Koningin voor de Dag

     

Back in November as Gwaz was rummaging through the racks at Kohl’s and Stein Mart looking for orange-colored clothes she could wear on Queen’s Day, she had no idea how important her choices would become. And, when we moved into the apartment at Amstel 155 and Gwaz did her best Cinderelly imitation, the orangie-yellow hat she found didn’t seem as significant as it proved to be on 30 April. Even as she suited-up for our mega-walk around town, it wasn’t initially obvious that she was “Queen for the Day.” Soon after she hit the street, her coronation began.

It’s funny because neither of us recognized her resemblance to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, whose birthday we were celebrating. Known locally as Queen’s Day, this annual celebration attracts an estimated crowd over 1.5 million people to Amsterdam alone. This year, Queen’s Day (30 April) had the added significance of the transfer of the monarchy to her son, King Willem-Alexander. At first we thought the staring and finger pointing had more to do with Gwaz’s orange-haired bodyguard; but after a short while there was no confusion about the attention Queen Gwaz garnered. I think it was somewhere around Museumplein that the first of Gwaz’s loyal subjects approached her for a photo.

By the time we wandered through Vondel Park along with the better part of one hundred thousand people to see the sights, sample the street food, and mull over the hundreds of yard-sale vendors, it was clear that “her highness” was conspicuous among her subjects. In fact, all day we heard the shouts of “Koningin” or were greeted by people asking for a photo with the “queen”.

All those Hollywood types on the red carpet have nothing on Gwaz, who seemed to grow more and more comfortable throughout the day having her photo taken. Early in the afternoon, long after it was abundantly clear that a pattern had been established, an Asian woman excitedly approached de Koningin and not trusting her English, gestured her request for a photo. Using her camera, I snapped the picture. While handing the camera back to her I said, “I married the queen.”

Inadvertently choosing the most appropriate subheading possible for a great day, she replied, “You lucky bastard!”