Symbolic monarchs King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands will pop into the Castro on Tuesday (Twin Peaks Tavern, even!), so expect a little more security than usual that morning.
This coming Tuesday, September 6, is the day after Labor Day. And as such, you would expect the crusty revelers who have been off at Burning Man to be slowly filing back into town. But apparently a far more dignified ilk will be arriving in San Francisco that morning as well. KRON4 reports that the King and Queen of the Netherlands are coming to the Castro Tuesday morning, so presumably, the corner of Castro and Market Streets will be a little more mucked up than normal at that time.
“On a working visit to San Francisco, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands will tour Castro Street together with [District 8 San Francisco] Supervisor [Rafael] Mandelman,” according to a press release from the Castro Merchants Association quoted by KRON4. “They will visit the GLBT Historical Society Museum and Castro Theatre, and meet community leaders in the historic Twin Peaks Tavern.”
The purpose of this whole Dutch royal couple trip to Castro, per that same press release, is to “learn more about the history of the LGBTI+ community in San Francisco and exchange experiences on supporting LGBTI+ rights on a local and international level.”
According to KRON4, “The royal couple will be visiting from 9:20 to 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 6.” So… they’re only going to be here for 40 minutes?
The press release adds, “Merchants and the community are invited to welcome the Royal Couple in the neighborhood.” That is somewhat hilarious coming against the backdrop of Castro merchants threatening to not pay their taxes over vagrancy and petty crime in the area, though perhaps Mayor Breed will do some sort of Ed Lee hosting the Super Bowl-type homeless sweeps to temporarily pretty up the neighborhood.
And if you’re wondering, the King and Queen of the Netherlands are merely symbolic figureheads. According to an explainer from the Netherlands’ government website, “In the Netherlands the powers of the monarch are extremely limited. Under the Constitution, the ministers, and not the monarch, are responsible for what the Government does.”
Related: Remembering When Queen Elizabeth Cracked a Smile at ‘Beach Blanket Babylon’ [SFist]
Image: ANP / Sander Koning via Wikimedia Commons
