The Koningslied ( en, King's Song) is a song written for the investiture of prince

Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born ) is King of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht as the oldest child of Princess Beat ...

as King of the Netherlands on 30 April 2013 on request of the ''Nationaal Comité Inhuldiging'' (National Committee

or the Or or OR may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * "O.R.", a 1974 episode of M*A*S*H * Or (My Treasure), a 2004 movie from Israel (''Or'' means "light" in Hebrew) Music * ''Or'' (album), a 2002 album by Golden Boy with Mis ...

Inauguration). Upon release the song was met with criticism and ridicule from the public. As a result of the criticism Ewbank withdrew the Koningslied on 20 April 2013.Volkskrant: John Ewbank withdraws Koningslied
Nevertheless, the ''Nationaal Comité Inhuldiging'' confirmed on 22 April 2013 the song would be used as part of the investiture.

Background, release and controversy

John Ewbank John Ewbank may refer to: *John Ewbank (composer), British-born Dutch composer, lyricist and record producer * John Ewbank (climber), Australian rock climber *John Wilson Ewbank John W. Ewbank (4 May 1799 – 28 November 1847), was an English-bo ...

composed the music and wrote the lyrics using suggestions that were sent in during a participation project through Dutch social media and the official website of the inauguration. Artists who cooperated on writing the song are

Ali B Ali Bouali, known professionally as Ali B (born 16 October 1981), is a Dutch-Moroccan rapper. He is one of the most well known rappers in the Netherlands and he has performed together with Akon and Dutch artist Marco Borsato. In 2007 he made an ...

, Bollebof,

Daphne Deckers Daphne Muriël Deckers (born 10 November 1968) is a Dutch television presenter, writer and occasional actress. In 1989 she started her career at RTL-Véronique, where she eventually became the host of '' Holland's Next Top Model'', which she to ...

, Fouradi,

Lange Frans Frans Christiaan Frederiks (born 12 November 1980), known by his stage name Lange Frans, is a Dutch rapper and television presenter. From 1997 to 2004 he was a member of the band D-Men. Between 1997 and 2009 he was part of the Lange Frans & Baas ...

Guus Meeuwis Gustaaf Stephanus Modestus "Guus" Meeuwis (born 23 March 1972) is a Dutch singer-songwriter. As part of the band Vagant, he scored several hits in the Netherlands and Flanders during the 1990s and first decade of the 2000s. On 24 May 2015, Meeuwi ...

Kraantje Pappie Alex van der Zouwen (born 1 July 1986, Rozenburg), better known by his stage name Kraantje Pappie, is a Dutch rapper and television presenter. Van der Zouwen is signed to the label Noah's Ark, which released four major albums alongside several sin ...

Gers Pardoel Gerwin Pardoel (born 12 May 1981), better known by his stage name Gers Pardoel or mononymously as Gers, is a Dutch rapper. He rose to fame in 2009, due to his successful collaboration with The Opposites on the single " Broodje Bakpao". Pardoel' ...

, and

Jack Poels Jack Poels (born 27 June 1957, in America, Limburg) is the singer, guitarist and harmonica player of the Dutch band Rowwen Hèze

. The Koningslied was released on 19 April 2013. Soon after its release it reached the first position on the iTunes download chart. Both music and lyrics quickly became the subject of criticism and ridicule. The same day, an online petition against the song was started by journalist Sylvia Witteman and signed 20,000 times. It passed the 40,000 mark a few days later. Alternative King's Songs were released on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

soon after. As a result of the criticism Ewbank withdrew the Koningslied on 20 April 2013. The ''Nationaal Comité Inhuldiging'' confirmed on 22 April 2013 the song would be used as part of the investiture. The song cost €550,000, which was paid by the broadcaster

Nederlandse Publieke Omroep The Dutch public broadcasting system ( nl, Nederlands publieke omroepbestel) is a group of organizations that are responsible for public service television and radio broadcasting in the Netherlands. It is composed of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroe ...

Performance for King Willem-Alexander

The ''Nationaal Comité Inhuldiging'' originally intended that the song would be sung on 30 April 2013 for

in one central place in all the

provinces of the Netherlands There are twelve provinces of the Netherlands (), representing the administrative layer between the national government and the local municipalities, with responsibility for matters of subnational or regional importance. The most populous prov ...

and in each of the countries of the Netherlands Antilles.Geen Koningslied in drie provincies
, ''

Nederlandse Omroep Stichting The Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (; NOS ; English: Dutch Broadcasting Foundation) is one of the broadcasting organisations making up the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system. It has a special statutory obligation to make news and sports progra ...

'', 30 April 2013Zwolle vergeet mee te zingen met het Koningslied
, '' RTV Oost'', 30 April 2013 This did not happen because of a lack in interest in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

and

Assen Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...

. In

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

, no license was given for the event and in

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is on ...

the DJ forgot to play the song. The performance of the song in

Rotterdam Ahoy Rotterdam Ahoy (formerly known as Ahoy Rotterdam or simply as Ahoy) is a convention centre and multi-purpose indoor arena located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Opened originally in 1950, the current complex consists of three main venues: a fairs ...

by 33 of the participating artists was broadcast on two video screens in Amsterdam for Willem-Alexander and Máxima.

Cooperating artists

Rob de Nijs Rob de Nijs (born 26 December 1942) is a Dutch singer and actor, active since the 1960s. Biography 1962–1968 De Nijs, backed by The Lords, won a talent-contest in 1962 and released his first single in 1962, " Ritme van de Regen". In 1965 D ...

withdrew after reading the song's lyrics.Opium op TV
(3:50 minutes into the program) , AVRO, 20 April 2013

References

External links

* {{authority control 2013 songs Dutch-language songs Dutch pop songs Coronation Cultural depictions of Dutch kings Songs written by John Ewbank (composer) Songs about kings Songs about the Netherlands