Prince's Festival
Prince’s Festival is a celebration of the Dutch monarchy, centred around Prince’s Day. The days leading up to Prince’s Day are full of markets, concerts, a photo exhibition, cabaret, a hat fashion show and hat design competition and many more exciting activities in The Hague.
Highlights of Prince’s Festival 2023
Prince’s Festival is primarily a celebration of the royals, but also a celebration of democracy. Here are some of the Prince's Festival programme highlights:
Sept 12: Evening of the Political Book
The Prince’s Book Prize is awarded annually in September. Each year, a few days before the prize presentation, the public can attend Evening of the Political Book, a free event at 7pm, which brings together the nominees for the Best Political Book of the Year. This year it takes place at Dudok.
Sept 14: Prince’s Pub Quiz
Held in Dutch, the Prince’s Pub Quiz takes place at the Nieuwspoort on September 14 at 7.30pm.
Sept 16: Prince's Market
For the general public, this may well be the highlight of Prince's festival, because this vibrant and atmospheric market takes place all day at Hofvijver, one of the most iconic areas of The Hague near the historic parliament buildings. Entrance is free and there are plenty of stalls and music and dance acts to add to the festival vibe! Visitors can also view the highlights of the famous Hat Festival! What a great day out for all the family.
Sept 16: Prince’s Hat Walk
The dashing hats on the catwalk at the Prince’s Hat Walk are displayed and a winner is determined. This spectacle shows the high standards of hat design and exclusive style in the range of hats among Dutch politicians and their partners.
Sept 17: Prince's Day for non-Dutchies
Wijnhaven in The Hague hosts a version of Prince's Day for its international students! We've all heard of King's Day, but this little event helps to show another Dutch custom to internationals who may have only just arrived in the Netherlands to start studying.
Sept 19: Prince’s Day
The Royals are at the centre of Prince's Day, as the King addresses the Dutch parliament about the government budget for the coming year. Prince's Day essentially marks the new parliamentary season and is also known as the budget day.
Get ready for Prince's Festival
With so many events happening over so many days, there's a lot to do and see in The Hague for free! Some events require tickets and others require showing up early to get a good spot in the crowd, so plan your visit to the centre of The Hague for this unique event! Keep an eye on the Prince's Festival website.