Long live the Queen, and the King! Let the orange madness begin!

The Dutch do it better. I know, I know, Mrs. Ciccone was contributing to Italian fame all over the world, but in this case that made more sense. In which case? But in the Koninginendag, obviously! Which is, to put it bluntly, one of the world’s open biggest party, held in one of the world’s smallest country, The Netherlands.

And what do Dutch people better than other? Celebrate! Yes, they take this matter seriously. Extremely seriously. So much that during Carnival everyone is dressed up in the funniest way, with mismatched clothes to fancy dresses, but with one purpose in mind: HAVE FUN.

So, imagine what is going to happen tomorrow, when the Queen Beatrix will pass on the crown to her first son, king-to-be Prince Willem Alexander. That day, the Koninginendag, or Queen’s Day[1], everyone in The Netherlands will wear something orange (or red-white-blue), and will spend the day celebrating the last Queen’s Day in 128 years. The most important ceremonies will be held in Amsterdam, at the Royal Palace in Dam Square, and in the Nieuwe Kerk. But everywhere in the Kingdom of The Netherlands there will be parties, flea markets, bouncing houses for children, concerts. Not to lose even a couple of hours of fun, lots of parties are held tonight, with dances, beers, and orange all over.

Becoming part of history is something everyone wants, and tomorrow will be the day. At 10 o’clock Queen Beatrix will sign the Instrument of Abdication at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, in favor of her son Willem-Alexander, who will become king after three queens (Beatrix, her mum Juliana, and her grandmother Wilhelmina). She announced she would abdicate on Queen’s Day on 28^th January, 3 days before her 75^th birthday, two weeks before Benedict XVI announced his resignation to the throne of Peter. What’s new is that the queen consort, Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti, wife of Willem-Alexander, most beloved by the Dutch, has not a single drop of royal blood. She is said to be descendant of King Alfonso III of Portugal, but what stains her past is her father. To be more precise, Jorge Zorreguieta was Minister of Agricolture in the regime of Argentinean General Videla. However, Zorreguieta has always claimed he didn't know about the Dirty War, the state terrorism that reigned in Argentina during Videla’s regime. As for this reason, he was not invited to the royal wedding of his daughter with Willem-Alexander, nor to the investiture that is going to take place in few minutes.

That shows more and more how Dutch people are beyond their times. Maybe they can set a good example for others… And now, let the orange madness begin! 

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[1] As you can read nearly everywhere, the Queen’s Day is not the actual queen’s birthday – which is on January 31 – but her mum’s, Juliana. For “climatic’ reasons, they decided to keep the party on the late queen’s day. With the new king, it will move to 27 April, which is still acceptable. But being a Sunday, the first King’s Day in 2014 will be held on 26^th April.