The embassy was one day ahead of schedule as the Netherlands marks the day on 27 April. Around 200,000 visitors were expected in Amsterdam for the first King’s Day party since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Ambassador Cees Bansema welcomed fellow diplomats, such as US ambassador Tom Barrett and UK ambassador Fleur Thomas, as well as politicians, and members of the business and international communities in Luxembourg.

As has become customary, guests sang both the Dutch and Luxembourg national anthems at the event, which was hosted at the ambassador’s residence, in a garden in bloom with orange tulips.

Amid an abundance of orange ties and accessories, the rain largely stayed away as guests nibbled on Dutch treats over a glass of Luxembourg crémant.

The reception was hosted against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, “reminding us all of the precious freedoms we cherish,” the embassy said.

The Netherlands and Luxembourg share a long history as the grand duchy once formed part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Guillaume III of the Orange-Nassau family was the last king of the Netherlands to also be grand duke of Luxembourg before the succession passed to the Nassau-Weilburg branch of the family in 1890.

Luxembourg’s coat of arms was derived from that of the Duchy of Limburg in the middle ages and both feature a red lion with a two-pronged tail. Guillaume III and his predecessors were also duke of Limburg.