Odysseus Abroad: The House of Orange

Koninginnedag - Queen's Day - Queen Beatrix - King Willem Alexander

The subjects show their Orange Pride

Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands abdicated her position April 30th 2013, the birthday of her mother Juliana and a date she kept as the national holiday Queen's Day even after her mother abdicated the throne in 1980. Queen's Day 2013 also marks the tenth anniversary of my first visit (as an adult) to Amsterdam; I recall this because the city hotels were full due to the holiday, and rather than stay at Schipol Airport hotel, I booked a corporate apartment ran by Hotel Kraznapolski just off Dam Square. That year the holiday was on a Friday and I recalled a glorious sunny day of people revelling in the street, a sea of orange walking over smashed beer cans. This year the holiday was on a Tuesday, sandwiched between two work days, but no less hectic; in fact, more so, because the King Willem Alexander would take over on the day.

I have never lived under a monarch and find it easy to ignore monarchic affairs generally, kind of like professional football teams which make me feel like I should be "routing for", to use an American term, a corporation like Microsoft or Procter and Gamble. Non-elected non-merit based power rings alarm bells in the ears of those used to a republican power structure, but monarchic power had been limited to the symbolic level in most free countries today and is accepted by many countries essentially operating as republics. One can't ignore the French rebuke of the monarch in setting up the quintessential republican state and, or course, the United States, which specifically eliminated the need for such a role in government; on the immigration documents of my own grandfather to the United States in 1918 was a statement required the cancellation of allegiance "especially to King George of the United Kingdom".

The Dutch were ruled by the Hapsburg empire in the sixteenth century under the governance of a diplomat, William of Orange, a nobleman of Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He was awarded title of Prince of Orange, a region on the Rhone in southern France in 1544. He became disenchanted with the Hapsburg rule, the treatment of Dutch Protestants and the centralization of power under the Spanish monarchs, so he led the Dutch revolt on the 1570s. Known as "William the Silent", his declaration of independence led to the eighty year war with Spain which eventually freed The Netherlands, but he was assassinated in 1584. The Dutch Republic was formed and been ruled mostly by Williams (or Wilhelmina) ever since, but for a few others like Juliana and Beatrix. For all the King Williams that The Netherlands have had over the years, I was surprised that I did not know any Dutch people named William, but then realized the common name Wim is a shortening of the name.

Queen Beatrix steps down

Overhoeks building clad in royal colors by The Eye

Military operations in preparation for the big day

Rijks Museum

Security operations on the day

The Dutch have genuine pride in their monarch today and spend Queen's day celebrating national pride and unity; however, there used to be a different character to the day in the 1960s. Riots, smashed windows and burning barricades were the annual norm each April 30th in the late 1960's when social unrest and tension in society was unleashed. Police responded with force to control the anarchy, which also added to the unpleasantness. The more well adjusted citizens and local businessmen were fed up with the turmoil and formed a group called Orange Committee which organized the day better and resolved the riot problems in the 1970's. They encouraged more activities in order to keep people engaged, including children's games, street free sales, sporting activities and concerts. The police showed more restraint and all became well and positive on the holiday. During the 1980 Queen's Day, on which Queen Juliana abdicated and Queen Beatrix became regent, riots erupted again. This time it was driven by squatters; the baby boomers of post World War II were constrained of places to live and took over the derelict and decaying buildings in the city. When the city and owners pushed back and retook their property, the squatters turned to street protest and riots. The army were called in and tanks roamed the streets for the first time since the war. Even in the current recession, the population today is well fed and housed and generally wealthy compared to the post war decades. The Queen is well liked and the people take pride in the holiday.

Growing up in Ireland the House of Orange had a different connotation, as the Unionists of Northern Ireland marched through Catholic areas each July 11th to celebrate the victory of William of Orange over James II in the Battle of the Boyne, Ireland. Whereas William of Orange brought freedom leading to prosperity in The Netherlands and the protestant wave in Northern Europe was a positive counterbalance to the influence of inept Papal governance, the result in Ulster has been negative and sectarian; rather than take the freedoms that the House of Orange secured and spread through the kingdoms they ruled, The Orange Order of Ulster is purely a sectarian society. They should take a lesson from The Dutch House of Orange which has fostered a stable society for both Catholics and Protestants in The Netherlands. The title of Orange did not derive from the fruit originally; Arausio the Celtic God of water gave it's name to a Roman Legion stationed along the Rhone two Millennium ago. The name evolved and eventually became Orange. It is somewhat ironic that the The Orange Order is named after a Celtic God.

The view from my office window overlooks the Amsterdam waterfront from the North side and I viewed days of preparation activities around The Eye, Amsterdam's new Film museum where the King would visit on the day. A coronation is a religious crowning of a regent, so would be no part of the day's secular ceremonies; however, the inauguration of the new King was to happen in the New Church (Nieuwe Kerk) next to the Palace in Dam Square. I didn't get an invite and had already seen Queen's Day in Dam Square, so instead we took the tram to Beethoven Straat near Beatrix Park, from where the streets were blocked off to traffic. The streets were lined with the Dutch version of a garage sale; people dumped the contents of their attics and old closets onto tarpaulin sheets on the streets for sale. People with orange hair and dutch flag painted cheeks roamed the sales, but there was little of value. Many businesses and restaurants were closed, but they set up temporary food and drink stalls outdoors for the day. We turned on Van Baerlestraat toward Museum Plein stopping at an outdoor food vendor for burgers. A local man told us more about the holiday and the Royal family; King William Alexander's younger brother Prince Frisco removed himself from the line of hereditary succession to the throne due to his marriage, which was unapproved by the cabinet and parliament, which is a reflection of the public governance and oversight of the Dutch Royal Family. Unfortunately he was incapacitated by an avalanche in 2012. He was the smarter one, the man reported. He gifted Liam an orange beak which he had made himself.

The sun emerged and we spend the afternoon hours at a large outdoor concert on the green at Museum Plein with the Rijks Museum in the background. Giant screens showed the inauguration with both the upper and lower house of parliament present as stipulated in the constitution. The bustling stresses and tensions of the normal day in Amsterdam gave way to a relaxed and loving atmosphere throughout the city. The people in the park were as interesting as the concert and activities of the day. In a city of orderly logical people who live within boundaries, the day allows room for some excess in expression of costume and makeup. On the tram from Amstelveen the University students and local residents, with whom I commute regularly, were dressed in outrageous orange costumes and hair pieces. Cheeks of red white and blue and other face painting was prevalent. The scene was visually outrageous, but the order and posture of the passengers was subdued as on any normal day commute. Out on the streets the atmosphere was more lively, especially as the crowd became more drunk as the day went the behaviour started to match the costumes better.

We walked to the Vondel Park which was setup for kids activities for the day. Kids sold their wares along the ring road of the park. We stopped at a play ground where the boys played and a local lady told us about past Queen's Days when the park was much more busy; she explained that the inauguration has pulled more people to town center and Museumplein to view the ceremony, but in past years people are free to just enjoy the day in the park. We walked south to Zuid to catch a tram home. The streets were quieter as people finished their day and some of the sales were left abandoned, their contents not valuable enough to collect up and bring home. Along Olympiaplein we searched the spoils left behind and found a few books in English to take home.

Security operations were high on the day, with helicopters in the sky and a strong but non-intrusive police presence. Military and coast guard activities were also evident the days before the holiday and I am sure the recent bombs at the Boston Marathon were also on the minds of security services. There was no turmoil on the day. The morning after I cycles through the city to work on the north side; hundreds of police were still on duty at key locations around the Palace and other locations, but the streets were empty of people. Trash was strewn everywhere and large crews of clean-up teams and trucks worked to restore the city, May is holiday month and Liberation Day was less than a week away.