Alex Van Halen receives royal honor in Netherlands

Alex Van Halen and his brother Eddie were born in Amsterdam in the 1950s to their Dutch father, Jan Van Halen (1920–1986), and their Indonesian mother, Eugenia van Beers (1914–2005). They immigrated to the United States with their family when they were still children, and the rest is history.

This week, the 73-year-old drummer was awarded the royal decoration of Ridder in de Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, which translates to “Knight in the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands.” It is the highest civilian knighthood in the Netherlands. The ceremony took place in Nijmegen, city where Alex and Eddie lived until they moved to Los Angeles in 1962. The decoration recognizes outstanding merits in science, sports, literature, and the arts. The ceremony took place at the Berchmanianum, an academy building of Radboud University, and was conducted by Nijmegen Mayor Hubert Bruls.

What Alex Van Halen said after received the royal honor

“My cousin organized most of this. But I’m very grateful. I think institutions like this are important in people’s lives because it adds a dignity and a gravity to what we do. Whether it’s actually deserved or not, that’s another question. But we can live up to it. That’s the whole thing, is you gotta have something to live up to,” he said in a short interview after the ceremony.

Although Alex and Eddie moved to the United States when they were still children, they could still speak Dutch very well. They gave interviews in the language during their tours in the Netherlands over the decades and also spoke the language with fellow Dutch musicians, such as former Whitesnake guitarist Adrian Vandenberg.

Alex recently revealed that he is working on a final Van Halen album featuring material he and his late brother Eddie had previously recorded. Their longtime friend Steve Lukather (Toto) is helping with the project, and Alex is planning to bring in a singer to record the vocals, who will probably not be someone previously involved with the band. Eddie passed away in 2020 at the age of 65.