The bordes scene () is a photo moment at the end of a

Dutch cabinet formation The formation of a Dutch cabinet is the process of government formation of a Dutch cabinet, consisting of Minister (government), ministers and State Secretary (Netherlands), state secretaries. Most cabinet formations take place after elections fo ...

, immediately after the swearing-in, where the new Dutch cabinet presents itself. The photo shows the king or queen and the ministers. Although the name refers to the bordes, the photo takes place in front of or on the stairs leading to the bordes.

History

The first bordes scene took place in 1971 when the First Biesheuvel cabinet took office. The government wanted to be more public with this official photo opportunity. Before that time, the photo moment was informal at the beginning of the first

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

and therefore without the queen.

Line up

The king or queen is always in the center at the front. To its right is the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and to its left the first

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

. The other Deputy Prime Ministers may also stand alternately on the right and left. The other ministers are sorted by chapters of the dutch national budget, which is based on the seniority of the ministries. Ministers from new departments and

ministers without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

are therefore at the back. This has been deviated from on a few occasions when female ministers have been brought forward. In 1973, ministers of Democraten 66 (D66) and Political Party Radicals (PPR) were also brought forward to emphasize that they participated in the

Den Uyl cabinet The Den Uyl cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 11 May 1973 until 19 December 1977. The cabinet was formed by the social democratic Labour Party (Netherlands), Labour Party (PvdA), the Christian democratic Catholic People's Party (KV ...

Location

The borddes scene almost always takes place on the steps of Palace

Huis ten Bosch Huis ten Bosch (, ; ) is a royal palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is one of three official residences of the Dutch monarch; the two others being the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague and the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. Huis ten Bosch was th ...

. In 1977 the

First Van Agt cabinet The first Van Agt cabinet, also called the Van Agt–Wiegel cabinet, was the Executive (government), executive branch of the Politics of the Netherlands, Dutch Government from 19 December 1977 until 11 September 1981. The cabinet was formed by ...

was photographed at the

Soestdijk Palace Soestdijk Palace ( ) is a palace formerly belonging to the Dutch royal family. It consists of a central block and two wings. Although named after the village of Soestdijk, which is largely in the municipality of Soest, Soestdijk Palace is just ...

. In 1981, the photo was taken in the hall of Huis ten Bosch due to bad weather. In 1998, 2017 and 2022 they moved to the

Noordeinde Palace Noordeinde Palace (, ) is one of three official palaces of the Dutch Royal House, Dutch royal family. Located in the city center of The Hague in the province of South Holland, it has been used as the official workplace of King Willem-Alexander of ...

. In 2017 it was not possible at Huis ten Bosch due to renovations. In 2022, due to the

corona crisis The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, people had to keep their distance on the landing scene, for which there was more space at Noordeinde.

References

{{Reflist Cabinet formation in the Netherlands Photography in the Netherlands Portrait photography Photographs