AMSTERDAM (AP) — Dressed in the national color orange, dancing to music and eating orange-frosted cakes, many Dutch people on Saturday celebrated King’s Day, the birthday of their monarch, whose popularity is rising slightly, according to a national survey. .
As King Willem-Alexander celebrated his 57th birthday with his family in the northeastern city of Emmen, people across the country participated in the traditional “free markets” held on the day, selling second-hand toys, books and other items. Others toured the historic canals of the capital, Amsterdam, as orange smoke from ship flares wafted over boats of all shapes and sizes jostling for space in a busy canal.
“Celebrating your birthday with your own family is the most beautiful thing you can experience. I’m very happy that everyone is back,” Willem-Alexander told the Dutch network NOS during a walk in Emmen, 190 kilometers (120 miles) away. northeast of the Dutch capital.
An annual survey published by the NOS on the occasion of King’s Day shows that William Alexander’s popularity has risen slightly since last year, reaching 6.6 points out of 10. His wife, Queen Máxima, of Argentine origin, obtained 7.1 points out of 10 in the survey carried out at the beginning of the month among 1,015 people.
The royals’ popularity took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic after William Alexander and his family vacationed in Greece during a partial lockdown. The royals cut short their vacation amid national outrage and William Alexander took the unusual step of issuing a video message to express his regret and contrition over the trip.
The king’s three daughters, Amalia, Alexia and Ariane, have recently spent time out of the country: Ariane has been studying in Italy and Alexia has taken a year off to travel. The eldest and heir to the Dutch throne, Amalia, also returned before the king’s birthday, after being forced to leave her student accommodation in Amsterdam and move to Madrid after receiving threats from the criminal underworld.
Amalia, 20, who studies politics, psychology, law and economics at the University of Amsterdam, told NOS that she was “extremely grateful to everyone who made it possible” for her to live in Spain, where, she said, she could enjoy more freedom than in Holland.
But she added: “I’m happy to be back.”
