In 2023, Alderman Vincent Zwijnenberg visited an exhibition on “Thrones” at Paleis ’t Loo in Apeldoorn. The Royal Throne was also on display there—the throne on which our king delivers the Speech from the Throne each year and which normally has a permanent place in the Ridderzaal. Alderman Vincent Zwijnenberg: “In the explanation of the Throne, I noticed that information was missing about the background of the designer/craftsman Pierre Cuypers, his origins in Roermond, and a reference to the Cuypershuis, his workshop.” Since then, the alderman has been working to temporarily “return” the Royal Throne to the workshop where it was originally crafted around 1904—namely, the Cuypershuis.
Craftsmanship and the Rule of Law
The arrival of the Royal Throne is subject to a number of conditions. These pertain to security during the exhibition, but above all to the (educational) program that will run alongside the exhibition. The national government is calling for a focus on craftsmanship. Following in the footsteps of the designer and creator Cuypers, 4,000 students will work on creating their own thrones through the Spark Tech Lab. Vocational education programs in Roermond will be closely involved in the development of the exhibition. In addition, the government is asking that attention be given to the constitutional significance of the Throne. To this end, the municipality has established contact with the law school at Maastricht University. College students and high school students will engage in dialogue about our constitutional state and democracy—which the Throne symbolizes—through a mock trial and an alternative State of the Union address. Mayor Yolanda Hoogtanders: “This fits perfectly with our ‘democratization’ program, which we launched last September with ‘Prinsjesdag in Midden-Limburg.’ That initiative will continue this year. Talking with one another about freedom, democracy, and the rule of law is an important part of it.”
Artwork by Daniël Heynen
Artist Daniël Heynen created a piece of artwork specifically for the arrival of the Throne, which will ‘promote’ the Throne’s arrival and the surrounding program in the coming months. Mayor Yolanda Hoogtanders and Alderman Vincent Zwijnenberg unveiled the artwork in the auditorium of the Cuypershuis in the presence of the artist. Daniël Heynen: “I digitally rendered the Throne using Google and archival photos. It was quite a task, one I had seriously underestimated. The Throne is a true work of art with many remarkable details. The Throne takes center stage in the artwork. The Munsterkerk and the Rijksmuseum are in the background, connecting Roermond with Amsterdam, just as Pierre Cuypers did in his work.”
Exhibition Opening
The official opening of the exhibition at the Cuypershuis will take place in October. A festive reception will be held at Theater de Oranjerie with over 600 guests, including elementary and secondary school students, as well as students from vocational schools and Maastricht University. The official opening will be broadcast live at the Oranjerie.
