1970 holds the record for the coldest King’s Day
Since the celebration of King’s Day began in the Netherlands, only the 2020 edition has been consistently warm, sunny, and dry. The coldest King’s Day ever recorded occurred in 1970. Temperatures in De Bilt that day reached only 8.6 degrees, and the sun failed to appear at any point during the day, according to weeronline.
A historical look at the weather also reveals that King’s Days have generally been colder and wetter than Queen’s Days in the past. However, Queen’s Day in 1955 still holds the record as the wettest royal holiday, with 9.6 millimeters of rain recorded.
In more recent years, 2016 was the coldest royal holiday since 1985, with temperatures in De Bilt reaching just 10.7 degrees. King’s Day 2017 was similarly cold, with a high of only 10.9 degrees. A notable detail is that in both 2016 and 2017, King’s Day was colder than the preceding Christmas—a rare occurrence. Only in these two years has the royal holiday been colder than Christmas.
Rainfall has also marked King’s Day weather patterns. King’s Day 2019 was the second-wettest royal holiday since 1949, with 8.9 millimeters of rain falling in De Bilt. That year’s temperatures were between 12 and 14 degrees, making the day cooler than average but not among the top 10 coldest King’s Days. The wettest royal holiday remains Queen’s Day in 1955, when 9.6 millimeters of rain were measured. Other notably wet years include 1979 with 8.4 millimeters and 2001 with 8.5 millimeters.
Looking at nighttime temperatures, the coldest King’s Night or Queen’s Night ever recorded was in 1954, when temperatures fell to -2.5 degrees. Since 1949, frost has been recorded during King’s Night or Queen’s Night on eight occasions. The most recent instance of frost during King’s Night occurred in 2023, when temperatures dropped to -1.2 degrees. Frost was also observed during King’s Night in 2017 and 2015.
Statistically, the move from Queen’s Day on April 30 to King’s Day on April 27 has led to a decline in weather conditions for the holiday. Since 1949, the average temperature on April 27 has been about 15 degrees, making it more than a degree colder than the average for April 30. Additionally, it rains more often on April 27 compared to April 30.
King’s Day and Queen’s Day have a complex history of date changes that reflect adjustments for Sundays. From 1949 until 2013, Queen’s Day was celebrated on April 30. If the date fell on a Sunday, celebrations were moved to May 1 until 1980, and after that, to April 29. Since 2014, King’s Day has officially been held on April 27. However, the first King’s Day celebration, in 2014, took place on April 26 because April 27 fell on a Sunday.
