2009 attack on the Dutch royal family
Encyclopedia
The 2009 attack on the Dutch Royal Family occurred in Apeldoorn
, Netherlands, where a man drove his car at high speed into a parade
which included Queen Beatrix
, Prince Willem-Alexander
and other members of the Dutch Royal Family
; the attack happened on 30 April, the Dutch national holiday
of Koninginnedag
(or Queen's Day).
The vehicle drove through people lining the street watching the parade, leaving eight dead and ten injured. It missed the Royal Family and crashed into a monument at the side of the road. No members of the Royal Family were harmed. This attack was the first attack on the Dutch Royal Family in modern times.
The driver, identified as 38-year-old Dutch national Karst Roeland Tates, was looked after by emergency service workers of the fire brigade and police, taken into custody and transported to the hospital for treatment. He died the day after the incident, the seventh person to succumb to injuries suffered during the attack. A 46-year-old woman died from her injuries on 8 May 2009, bringing the total number of deaths to eight.
At around 11:50 am, just before an open-top bus
carrying the Dutch Royal Family made its last turn towards the palace
of Het Loo
in Apeldoorn
, a black older-model Suzuki Swift crashed through the onlookers, just missing the bus carrying the Royals, and slammed into De Naald, an obelisk-shaped Royal monument. After the crash, the vehicle was examined by the anti-terrorist department and local police. The attack and search were shown on live TV. Members of the Dutch Royal Family who were waving to the crowds gathered were shown standing up to look over at the crashed car, shocked and gasping with their hand over their mouths. Minutes after the attack Red Cross first aiders were on site to provide the basic life saving treatments to the 17 victims, who were all taken to nearby hospitals.
, 1 May 2009), a 38-year-old male Dutch national. After the attack, he was rescued by the fire department and transferred to a hospital, where he later died of brain injuries sustained in the attack. Tates was from Huissen
, a small town in the eastern Netherlands, and had no criminal record.
Despite attempts to save his life, Tates died in the early morning of 1 May of brain injuries sustained in the crash. An autopsy
was performed. No traces of alcohol were found in Tates' blood but there were traces of cannabis
; however, as cannabis remains in the blood for several weeks after usage, it cannot be said with certainty when it was ingested.
Tates' motive remains unclear. He had called his mother to congratulate her on her birthday on the day before the attack and said he was looking forward to her birthday party on 3 May. He left no indication he was planning anything. Tates' parents describe him as kind and attentive, and although there were periods of financial trouble in his past, he had recently found work again. According to his parents, Tates held no ill will towards the Royal Family and had described the Queen as a "stabilizing force".
The official investigation established that Tates did not intend to kill many people; he had scouted the situation beforehand but when he returned for his assault the situation had changed and people were standing in a previously cordoned-off street.
, the heir
and his spouse
respectively. The maximum penalty according to the Dutch Criminal Law for these crimes is life sentence without parole.
The public prosecutor assumed Tates acted alone and feared that his actions would never be totally explained.
At a press conference that afternoon police reported that Tates, who was still conscious but severely injured after the accident, had told police that it was a deliberate act aimed at the Royal Family. He had no prior history of psychological problems and there are no indications that any sort of terrorist group was involved. Initial rumours that the car was rigged with explosives were later denied by the police.
and many events in Amsterdam
.
As the news of the attack spread, many people spontaneously lowered the national flag to half-staff (the normal flag instruction on Queens Day is to fly the flag, with orange banner, at full-staff, and many people follow this instruction). Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende
announced the order to lower all flags on government buildings to half-staff.
Initially, it was feared that the supposed "act of madness by a lone attacker" endangered the long-held yearly tradition with the Royal Family's mingling with the Dutch people on Queen's Day.
On 8 May, a memorial service was held in the Orpheus theatre in Apeldoorn, with speeches by Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende and mayor of Apeldoorn Fred de Graaf. It was attended by the Queen, the Prince of Orange, Princess Máxima, Princess Margriet
and Pieter van Vollenhoven
as well as 1,200 guests. Some 5,000 people watched the ceremony on screens placed outside on Apeldoorn's central market square and millions more on live television. Just hours after the memorial, it was announced that after being in critical condition for over a week, an eighth person had died of injuries sustained in the attack.
Apeldoorn
Apeldoorn is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland, about 60 miles south east of Amsterdam, in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a regional centre and has 155,000 . The municipality of Apeldoorn, including villages like Beekbergen, Loenen and Hoenderloo, has over 155,000...
, Netherlands, where a man drove his car at high speed into a parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
which included Queen Beatrix
Beatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...
, Prince Willem-Alexander
Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange
Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange is the eldest child of Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus. Since 1980 he is the heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He is also the head of the House of Amsberg since the death of his father in 2002. He was in military service and he studied...
and other members of the Dutch Royal Family
Monarchy of the Netherlands
The Netherlands has been an independent monarchy since 16 March 1815, and has been governed by members of the House of Orange-Nassau since.-Constitutional role and position of the monarch:...
; the attack happened on 30 April, the Dutch national holiday
Public holiday
A public holiday, national holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year....
of Koninginnedag
Koninginnedag
Koninginnedag or Queen's Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Celebrated on 30 April , Koninginnedag is Queen Beatrix's official birthday. Though Queen Beatrix was born on 31 January, the holiday is observed on 30 April as it was the birthday of her mother and...
(or Queen's Day).
The vehicle drove through people lining the street watching the parade, leaving eight dead and ten injured. It missed the Royal Family and crashed into a monument at the side of the road. No members of the Royal Family were harmed. This attack was the first attack on the Dutch Royal Family in modern times.
The driver, identified as 38-year-old Dutch national Karst Roeland Tates, was looked after by emergency service workers of the fire brigade and police, taken into custody and transported to the hospital for treatment. He died the day after the incident, the seventh person to succumb to injuries suffered during the attack. A 46-year-old woman died from her injuries on 8 May 2009, bringing the total number of deaths to eight.
Location of the attack
Open top bus
An open top bus is a bus, usually but not exclusively a double-decker bus, where all or part of the roof has been removed to enable enjoyment of fresh air and uninterrupted views.-Usage:...
carrying the Dutch Royal Family made its last turn towards the palace
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...
of Het Loo
Het Loo
Het Loo Palace is a palace in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. The symmetrical Dutch Baroque building was designed by Jacob Roman and Johan van Swieten and was built between 1684 and 1686 for stadtholder-king William III and Mary II of England...
in Apeldoorn
Apeldoorn
Apeldoorn is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland, about 60 miles south east of Amsterdam, in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a regional centre and has 155,000 . The municipality of Apeldoorn, including villages like Beekbergen, Loenen and Hoenderloo, has over 155,000...
, a black older-model Suzuki Swift crashed through the onlookers, just missing the bus carrying the Royals, and slammed into De Naald, an obelisk-shaped Royal monument. After the crash, the vehicle was examined by the anti-terrorist department and local police. The attack and search were shown on live TV. Members of the Dutch Royal Family who were waving to the crowds gathered were shown standing up to look over at the crashed car, shocked and gasping with their hand over their mouths. Minutes after the attack Red Cross first aiders were on site to provide the basic life saving treatments to the 17 victims, who were all taken to nearby hospitals.
Profile of the attacker
The car was driven by Karst Roeland Tates (6 March 1971 –DeventerDeventer
Deventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen Deventer is a municipality and city in...
, 1 May 2009), a 38-year-old male Dutch national. After the attack, he was rescued by the fire department and transferred to a hospital, where he later died of brain injuries sustained in the attack. Tates was from Huissen
Huissen
Huissen is a town in Gelderland, Netherlands and has about 17,000 inhabitants. It is located at the Nederrijn, in the area between Arnhem and Nijmegen...
, a small town in the eastern Netherlands, and had no criminal record.
Despite attempts to save his life, Tates died in the early morning of 1 May of brain injuries sustained in the crash. An autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
was performed. No traces of alcohol were found in Tates' blood but there were traces of cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
; however, as cannabis remains in the blood for several weeks after usage, it cannot be said with certainty when it was ingested.
Tates' motive remains unclear. He had called his mother to congratulate her on her birthday on the day before the attack and said he was looking forward to her birthday party on 3 May. He left no indication he was planning anything. Tates' parents describe him as kind and attentive, and although there were periods of financial trouble in his past, he had recently found work again. According to his parents, Tates held no ill will towards the Royal Family and had described the Queen as a "stabilizing force".
The official investigation established that Tates did not intend to kill many people; he had scouted the situation beforehand but when he returned for his assault the situation had changed and people were standing in a previously cordoned-off street.
Criminal charges
Tates was to be charged under articles 92 and 108 of Dutch Criminal Law, rarely used articles which deal with attacks on the monarchBeatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...
, the heir
Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange
Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange is the eldest child of Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus. Since 1980 he is the heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He is also the head of the House of Amsberg since the death of his father in 2002. He was in military service and he studied...
and his spouse
Princess Máxima of the Netherlands
Princess Máxima of the Netherlands is the wife of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, heir apparent to the throne of the Netherlands.-Early life and education:...
respectively. The maximum penalty according to the Dutch Criminal Law for these crimes is life sentence without parole.
The public prosecutor assumed Tates acted alone and feared that his actions would never be totally explained.
Aftermath
A few hours after the attack Queen Beatrix addressed the nation in an emotional video message.At a press conference that afternoon police reported that Tates, who was still conscious but severely injured after the accident, had told police that it was a deliberate act aimed at the Royal Family. He had no prior history of psychological problems and there are no indications that any sort of terrorist group was involved. Initial rumours that the car was rigged with explosives were later denied by the police.
Cancelled events
Following the attack, at 12:15 pm local time, it was announced that all planned celebrations in Apeldoorn were cancelled. Later that day, many other events across the Netherlands were also cancelled, shortened or toned down significantly – including all activities in RotterdamRotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
and many events in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
.
As the news of the attack spread, many people spontaneously lowered the national flag to half-staff (the normal flag instruction on Queens Day is to fly the flag, with orange banner, at full-staff, and many people follow this instruction). Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende is a Dutch politician of the party Christian Democratic Appeal .He was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 until 14 October 2010, having led four coalition governments, cabinets Balkenende I, II, III and IV, none of which served a full...
announced the order to lower all flags on government buildings to half-staff.
Initially, it was feared that the supposed "act of madness by a lone attacker" endangered the long-held yearly tradition with the Royal Family's mingling with the Dutch people on Queen's Day.
Memorial service
Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
Princess Margriet Francisca of the Netherlands is the third daughter of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands...
and Pieter van Vollenhoven
Pieter van Vollenhoven
Pieter van Vollenhoven, Jr. is the husband of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and a member of the Dutch Royal House.-Early life and career:Born in Schiedam, he is the second son of Pieter van Vollenhoven, Sr...
as well as 1,200 guests. Some 5,000 people watched the ceremony on screens placed outside on Apeldoorn's central market square and millions more on live television. Just hours after the memorial, it was announced that after being in critical condition for over a week, an eighth person had died of injuries sustained in the attack.