Try to explain to an Englishman, a Peruvian or a Malay what Dutch Queen's Day consists of: party-goers nationwide allowed to do about everything that is out of bounds during the rest of the year. It's anarchy in honour of the monarchy.

Informal
After a car in Apeldoorn tried to ram the royal family, killing five spectators in the process, the question is how much will remain of that informal atmosphere on Queen's Day. And more particularly, what will remain of the queen's presence and that of her family on the day.

Royalty watcher Ben Kolster observes,

"Those people came to see you. And they die, just 25 metres away from you, while you are being driven past. The queen won't forget this for the rest of her life."


On the bike
"Remaining ordinary" was almost a mantra for Juliana, the mother of the current queen. When visiting the northerly island of Terschelling, she took her family into the countryside, on the bike. Pictures of the event went around the world.

Even though Princess Beatrix used to keep her distance, there are pictures of her cycling to school. Even more memorable is the spontaneous kiss the monarch was given in 1988 on a visit to an Amsterdam neighbourhood. She even patted the kisser on the shoulder. And then there was her husband, Prince Claus, who with similar sportsmanship allowed a girl from the crowd to hitch a lift on the luggage rack of his bike.