A total of 3,427 people have received royal honours in this year’s lintjesregen, marking the birthday of king Willem-Alexander on Sunday. Among those honoured are Telegraaf court reporter Saskia Belleman and thriller writer Willem Hogendoorn, better known as Tomas Ross.

Most recipients (around 3,300) were nominated by their local communities for volunteer work. Other notable recipients include Abdelhamid Idrissi from Amsterdam, who founded after-school homework clubs, DJ Eddy de Clercq and Lena Olivier-Marten, recognised for her work in tackling violence against women.

Women made up 37 percent of those decorated, a one-point increase compared to 2024.

The youngest recipient this year is Sjoerd de Graaff (25) from Capelle, who has been active in local radio since the age of 10. The oldest is church volunteer P.S. Roeland (97) from Alblasserdam.

Most people were appointed members of the Order of Oranje-Nassau, which has six levels. The order was introduced in 1892 to recognise foreign nationals and people from outside the elite. Just a handful of individuals were awarded the more “prestigious” Order of the Dutch Lion.

According to the Kapittel voor de Civiele Orden, which oversees the honours system, the rise in the number of decorations reflects growing involvement in voluntary work.

“These honours put the spotlight on what is going well in the Netherlands,” said chairwoman Ank Bijleveld. “We are active at sports clubs and in community groups, in the church, synagogue and mosque, with the elderly and with refugees… [the honours] are a way of saying: this is the society that we want to be.”

Political row over refugee awards

Last month, there was a political row over honours for five people who had volunteered with the refugee settlement agency COA. Immigration minister Marjolein Faber refused to approve the awards, claiming their work conflicted with her policy.

The first Dutch honour was introduced by king Willem I in 1815.