The royal balcony appearance on Prinsjesdag 2016
(photo koninklijkhuis Twitter)
The third Tuesday in September can mean only one thing. Big hats, carriages and knock em sideways flowers. Yes, it's Prinsjesdag time again and 2016 has come up trumps.
Prinsjesdag translates as Prince's Day and it marks the official start of the parliamentary year in the Netherlands. All good state openings need a carriage and as is traditional, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima made their way from the Noordeinde Palace to the Hall of Knights in The Hague in the most traditional regal manner.
There was a big crowd waiting to see them as they travelled through the streets of The Hague all making the most of Prinsjesdag.
Princess Beatrix no longer travels in the carriage procession but she did make an appearance at the Mauritshuis art gallery during the event.
At the Hall of Knights there was a ceremonial welcome for King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. The couple made their way to the golden thrones where they sat as the King of the Netherlands delivered his speech.
After that, it was back to the Noordeinde Palace where Willem-Alexander and Maxima were joined on the balcony by Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien to wave to the crowds who had come along to see them.
As Willem-Alexander and Maxima's three daughters get older (Catharina-Amalia, the heir to the throne, is thirteen in a few months time) there is every chance that they will be joining in this old tradition before too long. In the meantime, it was down to mum and dad to keep the sense of history alive and Prinsjesdag 2016 glittered as always with its carriage of gold.
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