The 25th anniversary of Queen Wilhelmina was celebrated in 1923. The weeks long festivities were celebrated exuberantly throughout the Netherlands. The festivities started on her birthday on 31st of August with a grand ride into The Hague and a ceremony at the Malieveld. After this the royal family went to Amsterdam for a four-day visit.
The capital was the center of the festivities. It was decorated with flags and banners everywhere. It started with a coach tour and on the second day a service in the Nieuwe Kerk . In the afternoon she was offered the national gift, 200 watercolors of Dutch villages presented in an expensive coromandel wooden case. Audiences and receptions followed in the palace the following days. The festivities in Amsterdam were closed on September 8th. After this they visited several cities in The Netherlands and on September 21st the festivities officially ended in Delft.
Here Wilhelmina received the national gift, an amount of money to carry out the restoration of the tomb of Willem van Oranje, the founder of the House of Orange. The initiative for this came from Wilhelmina herself, who was shocked by the poor condition of the monument during an earlier visit to Delft.
Commerce eagerly anticipated on the festivities and brought many Orange Souvenirs onto the market.
Here are some photos from our collection:
Info: from the book on Wilhelmina by Cees Fasseur
Tulip vase Queen Wilhelmina 1923.
bonbon dish issued by choclate factory Driessen 1923.
Glass ball with a portrait of Queen Wilhelmina on the inside
Several items of pottery by Arnhem Fabriek
