Prinsjesdag


Prinsjesdag

Third Tuesday in SeptemberThe state opening of Parliament in the Netherlands takes place on the third Tuesday in September at the 13th-century Ridderzaal, or Knights' Hall, in The Hague. Queen Beatrix rides to Parliament in a golden coach drawn by eight horses. She is received by the two houses of Parliament—the Upper House and the Lower House, corresponding to the Senate and the House of Representatives in the United States—to whom she addresses her speech outlining the government's intended majority program for the coming year.
A similar ceremony is observed in Great Britain ( see State Opening of Parliament).
CONTACTS:
Government Information Service
P.O. Box 20001
Hague, 2500 EA Netherlands
31-70-356-4000; fax: 31-70-356-4683
www.koninklijkhuis.nl/english