The Netherlands celebrates Kings Day on Thursday with festivals, markets and plenty of sunshine for much of the day.

Cloud will move in from the afternoon and it will be no warmer than 11 Celsius in the north, 15 Celsius in the far south, weather bureau KNMI said.

The king and the rest of the royal family are spending the day in Rotterdam, starting with a walkabout from 11am. The royals will also attend the King’s Day festival on the Binnenrotte, where Ronnie Flex and Davina Michelle are among the performers.

The festivities kicked off in many towns and cities the night before with street parties and music. In Utrecht it was so busy that the city council asked people to stop coming into the centre at around 10.30pm.

It was a similar situation in central Almere, where the Grote Markt was closed off to new arrivals.

In The Hague, thousands of people turned out for the The Life I Live festival while in Amsterdam, the Jordaan was particularly busy.

Café De Blaffende Vis unveiled its traditional King’s Day façade at midnight, featuring princess Amalia as a regular student with text from the song Laat Me – a reference to the restrictions placed on her following underworld threats.