This past April 27 was the 55th birthday of King Willem Alexander of the Netherlands, who took his family to Maastricht in the southeast of the Netherlands to celebrate his birthday with the people.
The Dutch people are particularly excited because this is the first time since the outbreak of the epidemic in 2019 that the king has celebrated his birthday with everyone without any epidemic restrictions.
Early in the morning, King William Alexander, Queen Maxima and their three daughters, Catharina-Amalia, 18, Alexia, 16, and Ariane, 15, set out on the streets to celebrate their birthday!
Before going out, they dressed up and stood together to take a family portrait. ð
At a glance, it feels that the family's dress looks fancy, but if you look closely, you will find that their dress is equipped with a careful machine.
Queen Maxima and her two eldest daughters seem to have forged some kind of connection through dress and handbags: Queen Maxima was holding a beige bag that matched Catherine Emmari's outfit; Catherine Emma was holding a green bag that matched Alicia's suit; Princess Alicia was holding a pink bag, the same color as her mother's skirt!
Very interesting fashion collocation!
The youngest child in the family, Arianna, wore a dark blue skirt and a yellow bag, and did not understand why she chose such a match, and did not seem to have any echo with other family members. Maybe it's because it's just the time of rebellion! She just wants to maintain her personality, to be different from others.
However, the bouquets of flowers held by the ladies all have one thing in common: they all have orange flowers.
Orange is the color of the Dutch royal family, and the Dutch have an almost obsessive fascination with orange.
On important holidays and race days, Dutch people wear orange clothes or orange ornaments or orange balloons to express their inner joy.
The flag of the Netherlands is also a red, white and blue flag, but the Dutch favorite color is orange, why is this?
The Dutch royal family is known as the Huis Oranje-Nassau dynasty. Does "Oranje" feel familiar? Orange orange, orange pronunciation is very similar to this.
Does the Dutch royal family have anything to do with oranges or oranges?
There really is!
This goes back to the founding father of the Netherlands, Willem van Oranje, prince of Orange, known as the "Silent William".
Born into an aristocratic family in 1533, William I inherited at the age of 11 the Duchy of Orange in the south of France, the estate east of the Rhône river in France, and the Property of the Netherlands.
At that time, the Netherlands was under Spanish rule, and the Dutch people were brutally suppressed by the Spaniards, working hard but not earning much. Over time, the Dutch people decided to overthrow the Spanish rule.
William I scattered his family wealth, actively resisted tyranny, and contributed a lot to the Dutch people's struggle for freedom and democracy.
William was a great statesman with excellent organizational skills, resourcefulness, and patience, but he was not a great commander-in-chief, who was defeated in almost every battle, and whose military ability was very mediocre.
But he persevered and lost many battles, ultimately making the cause of independence a success after his death. In the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the "Father of the Nation". The Dutch national anthem, "Ode to William", is sung by William, who is regarded as a symbol of freedom and independence.
It happened that in that era, oranges, an exotic fruit, became popular in Europe, and the Orange Nassau family discovered that orange was pronounced so similar to their family name that they incorporated the fruit into their family crest.
In the war for independence, the words "Orange" and "orange" gradually became popular and became a symbol of independence and autonomy.
This arduous war lasted eighty years, and after the war, the Dutch Republic was established.
That's why the Dutch love orange so much.
In order to celebrate the king's birthday, the members of the Dutch royal family basically came:
Prince Constantine, the third brother of King William, and Princess D of Laurenti
Four of William's cousins and their wives also came:
Prince Pieter-Christiaand'Oranje-Nassau and Princess Anita Ð
Prince Bernhard d'Oranje-Nassau and Princess Annette Ð
Prince Mauritsd'Oranje-Nassau and Princess Marilène Ð
Prince Floris d'Oranje-Nassau and Princess Aimée Ð
Amid the blessings of friends and family and the Dutch crowd, King William Alexander of the Netherlands had an unforgettable birthday!
The crowd dressed in orange paid tribute to the queen! ð
The kings and princesses also actively participated in various activities:
Everyone raises a toast to the King's birthday!
A great collection of members of the Dutch royal family!
Finally, they sang together to the accompaniment of the band!
Happy birthday! King of the Netherlands!
- END -
Ref：
https://people.com/royals/dutch-royals-celebrate-kings-day-purse-swap/
https://www.parismatch.com/Royal-Blog/Willem-Alexander-des-Pays-Bas-anniversaire-festif-avec-la-reine-Maxima-huit-princesses-et-cinq-princes-1802388#34
The | is far away