Decorated actress, MH17 advocate and Pride leader among honoured in Netherlands

Actress and director Willeke van Ammelrooy was awarded a royal decoration on Friday and made a Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion for her “exceptional contributions to film and theatre.” Also honoured during the “lintjesregen” were author Esther Verhoef, musician Ton Scherpenzeel, and drag performer Dolly Bellefleur.

Van Ammelrooy, 82, is best known for her leading role in the 1995 film Antonia, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. She received a Golden Calf, the Netherlands’ top film prize, for her performance. Her other films include Koko Flanel, Ciske de Rat, and The Lift. The mayor of Eijsden-Margraten, where she lives, personally visited her at home to award the decoration.

Esther Verhoef has been appointed Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau. The municipality of Sint-Michielsgestel, where she resides, says she has long been one of the Netherlands’ most widely read, versatile, and highly respected authors.

Lucien Spee-Castillo Ruiz, director of Pride Amsterdam and organizer of next summer’s WorldPride, has also been made an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau, along with aviation expert Joris Melkert of Delft University of Technology.

The founders of the international LGBT+ rights event Pride Amsterdam, Siep de Haan, Peter Kramer, and Ernst Verhoeven, said that the royal honour awarded to Spee-Castillo Ruiz is a major public recognition of his tireless efforts. The trio also nominated him for the decoration.

According to De Haan, Kramer, and Verhoeven, Spee-Castillo Ruiz has been trying “for more than 15 years to keep all the letters of the rainbow alphabet together in the pink crab basket. And we know better than anyone, after ten years of experience in the early years of Amsterdam Pride, how complicated that is.”

The founders describe Spee-Castillo Ruiz as “sometimes stubborn and undiplomatic, but principled and with a big heart for injustice.”

Piet Ploeg, chair of the MH17 Air Disaster Foundation, has been appointed Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau. He represents the relatives of the 298 victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. The plane was shot down in July 2014 over eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists. Nearly 200 of those killed were Dutch nationals. Ploeg is also a victim’s relative himself: his brother Alex, Alex’s wife Edith, and their son Robert were among those who died.

Former Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Ploeg’s royal honour is well deserved. “If anyone deserves this distinction, it is Piet. I have deep admiration for the persistent and at the same time empathetic way in which he has been fighting for years for justice for the next of kin of MH17 victims,” Rutte said.

As chair of the foundation, Ploeg had extensive contact with Rutte, who was prime minister at the time. Ploeg knows “how to bring people together with his personal warmth, to build bridges, and has proven tireless in his fight for justice,” says the current NATO chief. According to Rutte, Ploeg deserves “deep respect.”

Linda Nooitmeer, former chair of the NiNsee institute, has also been appointed Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau. In 2023, she received King Willem-Alexander at Keti Koti, the annual commemoration of the abolition of slavery. At the ceremony in Amsterdam’s Oosterpark, the King expressed apologies and asked for forgiveness.

Cabaret artist Ruud Douma, better known as Dolly Bellefleur, was among those knighted. Others appointed to the Order of the Netherlands Lion included Kayak keyboardist Ton Scherpenzeel, soul singer Shirma Rouse, kitchen industry entrepreneur Ben Mandemakers, handball coach Bert Bouwer, journalist Tako Rietveld, drug pastor Ricus Dullaert, and museum director Annabelle Birnie.

The oldest honouree is 99-year-old Janine Marseille-Smit from The Hague, who continues to volunteer at two care homes. She has also worked for UNICEF, presented programmes for a hospital broadcaster, and been active in a pétanque club.

The youngest recipient is 27-year-old Jeroen van Haalen from Winssen in the municipality of Beuningen (Gelderland). He has been involved in his local scouting group for over half his life and also supports youth holiday activities and a carnival association. Both have been made Members of the Order of Orange-Nassau.