Queen's Day
Koninginnedag / Netherlands | Holiday
Queen's Day, or Koninginnedag, was a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1891 through 2013. From 1949 through 2013, it was celebrated on April 30. It was succeeded by King's Day, or Koningsdag, observed on April 27 (or April 26 if April 27 is a Sunday), starting in 2014.
The holiday was initially observed on August 31, 1885 as Princess's Day, or Prinsessedag, the fifth birthday of Princess Wilhelmina, then heir presumptive to the Dutch throne. On her accession in November 1890, the holiday acquired the name Koninginnedag, first celebrated on August 31, 1891. In September 1948, Wilhelmina's daughter Juliana ascended the throne, and the holiday was moved to her birthday, April 30, starting in 1949.
Subject ID: 102794
MoreQueen's Day, or Koninginnedag, was a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1891 through 2013. From 1949 through 2013, it was celebrated on April 30. It was succeeded by King's Day, or Koningsdag, observed on April 27 (or April 26 if April 27 is a Sunday), starting in 2014.
The holiday was initially observed on August 31, 1885 as Princess's Day, or Prinsessedag, the fifth birthday of Princess Wilhelmina, then heir presumptive to the Dutch throne. On her accession in November 1890, the holiday acquired the name Koninginnedag, first celebrated on August 31, 1891. In September 1948, Wilhelmina's daughter Juliana ascended the throne, and the holiday was moved to her birthday, April 30, starting in 1949.
Juliana's daughter, Beatrix, retained the celebration on April 30 after she ascended the throne in 1980, though her birthday was on January 31. Beatrix altered her mother's custom of receiving a floral parade at Soestdijk Palace, instead choosing to visit different Dutch towns each year and join in the festivities with her children.
Queen Beatrix abdicated on Koninginnedag 2013, and her son, Willem-Alexander, ascended the throne. He is the first king since the observance of the national holiday. As a result, the holiday became known as Koningsdag from 2014 on, and the celebration was shifted three days forward to April 27, the king's birthday.
Queen's Day was known for its nationwide "free market," or vrijmarkt, at which the Dutch sold their used items. It was also an opportunity for "orange madness," or oranjegekte, a kind of frenzy named for the national color.
Subject ID: 102794
Subject ID: 102794
