The Golden Coach (Dutch : Gouden Koets) is a coach owned and used by the Dutch royal family. [1] The Golden Coach was used every year to carry the Dutch monarch from the Noordeinde Palace to the Ridderzaal in order to deliver the Speech from the Throne or the wedding of the Prince of Orange or the Princess of Orange. The Golden Coach is stored at the Royal Stables on the Noordeinde Palace grounds in The Hague.
The coach is made of teak wood, much of which is covered in gold leaf. It is decorated with paintings by Nicolaas van der Waay and various symbolic ornaments. [2] The coach was built in Dutch Renaissance style. It is pulled by eight horses when the reigning monarch is being carried; only six horses when other members of the royal family are travelling in the coach. Queen Wilhelmina wanted to be able to stand upright in the coach, which explains the bent form of the coach's roof. This increased height of the coach has made it more difficult to drive.
Queen Wilhelmina received the Golden Coach at her 1898 investiture as a tribute from the citizens of Amsterdam. The coach was designed and built by the Spijker brothers. Because Queen Wilhelmina wished not to receive gifts on the day of her inauguration on September 6, 1898, she actually took receipt of the Golden Coach the following day.
The vehicle was first used on the occasion of the marriage of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Hendrik on February 7, 1901. Since 1903 it has mainly been used once a year, in The Hague, on the third Tuesday in September, Prinsjesdag , on the occasion of the Monarch's Address. [3] In 1974 however the coach was not used for security reasons, due to the French Embassy siege. [4]
Other occasions when the carriage has been used are:
At the wedding of Willem-Alexander and Máxima someone threw some white paint on the coach. He was immediately arrested, while the stuff was quickly wiped away by a footman. On Prinsjesdag in 2010 a man threw a tea light holder against the Golden Coach, causing minor scratches to the paintwork. Convicted of insulting the Queen, damaging the Golden Coach, and assaulting the coach's footmen, the man — who was found to be mentally incapable, excluding jail time — was sentenced to a year in a psychiatric clinic. [5]
In September 2015, it was announced that the coach would undergo a major refit for the next three to four years and that the "Glass Coach" would be used where the Golden Coach would be normally used. [6]
In September 2022, following tests on a sample taken during the coach's restoration, it was confirmed that the gold used to line the coach came from Suriname. [7]
In 2011, MPs Harry van Bommel and Mariko Peters suggested removing the left panel, portraying Hulde der Koloniën (Tribute from the colonies). According to activists, the panel showed half-naked slaves making gestures of submission to the royal house. Historians, on the other hand, stated that the scene does not depict slaves or the royal family, nor is it a glorification of the colonies. [8] The panel shows the relations with the colonies at that point and, according to historian Susan Legêne of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, refers to the discussion about the Dutch Ethical Policy that focused on a moral vocation that the Netherlands should feel towards the people in the colonies. [9]
After the Golden Coach was renovated, it was displayed in a glass box on the courtyard of the Amsterdam Museum from June until November 2021. In six surrounding halls were expositions of the history of the Golden Coach. There was also a study room for debate. [10]
On 13 January 2022, King Willem-Alexander announced that he would not ride in the coach until all citizens feel they are equal and given fair opportunities. [11] [12]
The House of Orange-Nassau is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, particularly since William the Silent organised the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule, which after the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) led to an independent Dutch state. William III of Orange led the resistance of the Netherlands and Europe to Louis XIV of France, and orchestrated the Glorious Revolution in England that established parliamentary rule. Similarly, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was instrumental in the Dutch resistance during World War II.
Juliana was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980.
Beatrix is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013.
Wilhelmina was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, making her the longest-reigning monarch in Dutch history, as well as the longest-reigning female monarch outside the United Kingdom. Her reign saw World War I, the Dutch economic crisis of 1933 and World War II.
Princess Christina of the Netherlands was the youngest of four daughters of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She taught singing in New York and was a long-term supporter of the Youth Music Foundation in the Netherlands. Born visually impaired, she worked to share her knowledge of dance and sound therapy with the blind.
Princess Margriet of the Netherlands is the third daughter of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard. As an aunt of the reigning monarch, King Willem-Alexander, she is a member of the Dutch Royal House and currently eighth and last in the line of succession to the throne.
Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange is the heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the constituent countries of Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten.
Noordeinde Palace is one of three official palaces of the Dutch royal family. Located in the city center of The Hague in the province of South Holland, it has been used as the official workplace of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima since 2013. The Noordeinde Palace and its surrounding palace grounds are property of the Dutch State.
Huis ten Bosch is a royal palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is one of three official residences of the Dutch monarch; the two others being the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague and the Royal Palace in Amsterdam.
Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau is the second daughter of Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. Princess Alexia is a member of the Dutch royal house and second in the line of succession to the Dutch throne.
Prinsjesdag is the day on which the reigning monarch of the Netherlands addresses a joint session of the States-General of the Netherlands to give the Speech from the Throne, similar to the annual State of the Union in the United States or the British State Opening of Parliament. This speech sets out the main features of government policy for the coming parliamentary session.
Princess Ariane of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau is the third and youngest daughter of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. Princess Ariane is a member of the Dutch Royal House and currently third in the line of succession to the Dutch throne.
Wilhelmine of Prussia was the first Queen consort of the Netherlands as the first wife of King William I of the Netherlands. She had a modest public role but acted as a patron of the arts.
In the Dutch honours system, most orders are the responsibility of ministers of the Netherlands Government. The house orders, however, are awarded at the discretion of the Dutch monarch alone.
The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy whose role and position are governed by the Constitution of the Netherlands. Roughly a third of the Constitution explains the succession, mechanisms of accession and abdication to the throne, the roles and duties of the monarch, the formalities of communication between the States General of the Netherlands, and the monarch's role in creating laws.
Koningsdag or King's Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Celebrated on 27 April, the date marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander. When the Dutch monarch is female, the holiday is known as Koninginnedag or Queen's Day and, under Queen Beatrix until 2013, was celebrated on 30 April.
The inauguration of Willem-Alexander took place on 30 April 2013 at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. Willem-Alexander ascended the throne immediately following the abdication of his mother Queen Beatrix earlier that day. Willem-Alexander is the first King of the Netherlands since the death of his great-great-grandfather William III in 1890.
Several monarchs have used golden coaches. These horse-drawn coaches were made of wood and covered with gold leaf, a solid golden coach would be very expensive and so heavy that it would be a practical impossibility.
The Glass Coach is a royal carriage that was used by the Dutch royal family for special events before Queen Wilhelmina received the Golden Coach. The coach was then used only for the monarch or the parents of the bride or groom on a royal wedding day. In 2015, it started to be used more frequently for state events because the Golden Coach needed to be repaired. It is the oldest coach the Dutch royal family owns. The Glass Coach is stored at the Royal Stables in The Hague.
The Royal Stables is a collection of equestrian stables of the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange-Nassau. It is a Rijksmonumental building that is part of the royal palace grounds located in the city center of The Hague in the Netherlands. The Noordeinde Palace and the Palace Gardens are also part of this same palace complex. The Noordeinde Palace and its grounds are the official workplace of the Dutch King Willem-Alexander.
