The Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands has the 16th highest nominal gross domestic product in the world. This becomes more impressive when one realizes the Dutch have the 61st largest population. Holland’s long history of trade and empire has combined with its own native tradition of artistic excellence to leave the country littered with all manner of treasures and masterpieces. The country is a parliamentary democracy ruled by a beloved sovereign, Queen Beatrix. If you say anything censorious about the reigning monarch to a Dutch subject, you are likely to get a scowl and some harsh words (or possibly a fist). At times, the personal net worth of Queen Beatrix has been reckoned to surpass that of the Queen of England (depending on the art and financial markets).
So what is the crown of the Queen of the Netherlands like? Actually the crown, which symbolizes the sovereignty of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (which presently consists of the Netherlands in Western Europe and two overseas territories in the Caribbean: the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba) and represents the dignity of the sovereign as head of state, is of comparatively recent construction. It was made in 1840, upon the abdication of King William I, and it differs substantially from the heraldic crown of the house of Orange (which–being heraldic–exists only in depictions). The actual crown is very small. It appears to be gold but it is actually constructed of silver covered with thin gilding. The crown has no actual jewels but is ornamented with colored glass, foil, and artificial pearls. These “pearls” which are the chief feature of the royal headdress are constructed from paste covered with fish skin.
For some reason the Dutch kings and queens have never chosen to wear the crown during coronations, but the object has always been present on a special table. The crown has only appeared in public during coronations (in 1898, 1948, and 1980), during a royal funeral in 1934, and at an exhibition in 1990. Below is the largest picture I could find.
Um...the Royal Crown of the Kingdom of the Netherlands!
ferrebeekeeper 
6 comments
Comments feed for this article
November 8, 2012 at 5:00 AM
edgarrovdyr
Where may I find a depiction of heraldic crown of the house of Orange?
November 8, 2012 at 11:13 AM
Wayne
Wikipedia has a pretty good summary which shows the evolving coat of arms as well as the present heraldic crest (surmounted by the crown).
November 8, 2012 at 10:14 PM
edgarrovdyr
Thank you! This article is very useful for me, because of my interests are concerning dutch history and also dutch heraldry.
March 12, 2013 at 12:09 AM
Jennifer
Hi there–thanks for the blog entry. You noted that dutch monarchs aren’t actually crowned. This is true. There’s a reason. The thinking is that in the NL, the monarchy doesn’t have the religious connotation that it does in, say, England. In England, the archbishop (right?) crowns the monarch b/c as God’s representative on earth, he is in a higher position, for lack of a better term, than the monarch. In the NL, this is a state function, not a religious one, and in that sense, there is no one in a higher position than a monarch. Make sense?
March 12, 2013 at 9:11 PM
Wayne
Thank you for explaining the reasoning behind the ritual. It makes perfect sense for Protestant (and increasingly secular) Holland.
February 6, 2015 at 6:34 AM
rev. k. vinod kumar
A servent of GOD m67 here, serving the LORD
since 5th sept 1964 in india, the founder and but its yes
director of CROWN OUTREACH MINISTRIES with the
goal of reach the unreached
with HIS Gosple and plan the churches,romans 15v20,21.planted
70,Churches so far 70,pastors are serving along
with me.Beside the Church service we are also
working for the destitute,disabled,widows and
the aged with the motive of to show them the
Christian love in action and lead them unto
the SAVIOUR(matt 25:35-40) and james 1:27.Here
is my humble request to all of you,please pray
for us and stand by us,if the LORD permits you
please support us financially and let us be the
part of your supported ministry here.
The BIBLE TV here has given me award called
“THE DIAMOND OF CHRIST”, due to my 50 years OF his
service in HIS vineyard and the benevolent
services amonge the needy people,so kindly
stand by me in this regard.MIGHTY GOD be with you all and
bless all of us.
your fellow servent of JESUS
rev. k. vinod kumar
my address:
CROWN OUTREACH MINITRIES
44/98-1A
prakash nagar
kurnool 518004, india
pho. 0091-93473 63303.