A Royal City

Stroll through the heart of The Hague’s old city centre you’ll feel something regal in the air.

A gentle curve in the street allows you to discover cafés and shops on the sunny Denneweg one by one as you make your way toward the Hotel Des Indes. As you reach the Lange Voorhout, trees meet majestically high above your head to shield your way from the sun, and as the wind gently stirs the leaves you can hear the echoes of the international royalty and statesmen who have been welcomed here for centuries.

Continue right and in a few moments you’ll find the Noordeinde Palace, the Queen’s professional quarters and one-time resident to Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, resplendent before you; the flag fluttering above alerts you to their presence.

The feeling is palpable perhaps because, typical to Dutch egalitarianism, you just might encounter a member of the royal family on her bicycle shopping incognito at any of the ‘royal suppliers’ on the Noordeinde, Maliestraat or the Denneweg itself.

Huis ten Bosch Palace, Queen Beatrix’s residence, is situated on the outskirts of the city, a ten-minute taxi ride from the city centre. You can imagine the royal grandmother, Queen Wilhelmina, receiving the delegations to the First Peace Conference in 1899, the prestigious event that laid the basis for Boutros Boutros Ghali describing The Hague as the 'legal capital of the world'.

Prinsjesdag (Prince's Day)

Every third Tuesday in September is Prince’s Day, the opening of Dutch parliament. A festive day, children in The Hague are free from school so they may watch the procession of the Gouden Koets (Golden Coach) in which the Queen is driven from her palace on the Noordeinde to the Ridderzaal (Hall of Knights) in the Binnenhof, the houses of Dutch Parliament.

Here she reads the ‘Speech from the Throne’, written jointly by the Ministers and Secretaries of State, outlining the government’s plans for the coming year. As the procession returns to the Noordeinde Palace, the road is lined by members of the Dutch Royal Armed Forces, and in the afternoon the Royal Family appear on the palace balcony to address an adoring and often frenzied public.

Queen’s Day

30 April is the birthday of Queen Juliana, Queen Beatrix’s mother, and when Beatrix ascended to the throne in 1980 she proclaimed her mother’s birthday Koninginnedag, or Queen’s Day, to be celebrated in stead of her own birthday, 31 January. The queen visits two Dutch towns on the special day and locals spend months preparing. International visitors are nearly always impressed by the informal atmosphere and lack of pomp surrounding the royal family.

The night before Queen's Day a well-known music festival is held in The Hague's city centre featuring a wide range of bands and artists. This party attracts many thousands of people every year and starts in the early evening of 29 April, the eve of Queen’s Day.

Facts

• The Gouden Koets (Golden Coach) was presented to Queen Wilhelmina by the city of Amsterdam on the occasion of her inauguration in 1898. The coach is kept in the Royal Stables in The Hague.
• Most Wednesday mornings, two new ambassadors will present the credentials authorising them to represent their countries in the Netherlands to Her Majesty, Queen Beatrix, at Noordeinde Palace between 9.45 and 10.30 hrs. in a formal ceremony.

More info

Government Information Service (Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst)

The Government Information Service (RVD) provides information on the Royal House, government policy in general, and the Ministry of General Affairs.
Visitors' address:
Binnenhof 19
Correspondence address:
Postbus 20001
2500 EA The Hague
Telephone: +31 70 356 40 00
Website: www.minaz.nl

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Information and Communication Department
Visitor’s address:
Bezuidenhoutseweg 67
Correspondence address:
P.O. Box 20061
2500 EB The Hague
Telephone: +31 70 348 64 86
Website: www.minbuza.nl

For more information on the Dutch royal family visit the website of The Dutch Royal House.