Willem-Alexander: Netherlands celebrate King's Day

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Willem-Alexander toasts his birthday: "Long shall he live"

Photo: Remko de Waal/POOL/EPA

The Netherlands celebrate King's Day because King Willem-Alexander turns 55 today.

For the first time after two years with corona restrictions, the Dutch held folk festivals and giant flea markets on the day of honor.

Willem-Alexander traveled to Maastricht with his family.

The people greeted the king on his arrival with a »Long shall he live«.

Willem-Alexander took a tour of the city together with Queen Máxima and the daughters Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane.

During a musical performance, the family danced on a stage, and the queen in particular clearly had fun.

"Those were two years that we will not forget," said the king in a key speech with a view to the corona pandemic and severe flooding that hit the southern province of Limburg last year.

In view of the war in Ukraine, the Dutch should be grateful that they can celebrate together in peace and security.

"That's why we always have to fight for our democracy, our peace and our security and show together that we want to live in a free country," said Willem-Alexander.

When the sun was shining, people, some wearing clothes or hats in the orange color of the royal family, streamed into the cities, and in many places there were dense crowds.

In Amsterdam, the police even called for people not to come to the city by boat because there was too much traffic on the water, especially in the canals.

Celebrating people were there in small boats.

Deteriorated poll numbers

For his birthday, however, Willem-Alexander received a somewhat unfriendly testimony from his compatriots.

Only 47 percent of citizens still trust the monarch, compared to 57 percent a year ago.

In the annual Ipsos survey published on King's Day on behalf of the public broadcaster NOS, Queen Máxima got slightly better values ​​than in the previous year.

The royal family had not always followed the corona rules, which probably had an impact on the popularity ratings.

However, according to the survey, three out of five Dutch people still support the monarchy as a form of government.

ptz/dpa