The Golden Carriage on Prinsjesdag in The Hague (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Every year, on the third Tuesday of September, the Dutch monarch rides from Palace Noordeinde to the Ridderzaal (Hall of Knights) in the Binnenhof. This day is called the “Prinsjesdag” and it’s one of the biggest events of the year in The Hague.

(© expatsincebirth: Prinsjesdag 2013: Gouden Koets with King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima)

The occasion is prescribed by the constitution, article 65 of which states:

A statement of the policy to be pursued by the Government shall be given by or on behalf of the King before a joint session of the two Houses of the States-General that shall be held every year on the third Tuesday in September or on such earlier date as may be prescribed by Act of Parliament.

At the stroke of one (at exactly 13:00) the King, accompanied by other members of the royal family, will depart from Noordeinde Palace in a procession along a given route (see here below) along the Lange Voorhout. Alongside the Lange Voorhout will be erected different stands offering a view at the golden carriage.

Once the procession arrives at the Binnenhof, where members of both chambers of Parliament will be present, a Troonrede “Speech from  the Throne” is read. “In his capacity of (formal) head of the Government he announces the plans for the new parliamentary year. The King’s Speech is not written by the King, but by the Prime Minister and the cabinet.” (wikipedia)

Some of the major issues the Parliament will have to address during the first following sessions will be mentioned overtly and “the crown will then ask for cooperation among the chambers to work toward a resolution of those issues. When the speech is given, the new session of Parliament is considered officially started, and the monarch returns to Palace Noordeinde“.

When the Speech is finished, the speaker of the Senate proclaims “Lang leve de koning!” (“Long live the King!”) which is answered by everyone present with “Hoera! Hoera! Hoera!”: This brings an end to the joint session of the two houses. The ushers escort the King and members of the Royal House to the door. The president then closes the session.

The golden carriage will return the same route and pass through Lange Voorhout around 14:00, followed by a short appearance of the royal family on the balcony of Noordeinde Palace.

This year it will be the first time for the new King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima to make their first ride in the “Gouden Koets” (the golden carriage).

The history of Prinsjesdag

Prinsjesdag was originally celebrated in the 18th century on the 8th of March, the birthday of Prince William V. It was one of the country’s most popular public holidays. Between 1780 and 1797 (the “Patriot era” which lead up to the Batavian revolution) at Prinsjesdag “was used to demonstrations of loyalty to the House of Orange, which is probably why the current name was chosen in the 19th century for the ceremonial opening of parliament”.

William V, Prince of Orange (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The constitution has stated that the opening of parliament should take place on a fixed date. “The opening of parliament was originally held on the first Monday in November in the first half of the 19th century”. Later it sllipped to the the third Monday in October and when a “constitutional revision introduced annual budgets in 1848, more time was needed to debate the budget, so the date was brought forward a month. Monday was considered inappropriate, because many parliamentarians in distant parts of the country needed to leave their homes on Sunday to make it to The Hague in time, so an 1887 revision moved Prinsjesdag to Tuesday”. (cfr. ibidem wikipedia)

“Throughout the years 1815 to 1904, the speech from the throne was given in the assembly room of the House of Representatives, but was moved back to the Hall of Knights after an extensive restoration of the building at the start of the 20th century.”

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If you are in The Hague these days, don’t miss other related events (cfr. courtesy of southholland.angloinfo.com):

• Sun, 15 Sept 16:00: Prinsjes Concert by the New Dutch Academy at Haagse en Friese Hof.
• Mon, 16 Sept 20:15: Prinsjes Caberet at Theater Diligentia (Lange Voorhout)
• Tue, 17 Sept 15:00: Prinsjes Guided Shopping Tour (city center)
• Tue, 17 Sept 20:15: Prinsjes Drinks at Super Markt (Grote Markt)

Vakantiepas

You can try to get a vakantiepas for your children. It is a booklet  which contains discounts for all kinds of fun summer activities in The Hague and surroundings, a sort of “passport to the summer holidays”. You can also buy a vakantiepas “for friends and family members up to the age of 12 who live outside of The Hague”.

Activities for children and play areas

On this site you can find plenty of activities for kids. If you are looking for guided activities where your children can learn some outdoor skills, like building with wood (small houses, castles etc.) there are several buitenspeelplaatsen (outdoor playgrounds). There is always an EHBO (Erste Hulp Bij Ongelukken: “First Aid Helper”) present on these playgrounds. – Unfortunately I couldn’t find an english translation for this page (some vocabulary: “dagelijks”: every day; “behalve”: except; if you need more help on this site, just let me know and I’ll translate it for you). You can sign them up (“aanmelden”) on the same page.

The Hague has more than 400 play areas throughout the city. Please find some of them highlighted here.

The biggest attraction and outdoor playground is the beach. On the 11 km coastline between Kijkduin and Scheveningen you can also have beautiful walks through the dunes. The beachclubs between Kijkduin, Scheveningen , Wassenaar and Noordwijk you can chill, relax and eat the whole day until the sunset.

Please check out this article, published after this post on DutchNews about the beaches in the Netherlands.

The Hague has also 17  parks and recreational areas where you can walk, play and just relax. On the Dutch municipal homepage you can find more informations about the beautiful parks.

Park Clingendael, Den Haag (Photo credit: ekenitr)

And if you like your children to play in the nature and you don’t mind to go a bit outside The Hague area, there are  Speelpolders, where your children can play for free during the whole year (as there are some canals etc, be sure to stay close to your children).

Camps for children

If you are looking for camps for children from 4 to 14 years, you’ll find multi-sportcamps, surfcamps, tenniscamps, a 5 extreme camp and dutch learning modules on this site. The first is from July 22nd until July 26th and the second from August 19th until August 23rd.

Outings in The Hague area

If you are just looking for some outings in The Hague and surroundings, you can find some hints in my post A few cultural outings in The Hague area and a list with the actual exhibitions here.

Kids Tour in The Hague

The Hague offers also two tours for kids. One tour is a cycling tour through the city of The Hague and takes you to the Peace Palast, Humanity House, Plein and Lange Voorhout. The other tour is a walking tour through The Hague’s International Zone. You can find a new version of the Kids Tour on the site as downloadable pdf file.

“The Kids Tour was developed on behalf of The Hague Bridge, a programme initiated by the City of The Hague. The Hague Bridge project brings together local residents (Hagenaars) and expats and better acquaints local residents with the international city.”

The Peace Palace in
The Hague, Netherlands, which is the seat of the International Court of
Justice. Français : Le Palais de la Paix, siège de la Cour
internationale de Justice à La Haye (Pays-Bas). (Photo credit:
Wikipedia)

And if you are looking for more cultural outings in The Hague in Summer 2013, please check this site.

Related articles

• “Everyone” Goes To Amsterdam, Why Not Try The Hague? (lowoncalories.wordpress.com)
• Fifth city: The Hague (zomerschoolnayaab.wordpress.com)
• 10 Things I Love About The Hague, South Holland (elizabethjoss.com)
• Introduction to The Hague (shanza13blog.wordpress.com)