Where to Watch the Abdication and Investiture. (VIDEOS)

April 29, 2013 Alexandra 1 Comment

Okay, so you want to watch the abdication of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and the investiture of His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands on April 30, eh? Well, here are a few things you need to know before tomorrow’s historic event.

First, the videos below will carry the ceremony and celebrations live online.

Second, if you live in the United States, as I do, you will have to wake up early. Very early. Click here to figure out when the ceremony begins in your time zone.

Third, if you are on Twitter and would like to join in on the discussions with other royal watchers and journalists reporting live from Amsterdam the hashtags — as of now — will be: #troon, #troonswisseling, #koninginnedag, #inhuldiging, #WillemAlexander, #koning, #oranje, #Maxima, and #NieuweKerk.

You can also follow KHTweets here. Or, you can follow the great Dutch network, NOS, live updates and information here and/or here.

Fourth, here is the breakdown regarding tomorrow’s abdication and investiture courtesy of RVD/HKH:

10am in Amsterdam: The abdication of Her Majesty the Queen in the Moseszaal of the Royal Palace Amsterdam.
10:30am: His Majesty King Willem-Alexander, Her Majesty Queen Máxima and Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands appear on the balcony of the Paleis op de dam.
1:30pm: Opening of the joint session of the States General, following the entry of the members of the States General, the States of Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten, the Council of Ministers for the Kingdom and the Council of State.
1:50pm: Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix and other members of the Royal Family proceed to the Nieuwe Kerk.
2pm: His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands makes his way to the Nieuwe Kerk.
2-3:30pm: His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands is swore in and the investiture of His Majesty at the joint session of the two Houses of the States General in the Nieuwe Kerk.
3:30pm: His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and members of the royal family proceed back to the Paleis op de Dam.
4:30-6pm: Gala reception for foreign royals, dignitaries and a bunch of other people at the Paleis op de Dam.
7pm: The Song for the King will be performed in the presence of the King and Queen, prior to the water pageant. This will take place at the EYE Film Museum via a video link with Ahoy Rotterdam.
7:45pm: Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands accompanied by their three daughters will participate in a water pageant on the River IJ. They will sail from EYE Film Institute past the Oever Park and the ‘Kop van Java’. At several places along the route they will be treated to a festive program, including a ‘mini Sail’.
9pm: Prime Minister Mark Rutte on behalf of the Council of Ministers for the Kingdom will host another celebration.

Here is Her Majesty’s goodbye message which was pre-recorded at Huis ten Bosch.

And, with that… God Bless Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands! She is truly an amazing woman! 🙂

Photo courtesy of HKH/RVD

Dutch Royal Family

HM Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands Hosts a Gala Dinner at the Rijksmuseum. (VIDEOS)

April 29, 2013 Alexandra

On the evening of April 29, 2013, Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands hosted a gala dinner inside the Eregalerij at the newly restored the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Tonight’s dinner is being held on the occasion of the abdication of Her Majesty and the enthronement of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands.

Guests in attendance included Their Royal Highnesses Prince Willem-Alexander of Oranje and Princess Maxima of the Netherlands, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, Her Royal Highness Princess Irene, Her Royal Highness Princess Christina and Her Royal Highness Princess Mabel, Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven.

Foreign royal guests included Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Asturias, Their Serene Highnesses Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II o Monaco, Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Bilah and Princess Sarah of Brunei, Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, His Highness Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa of Bahrain, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, Her Royal Highness Lalla Salma of Morocco, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Hassan bin Tala and Princess Sarvath of Jordan, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sindrindhorn of Thailand, Their Royal Highnesses Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie of Luxembourg, Their Royal Highnesses Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden, and His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan (sadly Her Imperial Highness Crown Princess Masako did not attend).

Of course government officials attended this evening’s grand event including Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the President of the European Council, Mr. H. Van Rompuy and his wife, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan and his wife, and the President of the International Olympic Committee, Mr. Jaques Rogge and his wife, to name a few.

Video of the Dutch Royal Family Arriving at the Rijksmuseum.

Video of Guests Arriving for the Gala Dinner at the Rijksmuseum.

Click here, here, here, here, here and here to view photos.

As if you couldn’t get enough photos to look at, well, click here to view another mega photo gallery.

Click here to view live blog updates from NOS.

Click here to watch a video of Her Majesty’s arrival.

Live NOS broadcast

Photo courtesy of HKH/RVD

British Royals

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge Celebrates Children’s Hospice Week in Hampshire. (VIDEOS)

April 29, 2013 Alexandra

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was in Hampshire this afternoon to celebrate Children’s Hospice Week at Naomi House, “… an institution that supports young people with life-limiting conditions…” according to the website Princeofwales.gov.uk.

For more information about today’s visit Naomi House please click here, here, and here (with a video news report).

Royals in General

Her Imperial Majesty Shahbanou Farah Pahlavi, Empress of Iran, Attends the 4th Edition of Salon Art Monaco. (VIDEO)

April 29, 2013 Alexandra

Her Imperial Majesty Shahbanou Farah Pahlavi, Empress of Iran, was in Monaco on April 25, 2013, to attend the opening of the 4th Edition of the Salon Art Monaco held at the Grimaldi Forum.

The purpose of Empress Farah’s attendance to this great four-day event was to oversee “…an exhibit and sale of artwork for the benefit of the Prince Alireza Pahlavi Fund for Ancient Iran Scholarship at Harvard University…”

According to the official website for the Prince Alireza Foundation several of the artworks that were auctioned were done “…by Her Imperial Majesty Shahbanou Farah in memory of her late son, His Imperial Highness Prince Alireza Pahlavi…” who passed away on January 4, 2011.

If you are interested in learning more about the Foundation for the Establishment of Prince Alireza Pahlavi Fund for Ancient Iranian Studies please visit the foundation’s official website and Facebook page here and here.

Dutch Royal Family

TRHs Prince Willem-Alexander of Oranje and Princess Maxima of the Netherlands Attend a Dress Rehearsal for Tomorrow’s Historic Event. (VIDEO)

April 29, 2013 Alexandra

On April 29, 2013, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Willem-Alexander of Oranje and Princess Maxima of the Netherlands accompanied by their three daughters, Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane, arrived at Paleis op de Dam in Amsterdam this morning to attend a dress rehearsal at the Nieuwe Kerk for tomorrow’s historic inauguration of the soon-to-be King Willem-Alexander.