Juliana's daughter, Beatrix, retained the celebration on 30 April upon her ascent to the throne in 1980, because her birthday was on 31 January, the middle of winter.

[2] Beatrix did alter her mother's custom of receiving a floral parade at Soestdijk Palace, instead choosing to visit different Dutch towns each year and join in the festivities with her children.

Queen Beatrix abdicated on Koninginnedag 2013, and her son, Willem-Alexander, ascended the throne (the first king since the observance of the national holiday).

As a result, the holiday became known as Koningsdag from 2014 on, and the celebration was moved three days earlier to 27 April, Willem-Alexander's actual birthday.

An additional practical consideration for her was that on her own birthday, the 31st of January the weather was not deemed suitable enough for a large-scale outdoor event, unlike the end of April.

Faced with an unpopular monarchy, in the 1880s the liberals in Dutch government sought a means of promoting national unity.

[5] Further processions were held in the following years, and when Wilhelmina inherited the throne in 1890, Prinsessedag was renamed Koninginnedag, or Queen's Day.

[5] The celebration proved popular, and when the Queen came of age in 1898, her inauguration was postponed six days to 6 September so as not to interfere with Koninginnedag.

[6] The annual holiday fell on the final day of school summer vacation, which made it popular among schoolchildren.

[4] It is uncertain how much Wilhelmina enjoyed the festivities; although writer Mike Peek, in a 2011 magazine article about Koninginnedag, suggests she was enthusiastic,[4] there is a story of Wilhelmina, after a tired return from one of these birthday processions, making her doll bow until the toy's hair was dishevelled, and telling it, "Now you shall sit in a carriage and bow until your back aches, and see how much you like being a Queen!

[8] She attended ceremonies for her silver jubilee in 1923, which included massive festivities in Amsterdam and The Hague, despite the Queen's request that large sums not be spent because economic conditions at the time were difficult.

To ensure that even the poorer parts of the city were included, bands played simultaneously at 28 locations across The Hague.

The first observance of the holiday on the new date included a huge circus at the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium—one not attended by the royal family, who remained at Soestdijk Palace.

Fearing further demonstrations on the holiday, government officials decided to open Amsterdam city centre to the vrijmarkt ("free market") that had long been held on Koninginnedag in the outskirts of town, principally for children.

[10] Rather than remaining at the palace and letting the Dutch people come to her, Beatrix instead usually visited two towns each year for Koninginnedag celebrations.

In 1988 three British servicemen stationed in Germany who were in the Netherlands for Koninginnedag were killed in Irish Republican Army attacks.

[15] In 1996 the celebrations in Rotterdam were dampened by an alcohol ban, put in place following riots earlier in the week after local football club Feyenoord won the Dutch league championship.

[18] Tates died of injuries sustained in the attack soon afterwards and his exact motives remain unclear, though it appears his target was the royal family.

[37] The festivities on Koningsdag are often organised by Orange Committees (Dutch: Oranjecomité), local associations[3] that seek sponsorship and donations for their activities.

[39] ING Bank found in 2011 that one in five Dutch residents planned to sell at the vrijmarkt and estimated they would earn €100 per person for a total turnover of €290 million.

[41] The bank also forecast that the lowest level of sales at the vrijmarkt in 2011 would be in the province of Limburg, site of Queen Beatrix's visit.

Children sell their cast-off toys or garments at the Vondelpark, also in southern Amsterdam, and in a spirit of fun passers-by often offer the young sellers more than they are asking for the goods.

To aid visitors in returning home by train after the festivities, outdoor events must end by 20:00, and the Museumplein show by 21:00.

[44] Many young people celebrate in the streets and squares (and in Amsterdam, the canals as well) throughout the night, and after all-night partying join the crowds at the vrijmarkt.