Queen Dredd Approximately

I saw the Queen (Beatrix) and Princess of the Netherlands on Tuesday. The occasion is called, Prinsjesdag, which roughly translates to, princess day. It is a big deal. The royal family rides in gilded carriages from the royal palace through the streets of Den Haag and into the parliament so that the Queen can give her annual address outlining the goals of the parliamentary session. The Dutch police (who bear a striking resemblance to Stallone in Judge Dredd) usher a procession of military marching bands and harmless looking soldiers followed by several elaborate carriages with really good looking, well dressed people waiving through the window.




It was difficult to tell the exact moment the queen came through because the Dutch never get too excited. The level of activity went from about a 3 to a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. I knew it had to have been her because everyone walked away after her coach passed. I barely saw her because the Dutch are gigantic and there was a guy who strongly resembled Tom Cartwright standing in front of me reaching his giant arm over the rest of the equally tall crowd to get a picture of Queen B. I couldn't help thinking, didn't we leave Europe to get away from Monarchy? There I was craning my neck to see a symbol of oppression. God bless America.