The royal couple will not get into the Golden Coach ‘for the time being’. The royal vehicle will ‘only be able to drive again when the Netherlands is ready for it’. And that is not the case now. King Willem-Alexander will publish that message today. “Our history contains much to be proud of. At the same time, it also offers learning material to recognize mistakes and avoid them in the future,” the king said in a statement.
According to King Willem-Alexander, we cannot rewrite the past. “We can try to come to terms with it together. This also applies to the colonial past. There is no point in condemning and disqualifying what has happened through the lens of our time. Simply banning historical objects and symbols is certainly not a solution either.”
The restored Golden Coach has been on display in the Amsterdam Museum since June last year. The exhibition will end in February. ,,The Gouden Koets will only be able to drive again when the Netherlands is ready. And that is not the case now.”
History
That history is about the panel on the left, Tribute to the Colonies, an image that is now disputed. The panel shows how half-naked inhabitants of the Dutch colonies (Suriname, the Netherlands Antilles and the Dutch East Indies) humbly offer gifts to the Dutch Virgin. The inhabitants of the colonies kneel, the white virgin sits on a throne.
For five years, the coach was restored to one day get back on the road. It was certainly not the intention in 1898 for the carriage to cause polarization. When Queen Wilhelmina accepted it as a gift from the inhabitants of Amsterdam, the Golden Coach was supposed to symbolize unity between the population, royal family and the colonies. But from the start, the carriage was a point of discussion, for example among opponents of the monarchy and people who thought the carriage was too expensive. The current discussion focuses more and more on the denounced side panel.
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