Throw eggs or tomatoes at images of members of the royal family. Everything is possible on Queen's Day – soon to be King's Day. And that is precisely why the Dutch monarchy is rock solid, according to Peter Jan Margry:“Queen Beatrix was the first queen to step off her pedestal on Queen's Day. She went to the people and became, as it were, one with her people.”
Margry is an ethnologist at the Meertens Institute. In the context of 200 years of kingdom, he is co-writing a book and is participating in a lecture series in Leiden, entitled Orangism of the people. At the beginning of this year, Margry sent out a survey among members of the Meertens Panel about the monarchy and the Orange feeling. More than 1,200 people completed the survey. Conclusion:the positive feelings towards the royal family are great.
Tolerance monarchists
The Dutch are very Orange-minded, as this sample shows:“A very large group – 68 percent – is in favor of the monarchy, 18 percent is against and 14 percent did not fill in anything.” But Margry does want to nuance those figures:“The proponents are not all in favor of the monarchy. This group also includes a large number of so-called tolerance monarchists, for whom it doesn't really matter. They think the system is good as it is, but there is a conditionality attached to it. It was good the way Beatrix did it, but we'll have to wait and see how Willem-Alexander does. If they do less, their view may change.”
“So that 68 percent is for the royal family in the way it is happening now. Also based on the idea that there is no better alternative. If you get a president, you have to wait and see who that person is. In addition, a presidency is much more politically oriented and the costs are probably no less. It is remarkable that among the opponents it is often assumed that the royal family entails much higher costs than a presidency. For example, people call the expensive palaces, but when the royal family goes out, they become monuments and you still have to maintain them. I think the RVD can still win a large number of souls by providing clarity in the finances of the royal family.”
Orange feeling
The survey shows that the anti-monarchists define their Orange feeling differently from the monarchists. Where they mainly associate the Orange feeling with sport, the monarchists immediately think of the royal family when they think of orange. Margry also nuances this term:“The Orange feeling is actually more of a media term than people use it for themselves. No one says:I am now fat in my Orange feeling. People feel a connection with the monarchy, the royal family or with the House of Orange. Incidentally, there are also people who connect the Orange feeling with André Kuipers, with Dutch heroes. Orange then stands for success and special achievements.”
Modern royal house
The fact that such a large part of the Dutch population is positive about the monarchy is largely due to Beatrix, according to the researcher:“Beatrix's professionalism has made the monarchy much stronger. But also because of the openness she has given to the people. In Juliana's time, relationships were still very hierarchical. The parade on Soestdijk – where the population came to her on her birthday to bring gifts – is in stark contrast to the Queen's Day as we know it today. Now Beatrix herself comes to the population.”
Queen's Day can be compared literally and figuratively with carnival, in which the roles of daily life are reversed, the researcher says. “The royal house temporarily sheds its magnificence; It is made clear on all fronts that the Oranges are just ordinary citizens like all of us.”
King Willem-Alexander also continues this tradition. The coronation coin alone shows this, according to Margry:no regalia on the back, but simply a drawing of a popular crowd. And as crown prince, Willem-Alexander also enthusiastically participated in the activities during Queen's Day. “Partly thanks to this inversion, society can reconcile with the anachronistic phenomenon of the hereditary monarchy. Incidentally, various respondents were disturbed by an expression of that inversion:the crown prince threw the toilet bowl.”
The Dutch royal family is therefore moving with the times. Not only by descending to the people, but also by having princes and princesses marry civilian boys and civilian girls, according to Margry. “Because we always get fresh civilian blood in the royal family, there is no inbreeding. Until the 19th century, this was widespread in the royal houses of Europe. Which entailed the risk of getting semi-mentalized patients on the throne. The possibility to abdicate is also quite unique. Just look at Spain where it is customary for the king to stay put until he dies. They would now like to set an example for the Netherlands.”
Typical Dutch
In addition to being modern, the royal family here is typically Dutch, says Margry:“Despite all the objections to the costs, which have always been there, we have always had a very cheap royal family compared to other countries. Wilhelmina, for example, went to live on Lange Voorhout after her marriage. It was a city palace, but really just a terraced house. Relatively speaking, the Dutch monarchy offers a less theatrical form of monarchy. And, for example, they never wanted that Gouden Koets themselves, because they actually thought it was exaggerated.” Just do it! therefore also seems to be the motto of the Dutch Oranges.