| Koningsdag | |
|---|---|
 People dressed in orange on the canals of Amsterdam in 2010 | |
| Observed by | Kingdom of the Netherlands (Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten) |
| Type | National holiday |
| Significance | Birthday of King Willem-Alexander |
| Celebrations | Partying, wearing orange costumes, flea markets, concerts and traditional local gatherings |
| Date | 27 April (26 April if 27 April is a Sunday) |
| Frequency | annual |
Koningsdag (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkoːnɪŋzdɑx] ) or King's Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Celebrated on 27 April (26 April if the 27th is a Sunday), the date marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander.[1] When the Dutch monarch is female, the holiday is known as Koninginnedag (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌkoːnɪŋˈɪnədɑx] ) or Queen's Day and, under Queen Beatrix until 2013, was celebrated on 30 April. She prolonged the tradition that was born under her mother’s reign: Queen Juliana’s (Queen of The Netherlands from 1948 till 1980) birthday was on April 30th.
The holiday was initially observed on 31 August 1885 as Prinsessedag or Princess's Day, 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 31 August 1891. In September 1948, Wilhelmina's daughter Juliana ascended to the throne and the holiday was moved to her birthday, 30 April. The holiday was celebrated on this date from 1949.
Juliana's daughter, Beatrix, retained the celebration on 30 April upon her ascent to the throne in 1980, because her birthday was on 31 January, the middle of winter.[2] Beatrix did alter 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.
In 2009, the Queen was celebrating Queen's Day in the city of Apeldoorn when a confused man drove into a crowd of people and crashed into a monument: seven people in the crowd were killed, as was the driver.
Queen Beatrix abdicated on Koninginnedag 2013, and her son, Willem-Alexander, ascended the throne (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 moved three days earlier to 27 April, Willem-Alexander's actual birthday.
Koningsdag is known for its nationwide vrijmarkt ('free market'), at which the Dutch sell their used items. It is also an opportunity for "orange madness" or oranjegekte, a kind of frenzy named for the national colour.
- ^ AZ (30 April 2013). "Besluit vaststelling en aanduiding zevenentwintigste april als Koningsdag" (in Dutch). BWBR0032908.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ AZ (24 April 1980). "Besluit aanduiding van de dertigste april als Koninginnedag" (in Dutch). BWBR0031338.
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