Dutch royal coach taken off roads until racism ends
Netherlands king rules that controversal golden carriage with links to slavery will be retired
THE traditional Dutch royal carriage, which is daubed with colonial-era imagery, is being retired until the country ends racism, King Willem-alexander has announced.
The Golden Coach has repeatedly come under fire for a painted panel that shows people of colour paying tribute to a white woman symbolising the Netherlands. Recent criticism of the coach is part of a reassessment in some circles of the Dutch “Golden Age” and traditions linked with the slavery behind its great wealth.
The horse-drawn coach was taken off the roads for a €1.2million (£1 million) renovation six years ago after a racism row over its imagery erupted. It has been on display in Amsterdam Museum since last June. Although the display is due to end next month, the Dutch king has said that the Netherlands is not ready to see the vehicle in use again.
“As long as people live in the Netherlands and feel the pain of discrimination each day, the past will cast a shadow over our time and will not be over,” he said in a video message published on the royal website and on social media.
“Only if we can travel this road towards reconciliation together, can the Golden Coach ride again on Prince’s Day, the day we celebrate our democracy and our connectedness as Dutch people,” he added. In 2020, the Dutch king apologised to Indonesia for violent excesses by Dutch soldiers in the Indonesian War of Independence, and criticised his greatgrandmother Queen Wilhelmina for largely ignoring the plight of Jewish people in her Second World War radio broadcasts from exile in London.
He said that more needed to happen to stop people experiencing racism in Dutch society.
“Our history has many things to be proud of, but it also offers lessons in recognising mistakes and avoiding them in the future,” he said. “We cannot rewrite the past, but together we can try to come to terms with it… There is no point in judging what happened through the lens of our time and dismissing it. Simply banning historical objects and symbols is definitely not a solution.”
He added: “The Golden Coach can only ride again if the Netherlands is ready for it, and this isn’t the case now. All citizens in this country need to feel that they are equal and that they have a fair chance. Everyone needs to feel like a partner in what has been built in this country, and proud of it. This includes the Dutch people with ancestors who were not free in the East or West.
“As long as people live in the Netherlands and feel the pain of discrimination each day, the past will cast a shadow over our time and will not be over.”
Racial discrimination in the Netherlands has been highlighted by UN special rapporteurs and acknowledged by prime minister Mark Rutte as a problem: a tax office scandal has been linked with discrimination towards dual nationals, research repeatedly documents discrimination in housing and job offers, and in some areas people still black up to act as St Nicholas’s helper Black Pete.
Margriet Schavemaker, artistic director of the Amsterdam Museum, said that despite the lockdown, it was opening its doors so people could see the coach on display in its courtyard.
“We understand the king’s decision,” she said. “We think that an object like the Golden Coach comes into its own in a museum context because there is room for deeper understanding and nuance which can start a conversation.”