Prince’s Day: The Essentials
Prince’s Day is the opening of the new parliamentary year of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
(=Parliament = the democratically elected representative body)
(Originally, in the 18th century, Prince’s Day celebrated the birthday of Stadtholder Prince William V on 8 March)
Prince’s Day takes place on the third Tuesday of September.
(It has not always been held on this date. Throughout history, Prince’s Day has fallen on different days. Until 1887 it was held on a Monday, but this meant many Members of Parliament had to travel to The Hague on a Sunday. To preserve the Sunday day of rest, the ceremony was moved to Tuesday.)
On Prince’s Day, the King delivers the Speech from the Throne. It outlines the government’s main plans for the coming year.
(Through the Speech from the Throne, the government asks the Senate and the House of Representatives to support the legislation needed to carry out these plans.)
Those present in the hall include:
- Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives
- Ministers and State Secretaries
- Guests, including representatives of other countries
- The press and a number of members of the public
(Some Members of Parliament deliberately stay away from the Speech from the Throne because, on principle, they oppose the Netherlands having a monarch rather than a president.)
Other members of the Royal House also attend the Speech from the Throne, including the adult children of the King or Queen.
(Until the 1960s, all attending members of the Royal House were seated on the throne dais.)
After the Speech from the Throne, the Minister of Finance presents the Budget Memorandum and the National Budget to the House of Representatives...
...and the members of the Royal House return to Noordeinde Palace, where they greet the crowds from the balcony: the traditional balcony scene.
A Quick Guide to the Throne & Democracy
The Kingdom of the Netherlands (the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten) is a Constitutional Monarchy
(Constitution = the fundamental law of the state)
(Monarchy = a form of government in which the head of state is a monarch)
This means that...
- the King’s role is laid down in the Constitution.
- the King bears no political responsibility.
- the King is inviolable; the prime minister is responsible.
The King does, however, have formal duties.
The King:
- signs Acts of Parliament
- administers the oath of office to ministers
- delivers the Speech from the Throne on Prince’s Day
- represents the Kingdom of the Netherlands at home and abroad
Alongside these formal duties, the King’s role is often described as:
- unifying
- representative
- encouraging
May the King vote?
Everybody aged 18 and over and in possession of a Dutch passport is entitled to vote. So that includes the King.
The Netherlands is a Parliamentary Democracy
(Democracy = a form of government in which ultimate power rests with the people)
(Parliament = the people’s elected representative body)
That means those who are eligible to vote, may elect their representatives. The representatives are seated in the House of Representatives. Elections to the Senate are not direct. The Senate is elected by the members of the Provincial Councils.
Senate: 75 seats
House of Representatives: 150 seats
Parliament scrutinizes The Government (= the King and the ministers)
The Cabinet
= the ministers and State Secretaries
Questions and Answers
Who writes the Speech from the Throne?
The prime minister.
(Early 19th century, the King wrote the speech himself. After the Constitution of 1848 came into force, ministers became responsible for government policy, while the King’s role became increasingly ceremonial.)1
Why does the King read it?
The King is part of the Government. The Constitution (Article 65) states that the King (or Queen) delivers the Speech from the Throne. It symbolizes the connection between the Head of State and Parliament.
What happens if the King or Queen is unable to attend?
Occasionally, the monarch cannot attend because of illness, pregnancy or family circumstances. In 1911, Queen Wilhelmina refused to attend because she was frustrated by what she considered the weak leadership of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. She wanted him to resign, but he refused to do so.
If this is the case, the prime minister takes on their tasks.
Why does the Speech from the Throne always begin with ‘Members of the States General’?
Because the King is a guest at the joint meeting of the States General (Parliament: the Senate and the House of Representatives together).
Why do so many people wear hats on Prince’s Day?
In 1977, Member of Parliament Erica Terpstra became the first politician to wear a hat in the Hall of Knights. Terpstra said:
‘It felt very strange to attend the opening of the parliamentary year in my ordinary clothes. After all, it is the great celebration of our democracy. It also felt discourteous towards the Queen.’
(Many others followed her example, giving rise to the tradition of the ‘hat parade’. Some politicians use their hats to make a statement.)2
Why is it held in the Hall of Knights?
The Hall of Knights hosts the Joint Session of Parliament.
(The joint meeting of both Houses of the States General: the Senate and the House of Representatives.)
(Cuypers designed the Hall of Knights specifically for the Speech from the Throne ceremony. Before the restoration of the Hall of Knights was completed in 1904, the Speech from the Throne was always delivered in the chamber of the House of Representatives.)