Doetinchem reveals first King's Day details for royal family's visit, tour
Doetinchem has announced the route that King Willem-Alexander and his family will take in the municipality on King's Day, which will be celebrated this year on April 26. They will arrive via bus from the Burgermeester van Nispenstraat before walking to the Raadhuisstraat via the Plantsoenstraat. The royal family will then go over the IJsselkade to the Walmolen.
The royal family has not celebrated a Dutch monarch's birthday in Doetinchem before. It is the first concrete set of plans regarding the king's 58th birthday, as little is known about the program being prepared for the him and his family.
Residents in Doetinchem, entrepreneurs, and social organizations can submit their ideas to the event organizers. Over 300 people have done so thus far.
A selection of 100 ideas will be made from the options submitted, which will be further whittled down. The municipality will announce the chosen activities in the coming weeks. The visit will be broadcast on television.
King's Day is celebrated on April 27, but the national holiday is typically not organized on a Sunday. Willem-Alexander's mother, Princess Beatrix, chose to celebrate Queen's Day on her mother's birthdate, April 30, when she ascended the throne. Beatrix was actually born on January 31, 1938.
This April's holiday will also be the first time the event is organized in the province of Gelderland in 16 years, when the royal family visited Apeldoorn in 2009 to celebrate Queen Beatrix. That Tuesday afternoon was marred by tragedy when Karst T. drove a black Suzuki Swift through the crowd to try to ram the royal family's bus as it proceeded towards Het Loo Palace to honor what would have also been the 100th birthday of Queen Juliana.
Seven people were killed, and dozens more were injured that day. Additionally, the driver, Karst T., was the eighth individual to die from their injuries.
Residents and visitors in the city of Apeldoorn can be seen placing flowers at a memorial to the victims every year on April 30.
Reporting by ANP
