King Willem-Alexander blows out 57 candles on King’s Day. This year he is celebrating the party with his family in Emmen. But there he is invariably accompanied by ‘security men’ with black suitcases.
Former chairman of the Police Union Jan Struijs tells in the NPO Radio 1 podcast Het Crime Bureau that protecting the king on King’s Day is “really top sport”. “You should just keep an eye on everything for five or six hours.” There are a lot of stimuli and irregularities that security guards and police officers have to be alert to.
Every year you also see numerous ‘security men’ walking around with black suitcases. Investigative journalist Noa van Oostrom says that they are bulletproof screens that can be quickly used to protect the king if necessary.
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Major security operation
The procession will probably be smaller this year than in Rotterdam, says royal expert Coks Donders. “That has to do with various things, such as the size of the city. This year it is in Emmen, a different place than the big city of Rotterdam where many more things have to be taken into account.”
In any case, according to Donders, it will be a major security operation. “For example, I know that if you have followed the news around Emmen, there are certain things that the king cannot do that the local population would have liked to do. Because it is simply not possible for safety reasons.”
Princess Amalia is also still under strict guard since she was threatened. Curious about what measures have been taken and how they work? Listen to the bonus episode of the podcast below now!
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Also read:
Asylum seekers in Gouda ready for King’s Day: ‘We want to participate’
By: Matthijs Meulblok
