Bicentennial of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

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From 2013 to 2015, the Kingdom of the Netherlands celebrated its bicentennial.

Events and publications

Landing of William Frederick at Scheveningen, 1813

A National Committee, appointed by the Council of Ministers in 2011, supervises the bicentennial celebrations. The Committee is chaired by politicians Ank Bijleveld and Jozias van Aartsen.[1]

The celebrations started with a reenactment on 30 November 2013 of Prince William Frederick's landing at Scheveningen, exactly two hundred years earlier, with Huub Stapel playing the role of William Frederick, the later king William I. The reenactment (which is performed every 25 years) drew a crowd of several thousand.[2]

Five more "national events" have been planned, of which the final one will take place in Amsterdam on 26 September 2015; the bicentennial's official website promises "a spectacular parade of achievements" on the Amstel.[3]

Aside from the official celebrations, new biographies of the first three kings (William I, II and III) were published, revealing the existence of an illegitimate child of William I and homosexual affairs of William II.[4]

Reception

Several Dutch historians and journalists have criticized the bicentennial's motto of "200 years of independence and democracy".

Orange rule (the dynasty had been Stadtholders for much longer), or two hundred years of democracy (since the early kings were not democrats), and concluded that the theme was ambiguous and not very attractive.[5]

Similarly, historian

NPO website, calls the founding event—William I's return—"a common coup d'état", while the Dutch monarchy was a Napoleonic invention, established in 1806.[6]

Comedian

citizens' initiative, a petition that obliges Dutch parliament to discuss a proposal if supported by more than 40,000 citizens, and obtained the required number of signatures within a day.[8]

Earlier celebrations

Earlier anniversaries were celebrated in 1863 (construction of a monument for William I, which was renovated in 2004 for the bicentennial), 1913, 1933, 1963 and 1988.[6]

External links

References

  1. ^ "Nationaal Comité". 200 jaar Koninkrijk. Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Duizenden zien nagespeelde landing prins in Scheveningen" [Thousands see reenacted landing of Prince at Scheveningen]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). 30 November 2013.
  3. ^ "Achtergrond". 200 jaar Koninkrijk (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  4. ^
    nu.nl
    (in Dutch). 1 December 2013.
  5. ^ Piet van Asseldonk (18 April 2015). "Viering 200 jaar koninkrijk heeft vele gezichten".
  6. ^ a b "De blik op 1813: Tweehonderd jaar Koninkrijk der Nederlanden". NPO Geschiedenis. 27 November 2013.
  7. ^ "Arjen Lubach wil farao van Nederland worden" [Lubach wants to be Pharaoh of the Netherlands]. De Telegraaf. 22 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Lubach zet benoeming farao op Kameragenda" [Lubach puts Pharaoh appointment on Parliamentary agenda]. de Volkskrant. 23 March 2015.
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