ON Tuesday 30 April the present queen of the Netherlands, Her Majesty Queen Beatrix, abdicated in favour of her eldest son, His Royal Highness Prince William Alexander, after 33 years on the throne.
This is a significant occasion for the 340 residents of the Tweed Shire who were born in the Netherlands and was celebrated with a Dutch Dinner at the Murwillumbah Services Club at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Guests were asked to wear something orange.
Why orange? Martin Jansen in de Wal has provided some brief notes on the Royal Family of the Netherlands, known as the House of Orange.
“For 250 years a Prince of Orange ruled over the Dutch Republic as ’stadhouder’ (stadtholder or governor) but at the end of the Napoleonic era the incumbent Prince of Orange, William VI, returned from exile and on 15 March 1815 proclaimed himself king, assuming the title of King William I,” Mr Jansen in de Wal said.
“Since that date there have been seven kings or queens, three of those being well-known to most Australians – Queen Wilhelmina, the present queen’s grandmother, Queen Juliana, the previous queen, and currently Queen Beatrix, who turned 75 on 31 January this year.
“Like her mother and her grandmother before her, Queen Beatrix has chosen to abdicate and hand over to her son, who will be 46 on 27 April.
“One sad reason is that her second son, Prince Friso, suffered a serious accident two years ago and has been in a coma since then.
“Clearly his mother feels that looking after him and his wife and young family takes priority, and rightly so, over matters of state.”
According to Mr Jansen in de Wal the dynasty of the Princes of Orange dates to 1544, when Prince William I of Nassau inherited the lands of Orange in France. Henceforth, William called himself Prince William of Orange-Nassau.
“He is regarded as the Father of the Fatherland and the national anthem The Wilhelmus is dedicated to his memory,” he said.
“It is one of the oldest anthems in the world and probably, with 16 verses, one of the longest.
“The guests at our dinner will however only be singing the first verse which begins ‘William of Nassau, of Dutch blood am I, faithful to the Fatherland will I be unto death…’”
The House of Nassau dates back to the 10th century with the construction of the Castle of Nassau in the Rhineland of Germany.
The first Count of Nassau was Henry I who lived in the 13th century and the present royal family is descended from that count.
The Ridderzaal in The Hague, where the Dutch Parliament meets, was also constructed in the 13th century.
William I led the United Provinces of the Netherlands in their 80-year struggle to free themselves from Spanish rule. He was assassinated in 1584 by a hired killer sent by King Philip of Spain.
The war ended in 1648 with the establishment of the Dutch Republic, one of the oldest in Europe.
It was ruled by various Princes of Orange, including William III, who by marriage was also King of England, Scotland and Ireland and hence one of the most powerful monarchs in Europe.
His battles in Ireland are remembered by many loyal ’Orangemen’ in Ireland to this day. Perhaps not a legacy one ought to be proud of!
“Although most Dutchmen and women love and respect their queen and will no doubt love and respect their new king (the first king for more than a century), republican sentiment is strong and the Dutch Constitution of 1848 sets severe limits to the powers of the monarch,” Mr Jansen in de Wal said.
“We do not surround our kings and queens with the mystique that her British and Australian subjects bestow on Queen Elizabeth.
“We love them as human beings and as part of our Dutch family – a princely family that has been with us and shared our fortunes and misfortunes, in war and peace, for a thousand years.”
A monthly column supplied by the members of the Tweed-based Dutch Australian Festival Committee Inc in the countdown to the festival in 2015.
