Royal Family of The Netherlands
The Royal Family of Orange reigning now in the Netherlands, takes its roots in the 13th century, with its importance growing in the 16th century, when William I of Orange ((1533-1584), also known as "William the Silent" or "Father of the Fatherland", led the resistance against the Spanish rule. After the prolonged war, The Netherlands remained a proud of its independence republic, while the House of Orange maintained a leading role in the country political life. It is only after a disturbing period of the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars, which followed, that the constitutional monarchy was introduced in the Netherlands.
Modern tradition of the WWII and the resistance against the occupation by Nazi Germany, renewed the strong historical bond between Dutch patriotism and the Oranje Family.
Color of Orange
The name Orange takes its roots from the French Princedom of Orange, named after the town Orange in the South of France. The Queen’s title is a result of marriage in 1515 between Hendrik III of Nassau-Breda and Claudia of Châlon-Orange from French Burgundy. The dynasty had been established, when their son adopted the title of Orange-Nassau. Today orange is the traditional color of the Dutch monarchy as well as beloved color of the whole country. You may well see it observing a crowd of supporters of the Dutch football team.
House of Orange Today
Queen Beatrix is the nominal head of state in the Netherlands. Several existing laws of the present political system in the Netherlands and the Queen’s role were established by the parliament.
Queen Beatrix married German born Prince Claus (who died after prolonged illness in 2002) and the royal couple had three sons. The oldest, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, is the first heir to the throne (b.1967), his brothers are Johan Friso (b.1968) who had a serious skiing accident in Austria in 2012, and Constantijn (b.1969).
Willem Alexander married in 2002 Argentinean born Maxima. Willem-Alexander and Maxima have three daughters – Catharina-Amalia, Alexia and Ariane.
Royal residences
The Queen uses two palaces in The Hague - The Noordeinde Palace and Huis ten Bosch, as well as the Royal Palace on the Dam square in Amsterdam. All these palaces are owned by the Dutch State. The Noordeinde Palace in the center of town is a place where Queen’s offices are located, while Huis ten Bosch is her residence. The palace on the Dam square in Amsterdam has largely a ceremonial role. It is here that the official guests are often received by the Queen. Every now and then, it is possible to visit this palace.
Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima live in Villa Eikenhorst. Their office is located at Noordeinde 66 in The Hague, next to the Noordeinde Palace in the very center of town.
An interesting residence, which serves today as the museum is Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn. It is here, that a relatively modest residence of the Queen´s younger sister Princess Margriet and her husband, Pieter van Vollenhoven is located. The Het Loo Palace and its beautiful park are today open to the public. Princess Margriet was born during the WWII in 1943, in Canada. The Ottawa Civic Hospital where Queen Juliana gave birth was declared temporarily a Dutch territory, not to make a newborn princess a British subject. Dutch Royal Family was at the time on exile in Canada, because of the German occupation of the Netherlands.
Dutch people have feelings of love and admiration towards their Royals. Every year on April 30 a festive, carnival-like Queen’s Day (Dutch: Koninginnedag) is celebrated all over the country. If the date of May 30 falls on Sunday, the Queen’s day is celebrated a day earlier - on Saturday 29th.
An official website about the Dutch Royal House maintained by the Netherlands Government Information Service: www.koninklijkhuis.nl |
