Koninginnedag Amsterdam 2013 op 30 april

The Queen signs the abdication.
It is televised in Dam Square. 

Yesterday was Queen's Day. It is always a national holiday celebrating the Queen's birthday. This was historically different: At 10 a.m. Queen Beatrice abdicated the throne...

And her son, Willem Alexander, next in line in the House of Orange, became the King. There has not been a king since 1890 and so this is a first in everyone's lives.

The party started the night before. Then on Koninginnedag, I was one of about 25,000 people outside the Royal Palace at Dam Square. Inside the palace the abdication was signed and later the royal family came out on the balcony to greet and speak to the people. 

You can find me in any of the pictures or broadcasts you may have seen; I was wearing an orange baseball cap that says, "Holland." 

The monarchy in the Netherlands appears to have mostly a representational function. It seems to me that one of the most important things they do is have birthdays so that everyone can love them and love being alive. 

Enjoy the pictures!