King’s Day in Netherlands
King’s Day (or Koningsdag in Dutch) is one of two national holidays in Netherlands (the other being Liberation Day or Bevrijdingsdag). The whole country celebrates the monarch’s birthday. Read on to find out more about King’s Day in Netherlands…
The first festivities were held on 31 August 1885, but they were not a celebration of the king’s birthday, but rather the 5th birthday of his daughter, Princess Wilhelmina, who was heir-apparent at the time. The observance was referred to as Princess Day (‘Prinsessedag‘).
Five years later 10-year old Princess Wilhelmina ascended to the throne upon the death of her father, King Willem III. The national festivities celebrating her birthday was then renamed Queen’s Day (Koninginnedag).
KING’S DAY vs. QUEEN’S DAY
Most expats in Netherlands are well-acquainted with King’s Day festivities, but in actuality, there have been relatively few of these celebrations. The very first King’s Day in Netherlands was celebrated just 11 years ago in 2014. This was one year after King Willem-Alexander ascended to the throne. That makes 2026 only the 13th time King’s Day has ever been celebrated in Netherlands.
In comparison, Queen’s Day has been celebrated 123 times in Netherlands, from 1890 through 2013. This span covers the reigns of Queen Wilhelmina, Queen Julianna and Queen Beatrix.
Queen’s Day/King’s Day is observed on the birthday of the current reigning Dutch monarch with one exception. When Queen Beatrix ascended to the throne in 1980, she requested the date used during her reign continue to be the birthday of her mother, Queen Juliana (30 April) since the timing was much more conducive to good weather than her own birthday (31 January). This was preferable as most of the celebrations involve outdoor activities.
Since William-Alexander has been on the throne, the official celebration date is his actual birthday… April 27th.
KING’S DAY ACTIVITIES
A tradition introduced by Queen Beatrix, and continued by King Willem-Alexander, is a royal family visit to a Dutch city as part of the day’s festivities. A different location is chosen each year.
The royal family will spend King’s Day 2026 visiting the town of Dokkum.
Other cities that recently welcomed the royal family for King’s Day festivities include Doetinchem (2025), Emmen (2024), Rotterdam (2023), Maastricht (2022), Eindhoven (2021), Amersfoort (2019), Groningen (2018) and Tilburg (2017). The 2020 visit was cancelled due to the Coronavirus epidemic.
In addition to the royal’s family visit (which is a televised event), traditional King’s Day activities include free markets (where people can sell their secondhand items without a permit), fun fairs, outdoor dance parties and concerts. In many cities, festivities begin the evening prior (26 April) which is referred to as King’s Night (or Koningsnacht).
ORANGE ON KING’S DAY
Many people in Netherlands wear orange to celebrate King’s Day. This is because the Dutch monarchy descends from the House of Oranje-Nassau, so orange has unofficially been adopted as the national color.
KING’S DAY FLAG
On King’s Day, the Netherlands tri-color (red/wht/blue) striped flag is flown with an additional orange scarf or pennant to signify a special day of celebration relating to the royal family.
The same orange scarf is also flown in combination with the Netherlands flag on Queen Maxima’s birthday (17 May), former Queen Beatrix’s birthday (31 January) and the Princess of Orange’s birthday (7 December).
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