The Unofficial Dutch Royal Family Pages

On the 30th of April 2005 it will be exactly 25 years since Queen Juliana abdicated and thus Beatrix became Queen of the Netherlands. Of course we will keep a close eye on all events that are planned to celebrate this silver jubilee.

So far it has been decided that the jubilee celebrations will start on the 29th and 30th of April in Amsterdam and The Hague and end in December 2005. The organizing committee has defined three goals for the celebrations:

The celebrations shall provide insight in the manner in which Queen Beatrix has gone about her position (as head of state and part of the government and as head of a nation).

The celebration wants to focus attention on the richness of the society of which the Queen symbolizes a unity.

The celebration shuld contribute to a renewed consciousness and knowledge of the Dutch State, the historical context and the European future.

A contest was held for creation of a logo of the celebrations. You can see the winning logo here. It was created by Roy de Groot. The crown symbolizes the fact that it's a royal celebration. The heart stands for the warm and socially involved personality of Queen Beatrix. The curves of the crown and pearls have been designed in such a way that it looks like a circle of people, large and small, hand in hand. This was done to show that Queen Beatrix feels connected to all kinds of people.

So far the following activities are being planned:

To commemmorate the Silver Jubilee of Queen Beatrix, Her Majesty will be offered a new window in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. The artist Marc Mulders has been asked to create a design for this leaded light window.

A national day for young people

A meeting of  government members and governors from the years 1980 - 2005

Potentially a visit to the West

Knowledge projects and documentaries

A formal program will be announced at the beginning of 2005.

Official Silver Jubilee Site (in Dutch)