Dutch king Willem-Alexander and queen Máxima are among the world’s royalty attending the coronation of Britain’s king Charles on Saturday in London.

The Dutch media is dominated by coverage of the event, with live footage and blogs, as the 74-year-old Charles is officially crowned king. Some 2,200 people attended the official ceremony in Westminister Abbey.

Dutch crown princess Amalia and former queen Beatrix were at the official reception on Friday evening.

Charles, who was four years old when his mother became queen, will reign for a shorter period than the time he was heir to the throne,’ Nu.nl correspondent Fleur Launspach points out.

‘Charles wants to be a king for all Britons, regardless of one’s station or creed,’ Launspach said. ‘He is intellectual, warmer and more emotional than his mother. During his first speech as king, just after Elizabeth’s death, the emotion was etched in his face.

‘And he takes nothing for granted: he knows he has to work hard to keep the monarchy strong,’ she said.  As in the Netherlands, the British royal family is losing popularity every year.

The Volkskrant carries an article subtitled ‘Everything you (didn’t necessarily) want to know about Charles’ coronation,’ which explains the ‘green man’ on the invitation, the Stone of Scone and the symbolism behind the music.

The NRC looks at the ‘obstacles’ Charles faces to make his reign a success. ‘The British monarch is under pressure. Can king Charles III take Scottish nationalism, Australian republicanism, indigenous leaders and the youth with him?,’ the paper asks.

The paper points out that in a mid-April poll 53% of Britons said that the monarchy is good for the UK, but among the young, the figure is only 26%.

An NOS poll published last month showed just 55% of the Dutch have confidence in monarchy while 24% of those polled said the Netherlands should become a republic, a rise of nine percentage points since 2020.

The AD carries an editorial suggesting that ‘our monarchy may not be that crazy after all’. In their search for a new-style monarchy that will stand the test of time, the British are looking at the Netherlands,’ news chief Saskia van Westhreenen writes.

‘Behind the scenes, there is feverish thinking about a monarchy-new-style that will stand the test of time,’ she said. ‘On King’s Day, the BBC headed to Rotterdam, where the reporters noted how approachable – read: gregarious – the Oranges are compared to the Windsors.

‘They encountered a cheerful prince Maurice who explained on camera that he just has to work for a living, that he turns up as a prince once or twice a year and that he ‘just really enjoys it’. The Brits were flabbergasted.’

Over the past few weeks, declining support for the Dutch monarchy has been a hot topic, she said. ‘But those watching the British coronation on Saturday may also feel free to think: maybe things are not so crazy here after all.’