Het Wilhelmus

Courtesy of Lisanne from postcrossing forum

Het Wilhelmus (English translation: The William) is the national anthem of the Netherlands and is the oldest national anthem in the world. Although it was not recognized as the official national anthem until 1932, it has always been popular with parts of the Dutch population and resurfaced on several occasions in the course of Dutch history before gaining its present status.

Like many anthems, Het Wilhelmus originated in the nation's struggle to achieve independence. It tells of Willem van Oranje (William of Orange), his life and why he is fighting against the King of Spain. As a result, the anthem is written in a first person perspective, as if it were sung by William himself. William of Orange being the I-figure (Early Modern Dutch "ick") in the 1st stanza "Den Coninck van Hispaengien heb ick altijt gheeert" ("I have always honoured the King of Spain").

Source wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_national_anthem

Netherlands map

The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland) is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east. The capital is Amsterdam and the seat of government is The Hague.

Netherlands flag

Courtesy of Lidia from g+

The flag of the Netherlands is a horizontal tricolour of red, white, and blue. The horizontal fesses are bands of equal size in the colours, from top to bottom, red (bright vermilion), white (silver), and blue (cobalt blue). The flag proportions (width:length) are 2:3. Introduced in 1572, it is one of the first tricolours and the oldest tricolour still in use today.

The first Stadtholder, or ruler, of the Dutch Republic was William of Orange, who joined with Dutch nationalists and led the struggle for independence from Spain. Partly out of respect for him, the first flag adopted by the Dutch was a horizontal tricolor of orange, white, and blue. It became known as the Prinsvlag and was based on the livery of William of Orange. The orange dye was particularly unstable and tended to turn red after a while, so in the mid-17th century, red was made the official color. The flag has flown since then, but was confirmed by Royal Decree only in 1937.