King's Day: Willem-Alexander, Máxima and princesses arrive in Emmen

Dutch King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima, and their daughters, Amalia, Alexia and Ariane, arrived in Emmen on Saturday morning. There they were received by Mayor Eric van Oosterhout and Jetta Klijnsma, the King's Commissioner for the Province of Drenthe.

The family is celebrating King Willem-Alexander's 57th birthday in the city. The date chosen to celebrate the reigning monarch's birthday is a widely-celebrated national holiday in the Netherlands.

Upon arrival, Bouke & The ElvisMatters Band sang a birthday song for the king. Máxima joined them in loudly singing the birthday song.

Hundreds of people crowded along the route to catch a glimpse of the Royal Family or to shake hands with Willem-Alexander. Many people cheered, and plenty of photos were taken. People also stood on balconies waiting to watch the royal procession pass by their buildings.

The Royal Family was scheduled to visit various squares where music, dancing and games were organized. In addition, Bouke Scholten and Jannes were scheduled to sing for the king. The day was set to come to a close at the main stage on Raadhuisplein.

It steadily grew busier over the course of the morning in Emmen. Hundreds of people already began to gather behind the crowd barriers on Hoofdstraat by about 8:30 a.m. As the hours passed by, a long stream of visitors made their way from the Emmen train station towards the center dressed in orange clothing and waving Dutch flags.

It is the first time in more than two decades that the Oranjes celebrated a King's Day or Queen's Day in Drenthe. The last time was in 2002, when Princess Beatrix visited Meppel and Hoogeveen on April 30 when she was still the reigning monarch. Beatrix often chose two different places to celebrate Queen's Day, usually in the same province.

Prince Constantijn, Princess Laurentien, Prince Floris, Prince Pieter-Christiaan and several others were also present at the celebration. It has been several years since the celebration was attended by several older members of the Royal Family, like Willem-Alexander's mother, Princess Beatrix, and her sister, Princess Margriet.

Last year, Alexia was unable to attend the King's Day celebration in Rotterdam. Now 18, the middle child's final exam schedule at her school in Wales conflicted with her father's birthday.

Her 17-year-old sister, Ariane, was able to attend the celebration on Saturday. She just started at the United World College Adriatic over the summer. She is a first-year student at the Trieste, Italy, institution, and does not have to sit for exams.