The nation's special day will be changed forever

For a split second the thought was: there we go again.

Like the murder of film maker Theo van Gogh and populist politician Pim Fortuyn, who were killed while they went about their business on the streets by men acting on their own, here is another lunatic on the loose.

And maybe, probably, that is what Karst T, the driver of the black Suzuki is - a wacko with a grudge, targeting another national symbol.

The sad thing is it will not stop with this act of madness.

For the drama yesterday in Apeldoorn will have repercussions. A review of security arrangements is under way.

It seems inevitable that protection will be stepped up and that the movements of Queen Beatrix and members of her family will be curtailed as a result. For the Dutch this matters.

The Dutch Royals are far closer to their subjects than the Windsors. Royal offspring in the Netherlands go to local schools, have part-time bar jobs while they are students and generally lead more conventional lives - although the "cycling monarchy" tag is a myth.

It has been decades since Beatrix has been seen on two wheels, much preferring a chauffeur-driven car. But until fairly recently she could often be spotted in the better cake shops in the Hague. Her eldest son, Willem-Alexander, works in water management.

The sense that the Dutch Royal family are "a people's monarchy" explains their popularity. The House of Orange has an approval rating of 87 per cent.

But to stay popular they have to be seen and they have to stay approachable, without too many cordons, fences or armed guards, as they have done until now.

As life for the Dutch Royals is going to change, so presumably will Koninginnedag, or Queen's Day.

The celebration yesterday was the most important day in the Dutch calendar. Officially the birthday of former Queen Juliana, 30 April is a national holiday. Trading laws are suspended, the pavements become markets and throughout the country there are parades, parties and music. Anything goes, as long as it is orange.

"Finally we do have one fantastic national holiday and here is one idiot messing it up," says one friend.

Queen's Day will survive but it will never be quite the same again.

●Lia van Bekhoven is a Dutch television and radio correspondent based in London.