The "..... from Carnival to Inaugural" Story

Outgoing Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

It was an ordinary day.  Actually, while on the Caribbean island of St. Martin / Sint  Maarten  Carol and I spent quite a few ordinary days.  The days tended to all blend together being that we spent just about all of them on the beach, under the yellow umbrella, on the orange beach chairs, reading our book or Kindle and sipping drinks when needed.  Oh yeah, we did take time every now and again to walk to the shoreline to enjoy the 85 degree turquoise crystal-clear water.  But, during our stay, on the Dutch side of the island or the Sint Maarten side, there were numerous celebrations taking place.  The celebration of Carnival is fast becoming one of the biggest celebrations on the island and lasts almost two weeks.  But, this year it had to compete with the inauguration of King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima on April 30th.  Celebrating the reign of Queen Beatrix and the inauguration of King Alexander is symbolic, significant and historic because it underscores the long-standing bond between Sint Maarten and the Netherlands.  It is historic also because it is the last of Queen Beatrix's 33-year reign and the last of 123 successive years of Queen's Birthday celebrations in the Netherlands and on Sint Maarten.  About a week ago Queen Beatrix bestowed the title of Knight of Orange-Nassau on Sint Maarten residents Angela Dekker, Eileen Healy and Clarence Richardson.  The three received their royal decorations from Governor Eugene Holiday at the historical 17th century Fort Amsterdam.  

Children's bike-a-thon

The following day the children of  Sint  Maarten  celebrated the upcoming inauguration with a walk-a-thon and a bike-a-thon around the town of Philipsburg and a soccer tournament at he Cruyff Court in Belvedere.  On April 30th, Queen Beatrix stepped down from the throne, ending her 33-year reign and passed the crown to her eldest son Willem-Alexander.  There is a time to step down and allow new blood to rule and Queen Beatrix had the wisdom and courage to abdicate the throne while she can still enjoy the rest of her life without the pressures of the  monarchy.  It was a very historical moment for Sint Maarten and all of the Dutch Kingdom.  Willem-Alexander will be the Netherlands' first King since Willem III died in 1890.  Did you catch that date?  Willem-Alexander is 45 years old and father of three young daughters.  His Argentine-born wife, Maxima, will become Queen.  The changing of the guard doesn't happen very often and for some this may be the only change they will ever experience.  To mark the occasion, the Royal Netherlands Navy Ship Friesland, which is at anchor in Great Bay Harbour in Philipsburg, gave a 101-cannon salute which started at 8:00 AM.  33 blasts were fired at 8:00 AM with 35 more blasts at high noon and a final 33 more blasts at 4:00 PM.  Not sure why they chose those time, but I'm sure it must of had some kind of importance.  Carol and I decided not to drive to Philipsburg and get enveloped in the traffic, so we did not see the activities and did not hear the cannons blasting their salute.  I'm sure it was pretty dramatic, not only in Sint Maarten, but in all the Dutch islands in the Caribbean.  Congratulations to the new King and Queen and happy retirement to the outgoing Queen.  I'm sure there will be new souvenir t-shirts for sale tomorrow at all the gift shops on the Dutch side.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The new King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima with former Queen Beatrix