King’s Day will not be on King Willem-Alexander’s birthday next year: Here’s why

Hip, hip, hoera! 🎉

The Dutch king will still blow out 58 birthday candles in Doetinchem in 2025 — but the monarch has changed the date of his celebration.

Alright, it wasn’t the King changing the date of his birthday, but a loophole.

While King’s Day is traditionally celebrated on April 27 of each year (a la the King’s birthday), April 27 falls on a Sunday in 2025.

We all know that it would be irresponsible to let the Dutch go wild drinking beer on a Sunday (imagine the Monday hangovers! 😬), hence the Saturday date instead.

Okay, okay, it’s probably not a hangover-related decision, but the Netherlands Government Information Service explains that this always happens if the reigning monarch’s birthday falls on a Sunday.

The good news? King’s Day 2025 is on a Saturday! Start the beer chilling now.

Fun fact: King Willem-Alexander was nicknamed “the Prince of Pils” in university for his spectacular beer-drinking efforts. 🍻

To Doetinchem, and beyond!

The 2025 festivities will take place in Doetinchem, northeast of Nijmegen and nestled in the green Achterhoek region.

The King celebrates his birthday with the royal family in a different city every year.

Locations of past King’s Day celebrations

  • 2024: Emmen
  • 2023: Rotterdam
  • 2022: Maastricht
  • 2021: Eindhoven
  • 2020: Palace Huis ten Bosch
  • 2019: Amersfoort
  • 2018: Groningen
  • 2017: Tilburg
  • 2016: Zwolle
  • 2015: Dordrecht
  • 2014: De Rijp and Amstelveen

Will you be celebrating King’s Day next year? Tell us in the comments below!

Feature Image:RVD
Samantha Dixon 🇦🇺
Samantha Dixon 🇦🇺https://gallivantations.com
Sam has over six years experience writing about life in the Netherlands and leads the content team at DutchReview. She originally came to the Netherlands to study in 2016 and now holds a BA (Hons.) in Arts, a BA (Hons) in Journalism, and (almost) a Masters in Teaching. She loves to write about settling into life in the Netherlands, her city of Utrecht, learning Dutch, and jobs in the Netherlands — and she still can’t jump on the back of a moving bike (she's learning!).

1 COMMENT

  1. Walter
    Walter

    The Real Person!

    Author Walter acts as a real person and verified as not a bot.
    Passed all tests against spam bots. Anti-Spam by CleanTalk.

    The Real Person!

    Author Walter acts as a real person and verified as not a bot.
    Passed all tests against spam bots. Anti-Spam by CleanTalk.

    Sunday (imagine the Monday hangovers! 😬), hence the Sunday date instead.

    Please adjust to Saturday 😉

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Related posts

Latest posts

BREAKING: International Criminal Court in The Hague issues arrest warrants against Israel PM and Hamas leader

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has just issued arrest warrants against three important figures from Israel and Hamas.  According to the NOS,...

Your guide to all the ‘lekker’ Dutch festive food and drinks you can enjoy this holiday season

Christmas is right around the corner, which means: it's time for the feasting on Dutch festive food to begin! 🎄 You might be wondering...

Best internet and SIM deals in the Netherlands: Free gifts, discounts, and more

’Tis the season… for Black Friday tech deals! From free TVs to discounts up to 70%, these are the best internet and SIM offers...

It's happening

Upcoming events

The latest Dutch news.
In your inbox.