Dutch term – Koning and Koningin

25 April 2016 by 5 Comments

A koning is a king and a koningin is a queen. The Netherlands has been a monarchy since 1806, when Napoleon crowned his brother Lodewijk Napoleon as King of what was then called the Kingdom of Holland. In 1815, after the French had been defeated, King Willem I of the House of Orange was inaugurated as the first King of the Netherlands.

The Netherlands has had the following reigning monarchs:

  • King Willem I (1815-1840)
  • King Willem II (1840-1849)
  • King Willem III (1849-1890)
  • Dowager-Queen Emma (1890-1898), regent during the minority of her daughter Wilhelmina
  • Queen Wilhelmina (1898-1948)
  • Queen Juliana (1948-1980)
  • Queen Beatrix (1980-2013)
  • King Willem-Alexander (2013-present).

Since 1890, there is an annual holiday called Koninginnedag (Queen’s day) or Koningsdag (King’s Day). It is now celebrated on 27 April, the birthday of King Willem-Alexander.

Queen Julliana at the palace with the Royal Family

Queen’s Day, 1968. Credits: Eric Koch, collection Nationaal Archief (CC-BY)

Filed Under: Dutch terms Tagged With: ,
About Yvette Hoitink

Yvette Hoitink, MLitt, CG®, QG™ is a professional genealogist, writer, and lecturer in the Netherlands. She has a Master of Letters in Family and Local History from the University of Dundee, and holds the Certification of Genealogist and Qualified Genealogist credentials. Yvette served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Professional Genealogists and won excellence awards for her articles in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly and the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly. Yvette has been doing genealogy for over 30 years. She helps people from across the world find their ancestors from the Netherlands and its former colonies, including New Netherland. Read about Yvette's professional genealogy services.

Comments

  1. Kirk Payne says
    26 April 2016 at 4:48 pm

    Just curious, who are the heirs to King Willem-Alexander, i.e., the next Kings/Queens. Great Britian seems to be stacked 3 deep at the moment!

    Thanks,
    Kirk

    Reply
    • Yvette Hoitink says
      26 April 2016 at 7:35 pm

      King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima have three daughters, the oldest of whom is twelve years old. His mother abdicated in 2013, and so did his grandmother (1980) and great-grandmother (1948). Each of them waited until the heir had started a family before handing over the reign.

      Reply
      • Kirk Payne says
        26 April 2016 at 7:43 pm

        Interesting. So unlike in the UK, the family doesn’t wait until the current ruler dies, they hand over the reign once the child is old enough. Thanks!

        Reply
  2. Fred Geurkink says
    29 April 2016 at 6:49 pm

    My great great grand mother is Grietje Koning. and her dad is Klaas Jans Koning. Wonder how they got their Sir name, when I go back farther it’s Derk?

    Reply
    • Yvette Hoitink says
      7 May 2016 at 2:24 pm

      Where did they live? Koning could be a nick name, farm name or the name of somebody who won the shooting contest. Derk is a first name, not a last name that I have ever seen. The name Klaas Jans suggest they were from Friesland, is that correct? Many Frisians did not have last names before 1811 so Derk may have been a patronymic rather than a surname.

      Reply

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