Netherlands to celebrate last Queen’s Day on April 30

The Netherlands will celebrate its last Queen’s Day on April 30, its embassy in Seoul said Thursday.

On the day Queen Beatrix will abdicate the throne and her oldest son, Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, will become King Willem-Alexander.

From next year, King’s Day will be celebrated on the birthday of King Willem-Alexander, which falls on April 27. But since April 27 is a Sunday in 2014, it will be celebrated on April 26 once. 

Since kings and queens in the Netherlands are not crowned, the ceremony is called “abdication and investiture.”

Queen Beatrix will sign the instrument of abdication in the Royal Palace, Amsterdam. Once the instrument is signed before the investiture ceremony, the Prince of Orange will become king under constitutional law.

From that moment, Queen Beatrix’s title will become Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau. She will be addressed as Your Royal Highness.

The new monarch will be referred to as His Majesty the King. His official title will be His Majesty King Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau and the like. He will be addressed as Your Majesty.

Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix and His Majesty the King will give a short address from the balcony of the palace. Then, the king, his wife Queen Maxima and their daughters will make an appearance on the balcony.

A little later, the investiture of the king will take place in de Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in Amsterdam. In this session, the two Chambers of the States General (members of parliament) come together to swear or affirm that they will uphold the doctrine that the ministers, not the king, are responsible for acts of government and that they will uphold the rights of the monarchy. But before the chambers swear or affirm, the king is confirmed in office and swears to be faithful to the constitution and to faithfully discharge the duties of his office.

The king’s wife, Princess Maxima, will be referred to as Her Majesty the Queen. Her official title will be Her Majesty Queen Maxima, Princess of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau. She will be addressed as Your Majesty. This title is a courtesy title for the wife of the king, Queen Maxima will not become head of state.

The title of the oldest daughter of the king, Princess Catharina-Amalia, will change into Her Royal Highness the Princess of Orange.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)