Orange was the order of the day as half-a-million Dutch citizens paid tribute in Amsterdam to their monarch in annual Queen's Day celebrations.Many of Queen Beatrix's loyal subjects were decked out from head to toe in orange - the royal colour - as hundreds of thousands defied an inclement forecast to party in the Dutch capital.Numbers were boosted by more than 255,000 people who came in by train and joined the merrymakers along the banks of the canals, some even taking to the water on boats decorated in orange.Police estimated there were some 500,000 people enjoying the festival atmosphere in Amsterdam alone.The banks of the canals were transformed into a vast flea-market, according to a time-honoured tradition that is so popular many would-be vendors now have to reserve their places many days in advance.Similar celebrations took place in towns and villages across the country.
Queen Beatrix, 70, and many of the royal family visited the northern Friesian towns of Makkum and Franeker, where they took part in local celebrations, playing games of folklore and greeting adoring crowds.Beatrix came to the throne herself thanks to the abdication in 1980 of her mother, the then Queen Juliana, at the age of 71.
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