Prinsjesdag
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Prinsjesdag (in English: day of the princes) is opening of the Dutch parliamentary year. It is held every third Tuesday in September. As the year is not closed officially its function is more ceremonial.
[edit] Speech from the Throne
The first part of Prinsjesdag is the speech from the throne at the assembly of the Staten-Generaal in the Ridderzaal. The Queen travels with her family from her workplace (Palace Noordeinde) to the Binnenhof. The Queen travels in the Gilded Carriage through the city centre of The Hague in a ceremonial ride. At the Ridderzaal, she announces as head of the government the plans for the new parliamentary year. The Queen's Speech is not written by the Queen, but by Prime Minister and the cabinet.
When finished. the speaker of the Eerste Kamer proclaims "Long live the Queen!" which is answered by everyone present with "Hurray! Hurray! Hurray!". The Queen leaves the Ridderzaal and departs to her Palace where she traditionally salutes the gathered crowd from the balcony. On this occasion male MPs wear their most formal dress, while female MPs try to out do each other with extravagant hats.
[edit] Proposal of the next year's budget
After lunch, the Minister of Finance proposes the next year's national budget and the Budget Memorandum to the Tweede Kamer. The offered budget is carried in a special suit-case which has printed in Dutch on it: "Third Tuesday of September", but due to the size of the suit-case, it is likely it only contains only a part of the entire memorandum.
