InBritish English, abicycle monarchy orbicycling monarchy is the more informal and modest personal style of theroyal families of countries inScandinavia and theLow Countries, particularly theNetherlands.
The term 'bicycle monarchy' was often used in a pejorative sense by newspapers in theUnited Kingdom and reflects a pride in the pomp and ceremony of theBritish monarchy.[1] However, it is no longer a negative term, and is sometimes used in a favourable light, particularly by those who oppose the more ceremonial side of theRoyal Family but do not seek toabolish the monarchy.[2]
There are two conflicting claims of the origin of the epithet: one deriving from theDutch monarchy and the other from theDanish monarchy.[3]
The version involving theNetherlands has its roots inQueen Juliana's love of riding bicycles, even during her reign. Although Juliana would still perform official ceremonies, she was more famous in theUnited Kingdom for her frequent unscheduled appearances with members of the public. Her daughter,Queen Beatrix, has also been sighted on her bicycle although less often than her mother, which perpetuates the "bicycle monarchy" image in the foreign imagination.
The possible reference to the Danish monarchy stems from the Germanoccupation of Denmark during theSecond World War. The non-hostile relationship between the governments ofDenmark andGermany prompted accusations ofcollaboration. In a show of solidarity with the Danish people in the face of such claims, the future KingFrederik IX and QueenIngrid began taking bicycle rides aroundCopenhagen.
Whatever gave rise to the term, it was not a result of eitherpoverty or lack ofconstitutional authority. For example, the Dutch monarch, to whom the term is most frequently applied, retains fullroyal prerogative powers and has a personal wealth of $250 million.[4]
In interviews withC.L. Sulzberger for the bookThe Fall of Eagles, PrinceLouis Ferdinand of Prussia, the grandson and heir ofKaiser Wilhelm II, expressed a deep sense of admiration for the informal bicycle monarchy andcrowned republic style, which are favoured and used by the Dutch, Belgian, and Scandinavian royal families. Praising how even vehicles carrying the King or Queen would stop and wait at traffic lights, Louis Ferdinand stated that if theHouse of Hohenzollern were ever restored to the German throne during his lifetime, the same informality would be a quality that he fully intended to emulate.[5]