Dutch Celebrate First Koningsdag in 124 Years

  April 27, 2014 at 1:34 am by

The Dutch Royal Family yesterday celebrated the first Koningsdag in 124 years, in the towns of De Rijp and Amstelveen. These were the towns originally scheduled for the event in 2013, but were postponed due to the abdication ceremonies.

View the full image at Zimbio

All adult members of the Royal Family, except for Princess Mabel, were present for the festivities, in which they participated in walk-abouts, sporting games, activities, theatre performances and songs. In De Rijp, those game were treated to a specially brewed beer, Woeste Willem.

Princesses Catharina-Amalia, Alexia and Ariane made a surprise appearance in Amstelveen, where events took place outside the Stadshart. The girls joined in on a rapturous rendition of the national anthem, Wilhelmus.

Koningsdag (or Koninginnedag when there is a reigning Queen) is the official birthday of the Dutch monarch. It is traditionally celebrated on the monarch’s birthday, however when the former Queen Beatrix took the throne in 1980, she elected to have the holiday on her mother’s birthday, April 30, because her own birthday at the end of January usually sees bad weather.

After the accession of King Willem-Alexander in 2013, Koningsdag will be celebrated on April 27 each year.

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