Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day- May 4

Immediately following Queen's Day is another National holiday- Remembrance Day. It commemorates all the civilians and members of the armed forces of the Netherlands who have died in wars or peacekeeping missions since the outbreak of World War II.

In my last post I mentioned the attack on the royal family's parade on Queen's Day when a driver killed several spectators in an apparent attempt on the Queen's life. There was a lot of speculation that their appearance at the Remembrance celebrations would be cancelled. People were very proud that she came after all. There was very heavy security obviously and the rooftops were lined with snipers.

The Queen with her son, the Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, attended a memorial service in Amsterdam and laid wreathes at a National War Memorial.

Across the country, church bells ring for a quarter of an hour till 8 pm, when there is a nationwide two-minute silence. My grandparents came to Amsterdam, for a few days after a trip to Paris, and happened to be here on Remembrance Day. With some local friends of theirs we went that night to the Amstel River where there was a special concert. The Queen arrived by boat and as she passed thousands of people applauded and cheered for her.

At the end of the evening everyone started singing this old song from World War II called "I'll Be Seeing You" to the Queen as she sails away. It was a favorite song during the war and is a reminder of when Queen Wilhemina had to go into hiding in London because of the Nazi invasion. It was all sung in English and you could tell it was very emotional for people around us. The nostalgia tugged on my heart even as a bystander.

It was pouring rain the evening of the concert, so I didn't get any pictures but found some for you of the Dutch Royals. They are very beloved here and are never involved in scandals like the British Royal Family! They keep a very low profile and as such get a lot of respect from the Dutch for being so down-to-earth. Which is really interesting given that I recently read that Queen Beatrix is one of the wealthiest royals in the world.

The House of Orange

Queen Beatrix in the middle, Crown Prince Willem Alexander on the left, next to his beautiful Brazilian wife, the Princess Maxima.

World War II has left scars on the hearts and minds of the Dutch that you can still see today. It was moving to share in this completely Dutch experience and have my grandparents here to enjoy it with us.