A koning is a king and a koningin is a queen. The Netherlands has been a monarchy since 1806, when Napoleon crowned his brother Lodewijk Napoleon as King of what was then called the Kingdom of Holland. In 1815, after the French had been defeated, King Willem I of the House of Orange was inaugurated as the first King of the Netherlands.
The Netherlands has had the following reigning monarchs:
- King Willem I (1815-1840)
- King Willem II (1840-1849)
- King Willem III (1849-1890)
- Dowager-Queen Emma (1890-1898), regent during the minority of her daughter Wilhelmina
- Queen Wilhelmina (1898-1948)
- Queen Juliana (1948-1980)
- Queen Beatrix (1980-2013)
- King Willem-Alexander (2013-present).
Since 1890, there is an annual holiday called Koninginnedag (Queen’s day) or Koningsdag (King’s Day). It is now celebrated on 27 April, the birthday of King Willem-Alexander.
Queen’s Day, 1968. Credits: Eric Koch, collection Nationaal Archief (CC-BY)
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Just curious, who are the heirs to King Willem-Alexander, i.e., the next Kings/Queens. Great Britian seems to be stacked 3 deep at the moment!
Thanks,
Kirk
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima have three daughters, the oldest of whom is twelve years old. His mother abdicated in 2013, and so did his grandmother (1980) and great-grandmother (1948). Each of them waited until the heir had started a family before handing over the reign.
Interesting. So unlike in the UK, the family doesn’t wait until the current ruler dies, they hand over the reign once the child is old enough. Thanks!
My great great grand mother is Grietje Koning. and her dad is Klaas Jans Koning. Wonder how they got their Sir name, when I go back farther it’s Derk?
Where did they live? Koning could be a nick name, farm name or the name of somebody who won the shooting contest. Derk is a first name, not a last name that I have ever seen. The name Klaas Jans suggest they were from Friesland, is that correct? Many Frisians did not have last names before 1811 so Derk may have been a patronymic rather than a surname.