"King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands has begun his reign by paying tribute to his mother Princess Beatrix who abdicated in his favour after 33 years as Queen."
A nice Queens day it was, I'm glad I went out. I left a bit earlier then planned, as always, lol! A hour earlier then planned. Enschede was where I headed to today, I arrived nicely on time. Though a bit to early, it wasn't crowded at all, the sun was gone and the wind was cold. I wore a Autumn jacket, and that was just enough. In the centre of Enschede was a huge screen where people could watch 'live' the abdication in Amsterdam, many people were watching. They stood or they sat on long tables eating their food and drinking their drinks. The abdication took right place when I arrived, good timing! It all gave a deep impact and I almost let a tear, lol. I wasn't the only one. Later on I saw and heared on TV that this special royal day gave to every citizen in Holland a huge impact. Impactfull, moving, touching and a powerfull day it was for us Dutch people. Queen Beatrix was getting older, she was ready for the abdication, now that her Son is taking it over it feels like a breath of fresh air is going trough the Dutch monarchy. We're ready for a new generation.
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| Enschede in the late morning. |
Everywhere in Holland there were markets, flea markets, live performances, dance performances, actually anything to celebrate this special day. Amsterdam's population has doubled with at least 800,000 visitors flooding the city with orange painted faces, orange hats, wigs, flags and banners, the official colour of the Dutch royal house. Aswell Enschede, celebrated, though, like I said it wasn't that busy. Maybe better, because when it's to crowded it ain't that fun. I didn't stay that long, I spended four hours in Enschede, it was more then enough. Next year on Queens day I will celebrate it in Amsterdam, I regretted it a bit I wasn't in Amsterdam. On forehand I didn't know what to expect actually in Amsterdam, it could have gone way out of hand with demonstrations or fights, I don't know. I'm mostly on my hood with massive crowds. But next year there won't be a new crowning, lol. So, I'll be fine. At 1:00 pm I went home, arrived home at 1:30 pm. Nicely on time to watch live the inauguration from Willem Alexander, our new King on TV.
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| The huge screen in the centre of Enschede. |
"King Willem-Alexander is the Netherlands' first king since 1890. He has promised to be a 21st century king and not a "protocol fetishist".
"Queen Maxima was born in Argentina. They have three children; their nine-year-old daughter Catharina-Amalia now becomes Princess of Orange and heir to the throne."
"The act of abdication was signed in the Royal Palace on Dam Square in central Amsterdam, which is full of orange-clad crowds, many wearing inflatable orange crowns."
"The day will culminate in a boat trip by the new king and queen around the IJ waterway."
"Royal guests from 18 countries are attending, including Charles and Camilla from Britain. Charles was also there when Beatrix became queen in 1980." (Woot!)
Anti-monarchy aswell: "Here we have a head of state casually handing her job to her son without any mention of the dissenting voices or the legitimacy of the process. As for the abdication itself, clearly it can’t be legitimate in a modern democracy for a head of state to hand her job over to her son like this. The Dutch people should be given a choice."
"Church bells rang out across the city as the family appeared on the balcony of the royal palace and people in the square waved flags and blew horns. "I'm happy and grateful to present you your new King Willem-Alexander," Beatrix told the crowd."
"Beatrix announced her abdication in January, saying it was time for a new generation."
"You kept to a stable and pure course because you knew you were part of a long tradition," King Willem-Alexander said to his mother, Queen Beatrix. "I will continue to take on that task."
Anyway, there's so much to say from this day, I think I will be writing till the weekend if I would. But let's not, this day brought a positive vibe over Holland and I hope this will continue in the future, Long live the King!
