the red-light district.
I never understood why the city counsil doesn't take any action, especially about Damrak, which is the first thing people see and which looks so terribly ugly & is controlled by the Israeli mafia (so I am told), it could look so lovely!

Back to royalty: the wooden wall they will put around the palace for the next two years will prevent anybody from pee-ing against the walls of the palace which was so hated by poor Hortense.

[Squidgy]

Originally Posted by BeatrixFan

I admire Queen Beatrix alot because of the way she behaves. Our Queen can't be blamed for her personality. She's doing things the way her father did, whereas Queen Beatrix came to the throne at a later time when the world had changed alot - she knew when and how to adapt.

Also, Beatrix hasn't had the scandal and problem of a vindictive press to deal with. Elizabeth has.

Yes, I agree BeatrixFan. I should not have been so quick to compare Elizabeth with Beatrix. As you say, they came to the throne in two different eras. Elizabeth was the perfect monarch for the 1950s & 1960s. I guess she had been "trained" so well, that by the time she realized times were changing and people expected different things from her, it was very difficult for her to make the necessary changes.

[Marengo]

I think it is safe to assume that the majority of the english never did anything of the sort.

To susanalicia:
I wondered about those trees as well, the canals look so mpty without them! A few trees on Dam square would liven the thing up a bit, it is such a grey and ugly qquare now.

Talking about Dam square (and back to the silver jubilee), I know that for the 40th anniversairy of Queen Wilhelmina's reign there was a thanksgiving service in the New Church, I have seen some pictures in books of Wilhelmina, Juliana and Benrhard walking from Dam palace to the New Church. Was there any thanksgivingservice for Juliana's silver jubilee, or for Wilhelmina's golden jubilee? Are any planned now (probably not)? In Britain it is a tradition to do this, I still remember the grand procession of Queen Elizabeth II in the golden state carriage for her golden jubilee.

[Squidgy]

Originally Posted by Marengo

Talking about Dam square (and back to the silver jubilee), I know that for the 40th anniversairy of Queen Wilhelmina's reign there was a thanksgiving service in the New Church, I have seen some pictures in books of Wilhelmina, Juliana and Benrhard walking from Dam palace to the New Church. Was there any thanksgivingservice for Juliana's silver jubilee, or for Wilhelmina's golden jubilee? Are any planned now (probably not)? In Britain it is a tradition to do this, I still remember the grand procession of Queen Elizabeth II in the golden state carriage for her golden jubilee.

Gosh, yes - I think we all remember those images of the Queen Elizabeth in her golden carriage - that event made for some magnificent pictures. I haven't read anything to suggest that there will be a Thanksgiving service for Beatrix. What a shame! A more solemn, focused event like that would have provided a nice balance to the more fun & light-hearted events we have seen so far. But I guess that is the Dutch way - more informal & relaxed.

[Marengo]

The queen will visit the province of North-Holland on 4th of November and the final province, South-Holland on the 11th of November! After that it was mentioned somewhere that she will take it easy to prepare for her operation and that Willem-Alexander will ahve a more busy sheduele.

[Marengo]

Another :

16 Nov: the queen opens the Beatrix-jubilee woods (whatever that is)

[Marengo]

Another jubilee activity:

16 Nov: the queen opens the Beatrix-jubilee woods (whatever that is)

[Squidgy]

November 4th 2005 As part of her Jubilee Tour, the Queen visits the province of Noord-Holland.

Photos: ANP

[misshelen]

More pictures from the visit of Noord Holland from Colourpress

[misshelen]

And pictures from NOS

[misshelen]

Picture from AD

[mtbcm]

From Royalportraits Netherlands/Bernard Rübsamen



The statue in detail