Koningsdag 2014-2024

[iceflower]

King's Day 2024 will be celebrated in Emmen, it was announced today:


** koninklijkhuis.nl: Koningsdag 2024 in Emmen **

 

[Somebody]

It was about time that they would go to one of the provinces in the north for Koningsdag/King's day. So, glad to see that they are visiting Emmen in the north-eastern province of Drenthe this year (very close to the German border). I wonder whether the Zoo (which the city is most famous for - it's the main big Zoo in the north of the country) will somehow feature on this day.

 

[Marengo]

I imagine there will be some attention to farming. The province only has 500.000 inhabitants and the city itself is the smallest one they will have visited for this day. Not even 60.000 people live there. So one wonders what they can do to fill up the programme.

 

[tommy100]

It was about time that they would go to one of the provinces in the north for Koningsdag/King's day. So, glad to see that they are visiting Emmen in the north-eastern province of Drenthe this year (very close to the German border). I wonder whether the Zoo (which the city is most famous for - it's the main big Zoo in the north of the country) will somehow feature on this day.

A while a go there was commentary about how a large number official duties by the Royal House took place within a set area of the country. I assume Emmen is out of that area? Any that may be partly a reason it was chosen?

 

[Somebody]

A while a go there was commentary about how a large number official duties by the Royal House took place within a set area of the country. I assume Emmen is out of that area? Any that may be partly a reason it was chosen?

In terms of provinces you could divide the country in 4 areas of 3 provinces each (number of inhabitants in millions between brackets):
- North: provinces of Friesland (.66), Groningen (.60) and Drenthe (.50) --> 1.76 million inhabitants
- East/Central: Flevoland (.44), Overijssel (1.18), Gelderland (2.13) --> 3.75 million inhabitants
- West/Central: Noord-Holland (2.95), Zuid-Holland (3.80), Utrecht (1.39) --> 8.14 million inhabitants
- South: Zeeland (.39), Noord-Brabant (2.63) and Limburg (1.13) --> 4.15 million inhabitants

The majority of the population lives in the 'West/Central' area, which includes the 4 largest cities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag (The Hague) and Utrecht and many smaller cities. The far majority of royal events (about 2/3rds IIRC) also takes place here.

For Koningsdag to me it makes sense to ensure that each province is visited over the years. So far, the king concentrated on the larger cities that are concentrated in the west/central part and Noord-Brabant (5th, 7th and 9th; in the South) with the exception of Groningen (6th largest) in the north.

The cities/towns visited (between brackets their ranking in size of municipality and number of inhabitants in thousands)
2014 (postponed due to the inauguration in 2013): De Rijp (small), Amstelveen (top 40, 94) --> Noord Holland (West/Central)
2015: Dordrecht (25th, 122) --> Zuid Holland (West/Central)
2016: Zwolle (19th, 132) --> Overijssel (East/Central)
2017: Tilburg (7th, 228) --> Noord-Brabant (South)
2018: Groningen (6th, 238) --> Groningen (North)
2019: Amersfoort (16h, 161) --> Utrecht (West/Central)
2021: Eindhoven (5th, 244) --> Noord-Brabant (South)
2022: Maastricht (23rd, 123) --> Limburg (South)
2023: Rotterdam (2nd, 664) --> Zuid-Holland (West/Central)

2024: Emmen (29th, 109) --> Drenthe (North)

So, so far the king visited the West/Central part 4 times, the South 3 times and the East/Central and North both 1 time. In terms of provinces both Zuid-Holland and Noord-Brabant were visited twice, while Gelderland (the 4th largest province in terms of inhabitants) has still not been visited by the king on King's day. Both Nijmegen (10th) and Arnhem (12th) would be excellent options for a future king's day.

Scroll down on wikipedia for a map with 'dots' for each city he visted.

 

[Somebody]

Royalblog points out that Drenthe is the province in which queen Máxima made her debut on (then) Koninginnedag in 2002; since that time the royal family hasn't visited the province on Koninginnedag/Koningsdag.

Drenthe was the province waiting the longest at this point; next in line are Flevoland (East/Central) since 2006 and Friesland (also North) since 2008.

For Flevoland the most likely location for Koningsdag would be the provincial capital of Lelystad as the other larger towns (Almere and Emmeloord) were previously visited by queen Beatrix.

For Friesland there are multiple options, queen Beatrix visited Harlingen, Vlieland (isle), Sneek, Makkum and Franeker (all west to north-west geographically). So, all visits so far were concentrated on 1/4 of the province. So, I would sincerely hope that they finally decide to visit other parts as well, the larger city/towns are: Leeuwarden (provincial capital and largest city - but somewhat in the same area), Drachten (east; second largest - became a center of population because of a Philips factory producing electric shavers; other than that nothing special/noteworthy (other than that I went to secondary school there ?)) and Heerenveen (south; fourth largest - internationally known for ice skating (Thialf)). All others have less than 15.000 inhabitants so unlikely in the current set-up.

 

[iceflower]

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima, Princess Beatrix, Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien attended the King's Day concert in Emmen this evening, April 22.

** ppe gallery ** gettyimages gallery ** rex gallery **

 

[iceflower]

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima launched the King's Games in Hoofddorp this morning, April 26:


** anp gallery ** rex gallery ** ppe gallery **


** robinutrecht.photoshelter.com gallery **

 

[Somebody]

The king revealed that he took up a new sport: mountain biking.

A meteorologist looked into the historical data for the weather on both 30 April (Koninginnedag) and 27 April (Koningsdag) and found a temperature difference of more than 1 degree Celsius (16+ degrees vs 15 degrees); in addition, it rains more on the 27th compared to the 30th, so those three days do make a difference...

Slechter weer op Koningsdag dan op Koninginnedag? 'Ik was zelf ook verrast'

Veel mensen hebben het idee dat het op Koningsdag vaak slechter weer is dan voorheen op Koninginnedag, maar is dat ook zo? NOS-weervrouw Roosmarijn Knol zocht het uit.

nos.nl

 

[Ilse]

Getty Images

Getty Images Netherlands. Ontdek licenties voor royalty free-beelden met een hoge resolutie, redactionele stockfoto's, vectorbeelden, videoclips en stockmuziek bij de uitgebreidste online fotobibliotheek waarin je kunt zoeken naar beelden.

www.gettyimages.nl

Today in Emmen.

 

[Blog Real]

More photos:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1784142792832204861

https://twitter.com/x/status/1784183456290770949

https://twitter.com/x/status/1784163967499227267

Princess of Orange:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1784184894467289367

Prince Pieter-Christiaan van Oranje posted a photo:

Pieter-Christiaan van Oranje on Instagram: "Mooie #koningsdag #Emmen @koningsdagemmen_ ♥️♥️"

2,415 likes, 46 comments - pcvanoranje on April 27, 2024: "Mooie #koningsdag #Emmen @koningsdagemmen_ ♥️♥️".

www.instagram.com

 

[iceflower]

Here are some more photos of today's celebration:


** ppe gallery ** gtresnews gallery ** rex gallery **

** robinutrecht.photoshelter gallery **

** dailymail article 1 ** dailymail article 2 **

La felicidad de Guillermo y Máxima de Países Bajos celebrando el Día del Rey junto a sus tres hijas

La Familia real holandesa ha festejado el 57 cumpleaños del monarca con una fiesta callejera en Emmen (Drenthe)

www.hola.com

La reina Máxima sorprende con un vestido verde bosque y un espectacular tocado de mariposas

La Reina completa su estilismo festivo con joyas de perlas, salones y 'clutch' de sello argentino

www.hola.com

De la deslumbrante belleza de Alexia al simbólico accesorio de pelo de Amalia: los looks de la princesas holandesas

Las hijas de Guillermo de Países Bajos y la reina Máxima triunfan con estilismos sofisticados de lo más personales

www.hola.com

https://twitter.com/x/status/1784207420199166022

https://twitter.com/x/status/1784221646624113040

https://twitter.com/x/status/1784199519908876577

 

[Somebody]

Máximas team won the quiz about Emmen (city) and Drenthe (province). As the family is competitive, Amalia told they she studied hard to learn as much as possible about this region.

 

[maria-olivia]

No show up from Mabel and her daughters ans Prince Constantijn Children ?

 

[Lee-Z]

Prince Pieter-Christiaan van Oranje posted a photo:

Pieter-Christiaan van Oranje on Instagram: "Mooie #koningsdag #Emmen @koningsdagemmen_ ♥️♥️"

2,415 likes, 46 comments - pcvanoranje on April 27, 2024: "Mooie #koningsdag #Emmen @koningsdagemmen_ ♥️♥️".

www.instagram.com

that's a lovely photo of the 4 brothers together

 

[Marengo]

No show up from Mabel and her daughters ans Prince Constantijn Children ?

Mabel stopped attending after Friso’s accident. Beatrix’ other grandchildren never attended and probably never will.

I saw lots of jokes coming by about Prince Bernhard’s enormous glasses.

 

[Somebody]

I don't think the king's nieces and nephew are invited... Amalia, Alexia and Ariane started attending after their father became king.

 

[Marengo]

It seems that the family has been receiving quite some criticism yet again. This time it was Alexia's turn for the vague answers she gave to the questions she received about her gap year. Of course had she given more concrete answers the very same people would have criticized those too. During the interview she seemed afraid to set a foot wrong and kept looking at her mother to step in, which HM fortunately did. The barage of criticism the RF has received these last years by those who hate this country: the extreme-right, self-styled 'libertarians', neo-Nazi's, conspiracy-nutters, radicalised groups of farmers and anti-vaxxers; makes it rather difficult for them to say anything. The hatred they have to the country and the RF is bizarre. On SBS, a channel for right-wing and extreme-right wing viewers the editor of 'Weekend' gossip magazine was screaming that Alexia should have told 'us' her plans as 'we paid for her trip' - which we did not.

Edwin de ROy van Zuydewyn, ex/husband of Pss Margarita, appeared on the public channel ´Ongehoord Nederland´ (Unheard Netherlands) a day before, spreading all sort of conspiracy nonsense to this channel for conspiracy lunatics, financed by the Dutch state for reasons nobody understands. From Judges at the European court in Strassbourg to Foreign Affairs to a 'social and psychological level' they control everything, says De Roy on our public broadcaster.

A formerly sane former alderman of the city of Amsterdam for the VVD (center-right), Mr. Geert Dales, posted a photo of the Queen participating in the quiz and putting her hand up to respond. He implied she was making a Nazi-salute. It seems half the country has become mad.

It was noted the King has lost quite some weight these years. According to Josine Droogendijk he has a new hobby: mountainbiking.

It seems the popularity polls have stopped sliding downwards. There have been nearly no news- items about it, which there would have been if the negative trend continued. Last year we were bombarded with articles. According to the NPO the numbers 'stabilized'.

I wonder how long we will continue to see the whole family like this, most of them going towards 60 and participating in [mostly juvenile] games. It would have made more sense to have Eloise there than the Van Vollenhovens IMO, she will be better known these days. Though I suppose somewhere in the future it will be limited to WA, Máxima, daughters and possible sons-in-law. Perhaps with Constantijn and Laurentien although even they seem to be hangers on. The press focusses nearly exclusively on the King and his family.

 

[Somebody]

It was the king himself who revealed on Friday during the koningsdagspelen that he started a new hobby/sport (mountain biking) because running wasn't such a good idea while getting older.

While the press indeed focuses on the king, queen and daughters, the others are a great addition for the many people attending koningsdag in person.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Wonderful photos from Kings Day!

 

[Somebody]

The former mayor of Apeldoorn is sharing some of his memories about queen's day 15 years ago when the attack on the royal family took place - 8 bystanders died but the car of the attacker crashed against a memorial, so the bus that the royal family was in remained unharmed. He says that the queen's face turned pale. The driver was told to return to the palace as soon as possible. At the palace he had to decide and announce that all further festivities were cancelled. Only the next day it started sinking in what had happened. During the day, he was mostly in 'survival mode', doing what he had to do as a mayor in a crisis like this.

Oud-burgemeester blikt terug, 15 jaar na de aanslag op Koninginnedag

"Ik werd ijzig koud en ik ging in een soort overlevingsstand", vertelt oud-burgemeester Fred de Graaf aan Omroep Gelderland.

nos.nl

 

[Somebody]

A 9-year old girl (Senna) that flew through the air and was wounded during the attack was later visited by princess Margriet and Pieter van Vollenhoven in hospital. A few months later they took her and her mother to the zoo. They are still in touch via birthday and Christmas cards.

Pieter van Vollenhoven talked about their meeting in an interview in December 2009 and said that he looks back joyfully if he thinks about how she recovered but other than that it was a traumatic experience (in his words "it upset me immensely").

 

[iceflower]

King's Day 2025 will be celebrated in Doetinchem, the Palace announced today:

Koningsdag 2025 in Doetinchem

Zijne Majesteit de Koning woont op zaterdag 26 april 2025 met leden van het Koninklijk gezin en leden van de Koninklijke familie de viering bij van Koningsdag in Doetinchem in de provincie Gelderland.

www.koninklijkhuis.nl

 

[Somebody]

Great choice. They haven't been to Gelderland yet and picked a smaller city in the east - just like Emmen close to the border of Germany. I expect the Achterhoek region will be featured this time.

 

[Marengo]

The town is charming but rather small. A pity not a more substantial city was selected.

Anyway: that leaves the IMO loveliest provinces of the country for the next years: Friesland and Zeeland. And of course the not-as-lovely province Flevoland needs to be visited too I suppose. And Noord-Holland may be next, hopefully Haarlem or Alkmaar.

 

[Somebody]

The town is charming but rather small. A pity not a more substantial city was selected.

Anyway: that leaves the IMO loveliest provinces of the country for the next years: Friesland and Zeeland. And of course the not-as-lovely province Flevoland needs to be visited too I suppose. And Noord-Holland may be next, hopefully Haarlem or Alkmaar.

I guess they wanted to highlight the Achterhoek; not sure which other more substantial city they might have chosen (Zutphen was already chosen in 1998).

It will also be interesting to see which part of Friesland they will pick in future years. Based on previous koninginnedag visits all being concentrated in the (north)east, the (south)west would be appropriate - resulting in Drachten being the best option (also second largest city in Friesland) although it doesn't have a very inspiring nor historical city center like most other cities in the Netherlands. So, I wouldn't be surprised if they instead end up in Leeuwarden (north) or even (rather small) Dokkum (northeast).

For Zeeland, the following areas were already visited by Queen Beatrix (although a long time ago):
- Noord-Beveland (Veere)
- Tholen (Sint-Maartensdijk)
- Zuid-Beveland (Wemeldinge)
- Walcheren (Middelburg)
So, that leaves Schouwen-Duivenland (with Zierikzee as the main contender) or Zeeuws-Vlaanderen (Terneuzen is the largest town in this area that borders Belgium).

In Flevoland the provincial capital Lelystad has not yet been visited; the two other major towns (Emmeloord, Almere) were visited by Queen Beatrix in the past.