King delivers Christmas address from Huis ten Bosch Palace

King Willem-Alexander will give his annual Christmas address from Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague on Monday. The message will be broadcast at 1 p.m. on television channels NPO 1, RTL 4 and SBS 6. It will also be presented simultaneously on NPO Radio 1, and with a sign language interpreter on NPO 2. A news article about the speech will also be published on NL Times soon after, as well as a full English translation of the address.

The speech is traditionally written by the king himself, unlike his annual Prinsjesdag speech from the throne. The latter is written by the prime minister, and is read aloud by the king on the third Tuesday in September, the annual date in which the Cabinet's budget proposal for the following year is released.

In his Christmas address, the king typically discusses topics that have occupied the minds of people living in the Netherlands during the past year. The ten previous speeches included sections about the coronavirus crisis, the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, the war in Syria, rising energy costs, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the climate problem and the role of the Netherlands in the past history of slavery.

King Willem-Alexander also regularly addresses young people, such as in 2019 when they were a primary focus. "I also say this to young people. Do not worry too much if things go wrong. Give yourself some space. It's okay. Happiness cannot be forced. It is elusive. It comes suddenly, like a gift from heaven."

Young people were also extensively discussed in last year's message. "Young people with ideals and imagination. They feel jointly responsible and are prepared to take the future on their shoulders. There is so much resilience in the young generation!" he said on Christmas Day, 2022. "But young people cannot do it alone. They rightly say, 'Don't put it all on us. Listen to us, give us space, trust us, help us, but take personal responsibility and live up to it.'"

He also frequently discusses community spirit, solidarity and loneliness, and the need for people to look out for each other. "My heart goes out to all those people whose lives have been turned upside down. People with a dream that has broken down. Entrepreneurs who see their healthy business capsize. People who feel lonely and don't know where to turn," he said in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. "We humans cannot live without a loving look or an embrace. Forced distance is against our human nature."

The king always tries to end his speech on a positive note and a call for connection. For example, last year he mentioned the government's apologies for the historic role the Netherlands played in the slave trade, saying that he looked forward to a future free of "discrimination, exploitation and injustice." The king added, "The apologies offered by the Cabinet are the beginning of a long road. Let's keep holding on to each other, even in intense times with strong emotions."