This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website

Official flag days (The Netherlands)

Last modified: 2020-06-25 by rob raeside
Keywords: flagdays |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors



[National flag of the Netherlands] by António Martins, 22 April 1999
Flag adopted 19 February 1937

See also:

Official flag days

The list I have of when the flag will be flown on official buildings:

31 Jan - H.M. the Queen (Beatrix)
27 Apr - H.R.H. Crown Prince Willem Alexander
30 Apr - Queen's Day; Birthday of the late Queen Juliana
4 May - Memorial Day (half mast from 6 p.m. till sunset - but see note)
5 May - Liberation Day
17 May - Princess Máxima
29 June - Veterans Day
15 Aug - Formal end Second World War
3rd Tuesday in Sep - Opening of Parliament (in The Hague only)
7 Dec - Princess Catharina-Amalia
15 Dec - Statute of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

30 April is known as Koninginnedag ("Queen's day"), the day when the Queen officially celebrates her birthday. In the late 1890s this started, until 1948 on the 31st of August, the birthday of Queen Wilhelmina. Since then it has been on 30 April, the birthday of Queen Juliana. She abdicated in 1980 (on 30 April) and the new queen, Beatrix, decided to leave Queen's Day on this date (except the first year it was on 30 May 1980).
On 17 May 2002, it was the first time that the Dutch national flag was raised with orange pennant on main official buildings in honour of Princess Máxima's birthday. Máxima married Prince Willem-Alexander (the prince heir) on 2 Feb 2002. The flag instruction was modified on 26 April 2002.
Source: Ministry of General Affairs.
Mark Sensen, 16 May 2002

H.R.H. Prince Bernhard died last 1 December, 29 June is no longer an official flag day.
On 26 November this year a flag instruction was issued by the Prime Minister that 7 December will be an official flag day for H.R.H. Princess Catharina-Amalia.
Note that because of the death of Prince Bernhard this was cancelled this year for her first birthday.
Mark Sensen, 19 Dec 2004

29 June has again become a national flagday. It was the birthday of Prince Bernhard, but since last year it is the Netherlands Veterans Day.
The Council of Ministers decided on 24 June 2006 to make this day a national event; a flag-instruction has been issued, whereby it is allowed to hoist the Dutch tricolore.
Mark Sensen, 3 Jul 2006

From now on government buildings will fly the Dutch flag with orange pennant on the birthday of Princess Catherina-Amalia, the future queen of the Netherlands.
Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende amended the general flag instructions for government buildings to allow the tribute to begin on her second birthday on Wednesday 7 December.
The Princess - known as Amalia - was not saluted in this way on her first birthday as flags were flying at half-mast following the death of her great-grandfather, Prince Bernhard.
The flag instruction applies to all government buildings and institutions, services and other public organisations under the authority of the central government.
Source: this webpage.
Phil Nelson, 3 Dec 2005

Note

Currently, the normal flag instruction for 4 May, Memorial Day, is to hoist the flag at half-staff from six o'clock in the morning until sun-down. In 2020, the instruction is to hoist the flag at half-staff from sun-up to sun-down. The remembrance of the victims of the Second World War takes place 75 years after 1945, which is the reason why for once the mourning takes place the whole day.

Several events had been planned for this day, and the days before to commemorate the dates where in separate cities the local liberation day was to be celebrated and mourned. Hardly any of these events came to pass, though, as the Corona lock-down made them impossible.

All main buildings of the national government are flying the Dutch flag at half-staff all day, and municipalities, provinces, and diplomatic representation are requested to adhere to this flag instruction as well. The King and queen are expected to lay a wreath at the National Monument on the otherwise empty Dam in Amsterdam, and then speak on the events of 75 years ago and of today.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 18 May 2020