Princess Amalia of the Netherlands on a bike

British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...

, a bicycle monarchy or bicycling monarchy is the more informal and modest personal style of the

royal families A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while the ...

of countries in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

and the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

, particularly the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The term 'bicycle monarchy' was often used in a pejorative sense by newspapers in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and reflects a pride in the pomp and ceremony of the

British monarchy The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

. 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 the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

but do not seek to abolish the monarchy.

Origin

There are two conflicting claims of the origin of the epithet: one deriving from the

Dutch monarchy The monarchy of the Netherlands is governed by the country's charter and constitution, roughly a third of which explains the mechanics of succession, accession, and abdication; the roles and duties of the monarch; the formalities of communica ...

and the other from the

Danish monarchy The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark was alrea ...

. The version involving the

has its roots in

Queen Juliana Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Duke ...

's love of riding bicycles, even during her reign. Although Juliana would still perform official ceremonies, she was more famous in the

for her frequent unscheduled appearances with members of the public. Her daughter,

Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born during the reign of her maternal gr ...

, 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 German

occupation of Denmark At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself Neutral countries in World War II, neutral, but that neutrality did not prevent Nazi Germany from Military occupation, occupying the country soon after the outbreak of ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The non-hostile relationship between the governments of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

prompted accusations of

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The ...

. In a show of solidarity with the Danish people in the face of such claims, the future King

Frederik IX Frederik IX (Christian Frederik Franz Michael Carl Valdemar Georg; 11 March 1899 – 14 January 1972) was King of Denmark from 1947 to 1972. Frederik was born into the House of Glücksburg during the reign of his great-grandfather King Ch ...

and Queen

Ingrid Ingrid may refer to: * Ingrid (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ingrid Burley (born 1986), rapper known mononymously as Ingrid * Ingrid (record label), also an artist collective * Tropical Storm Ingrid, various cy ...

began taking bicycle rides around

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. Whatever gave rise to the term, it was not a result of either

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

or lack of

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

authority. For example, the Dutch monarch, to whom the term is most frequently applied, retains full

royal prerogative The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, Privilege (law), privilege, and immunity recognised in common law (and sometimes in Civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy) as belonging to the monarch, so ...

powers and has a personal wealth of $250 million. In interviews with C.L. Sulzberger for the book ''The Fall of Eagles'', Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, the grandson and heir of

Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...

, expressed a deep sense of admiration for the informal bicycle monarchy and

crowned republic A crowned republic, also known as a monarchical republic, is a system of monarchy where the monarch's role is almost entirely ceremonial and where nearly all of the royal prerogatives are exercised in such a way that the monarch personally has ...

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 the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...

were ever restored to the German throne during his lifetime, the same informality would be a quality that he fully intended to emulate. C.L. Sulzberger (1977), ''The Fall of Eagles'', Crown Publishers. Pages 384-393.

References

{{Reflist Monarchy Cycling in the Netherlands Cycling in Denmark