While British Royal Family Does Childish Squabbles, Dutch Monarchy Wins Hearts after King Willem-Alexander Welcomes Government’s Apology for 250 Years of Dutch Slavery
A few days ago, before Christmas, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, released an official apology for the Netherlands’ 250 years of slavery. Following this, Dutch monarch King Willem-Alexander welcomed the apology in his Christmas address. He called the apology “the start of a long journey”. Along with the apology, the Dutch government will also be funding around 200 million euros for social initiatives next year. These commemorative events will take place next year. This is truly in contrast with the current reality of the British royal family. Clearly, the dutch monarchy is dealing with important stuff like addressing the bad part of their history. But the same cannot be said for the British royal scene at the same time.
Dutch Monarch King Willem-Alexander Welcomes Slavery Apology
In this Christmas address, dutch King Willem-Alexander included the dutch government’s apology for the nation’s 250 years of slavery. The official apology was released a few days before Christmas. King Willem-Alexander welcomed the apology saying, “The apology offered by the government is the start of a long journey.” Furthermore, while referring to the effects of their past history, he said,
“Nobody today bears responsibility for the inhumane acts that were inflicted on the lives of men, women and children,”
The address was given from the palace of Huis Ten Bosch in The Hague city in the Netherlands. In the official apology by the government, it has also been mentioned that from next year there will be a number of commemorative events. King Willem-Alexander also mentioned that the said topic will be in the royal family’s attention throughout.
This is truly commendable when compared to the British royal family and its ongoing family issues. Especially regarding the estrangement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from the family. Even the British media is occupied with family drama while its Dutch counterpart has decided to focus on the serious stuff.
The British Royal Family Squabble
The decision of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to step down from their royal duties has caused a lot of upheaval in the British royal family. Following that the recently released controversial documentary Harry & Meghan has made matters worse. The series contains various archival footage of the royal family. And Prince Harry even opened up by claiming that his brother had screamed at him for his decision. He also pointed out the existence of an “unconscious bias” in the royal family. The Sussexes mentioned the racism faced by Markle by the British media.
But despite that insider reports say that King Charles III had decided to turn his cheek the other way. And the two will be invited for the coronation day next year. But the duke and the duchess of Sussex have come under fire from various royal experts. And most of them point at Markle as the root cause of the estrangement.
Source: DW
