King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima, and Princess Amalia attended the farewell ceremony for Thom de Graaf, the Vice Chairman of the Council of State, yesterday. Observers couldn’t help but notice the king’s gloomy demeanor, as he was described as “really blood-chagrijnig,” or extremely grumpy.
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The royal family arrived at the Council of State in The Hague at 10:30 AM for the private farewell ceremony after a couple of brief photo opportunities. However, the king’s mood became the focal point of discussion among journalists.
Blood-Chagrijnig
A reporter attempted multiple times to engage the king about the Netherlands football team’s elimination from the World Cup, but received nothing more than silence in reply. Dyantha Brooks, a presenter from Shownieuws, concluded, “Our king is also completely downcast.”
Janine Schuinder, a leading journalist, offered a more pointed analysis: “Downcast? I think he was genuinely blood-chagrijnig. He had to get up early this morning with Queen Máxima and Amalia for the farewell ceremony.”
Short Night
Janine continued, “If he watched the game, which is likely, being a big sports fan, then he had a very short night. You never get back those three hours, so we were very curious to know how he felt about it.”
Despite their efforts to ask upon arrival and departure, they reported receiving almost no response.
No Stance
Media expert Eline de Ruig noted the significance of the king’s silence, asking, “Does he not know how to respond, or is he genuinely upset?”
Guido den Aantrekker, chief of Story magazine, humorously suggested, “Or maybe he’s just a bit deaf and didn’t hear the questions?”
Janine rebutted, “No, I don’t think so. If the Netherlands had won, he would have spoken up with comments like, ‘They played fantastically.’ Let’s just assume he’s selectively deaf.”
The Head of State
It’s disappointing that the king didn’t offer a comment, Janine remarked. “After all, he is the head of state!”
Guido agreed, noting, “He was clearly grumpy. You’ve assessed that correctly.”
Dyantha added, “We were collectively a bit grumpy, weren’t we?”
Janine concluded with a call for the king to say something comforting for the nation. “He needs to provide some soothing words for the people.”
