Coronation Ceremony of Dutch Monarchs

[pdas1201]

Here is a thread to post pics of the Investiture Ceremony of Dutch Kings and Queens. Since, Queen Beatrix is the current monarch, post pics of her coronation or investiture ceremony. Followed by pics of Queen Juliana, then Queen Wilhelmina and so on...



On April 30, 1980, Beatrix became Queen of the Kingdom of The Netherlands after her mother, Queen Juliana made a surprising announcement that, after 31 years on the throne, she is abdicating in favor of her eldest daughter. "After one gets older one realises sooner or later that one's powers decrease and that one cannot fulfill one's duties as before." she told the nation in a televised address.

[pdas1201]

The Investiture Ceremony

In The Netherlands, the monarchs are not crowned but invested as heads of state.

The present ceremony dates from 1815, when William I was invested as King of The Netherlands in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, the site of every subsequent ceremony. Although, it takes place in a church, the ceremony is purely secular, conducted in accordance with constitutional law.

On the same day that her mother, Queen Juliana, signed the abdication, Beatrix had her investiture ceremony at a special plenary session of both Houses of the States General in the New Church of Amsterdam.

[pdas1201]

During an investiture the regalia is displayed on a credence table. Consisting of the crown, the sceptre, the orb, the sword of the state, the national standard, and vellum-bound copy of the constitution, the regalia or insignia of the Kingdom symbolize royal power and dignity.

[pdas1201]

The crown symbolizes the sovereignty of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the dignity of its head of state. As the ascession ceremony is not a coronation but an investiture, the crown is never placed on the monarch's head. The orb represents the territory over which the monarch rules, namely the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. The sceptre and the sword stand for sovereign's authority and power respectively. The regalia was made in 1840 by craftmen commissioned by William II.

[pdas1201]

April 30 is now celebrated as the Queen's Day, a national holiday commemorating Queen Beatrix's investiture and Queen Juliana's birthday

[pdas1201]

Queen Beatrix was invested amidst some of the worst street violence ever witnessed in Amsterdam, as squatters clashed with the police in the streets, angry over the sums spent on the Investiture when the capital was suffering from a desperate housing shortage.

[HMQueenElizabethII]

It's time to make this thread.Queen Beatrix will celebrate her Silver Jubilee this year on April 30th.

[HMQueenElizabethII]

Here are some photos:

[Alexandria]

This thread has now been cleaned up.

Any more pictures or historical facts or information about Dutch coronation ceremonies?

What will Willem-Alexander's coronation ceremony be like?

[Marengo]

Some pictures of Juliana's enthronement. The pictures come from het geheugen van nederland and are free of copyrights.

[Marengo]

Some more:

[Marengo]

and more:

[Marengo]

more:

[Marengo]

Some of the guests: