AT A GLANCE
Why go?
De Naald — Dutch for "The Needle" — is a striking 17-metre granite obelisk standing at the end of the main sight axis of Paleis Het Loo, the former royal palace on the edge of Apeldoorn. Erected in 1901 as a wedding gift from the people of Apeldoorn to Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Hendrik, it simultaneously honours her parents, King William III and Queen Emma. The monument's location precisely on the boundary between the Royal Domain and the municipality makes it a physical symbol of the bond between the city and the House of Orange.↗↗
In April 2009, the area around De Naald became the site of a devastating car attack on the royal family's bus during Queen's Day celebrations, killing eight people. A glass memorial now stands nearby. Today the obelisk is freely accessible and wheelchair-friendly, serving as both a quiet landmark and a poignant reminder of Dutch royal history and national tragedy.↗↗
A gift from a city to its queen
When Queen Wilhelmina announced her engagement to Duke Hendrik of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in late 1900, Apeldoorn's mayor H.P.J. Tutein Nolthenius proposed that residents give the couple a lasting monument. The idea was dual: a wedding present and a tribute to Wilhelmina's late father King William III, who had died in 1890 at Het Loo, and her mother Queen Emma, the beloved regent who had just completed her years of public service. A public collection raised 3,518 guilders and 37½ cents from ordinary Apeldoorners — a modest sum that belied the monument's ambition.
