Dutch Royals Have a Full Family Outing for King's Day Festivities, Including Selfies, Ice Skating and Sweets
Dutch Royals Have a Full Family Outing for King's Day Festivities, Including Selfies, Ice Skating and Sweets
Janine HenniMon, April 27, 2026 at 4:31 PM UTC
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Princes Catharina-Amalia, Princess Ariane, Queen Maxima, King Willem-Alexander and Princess Alexia in Dokkum, Netherlands on April 27, 2026Credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty -
King Willem-Alexander celebrated his 59th birthday in Dokkum with Queen Máxima and their three daughters
The Dutch royals participated in local traditions like Frisian handball and ice skating during the King's Day festivities
King Willem-Alexander's April birthday is a national holiday in the Netherlands
King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands is celebrating his birthday at a street party with his wife and daughters.
The Dutch monarch turned 59 on April 27 and participated in festivities for King's Day in Dokkum. King Willem-Alexander's April birthday is a national holiday in the Netherlands and a tradition within the Dutch royal family dating back to 1855.
The holiday signifies national unity, and the King has continued his mother Princess Beatrix's custom of visiting different places in the Netherlands to commemorate the special occasion, which was called Queen's Day when she reigned from 1980 to 2013.
King Willem-Alexander appeared in Dokkum with his wife, Queen Máxima, and their three daughters, Princess Catharina-Amalia, 22, Princess Alexia, 20, and Princess Ariane, 19.
King's Day serves as a way for cities to show off their culture and national pride, and the pageant began with a performance of the Frisian national anthem.
From there, the royals strolled through the city and met local people, where princesses Alexia and Catharina-Amalia snapped selfies with well-wishers in the crowd.
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Princess Catharina-Amalia in Dokkum on April 27, 2026.Credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty
The royals checked out demonstrations of typical Frisian and national sports like kaatsen (Frisian handball), fierljeppen (comparable to pole vaulting and long jump), sailing and dance, with King Willem-Alexander even trying handball with his Queen Máxima, 54, and hopping on to a sailboat to see the action for himself.
The Dutch royals also collected stamps as part of the Frisian Eleven Cities Tour, with the King, Queen and their youngest daughter lacing up some skates to try ice skating.
Princess Ariane, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima in Dokkum on April 27, 2026.Credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty
A video that the Royal House shared to Instagram also showed the Queen decorating cookies, while the King operated a farming simulator and their daughters checked out the setup at Innovation Square.
Princess Catharina-Amalia is the heir to the Dutch throne and followed in the line of succession by her younger sisters, Princess Alexia and Princess Amalia. Catharina-Amalia is in college and said several years ago that she wasn't ready to rule yet, sharing that she would ask her mother to step in if her father were to pass suddenly.
Queen Maxima in Dokkum on April 27, 2026.Credit: Mischa SCHOEMAKER / various sources / AFP via Getty
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"I said to my father, 'You just keep on eating healthy and exercising a lot,' " the princess told biographer Claudia de Breij for the authorized biography Amalia, which was published shortly before her 18th birthday in December 2021.
King Willem-Alexander in Dokkum on April 27, 2026.Credit: Sem van der Wal / various sources / AFP via Getty
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