The flight ofthe "lad that's born to be king, " as the wistful "Skye Boat Song" has it, became the stuff of brooding legend, novels and of shortbread-biscuit tins.
The five-minute song - Koningslied in Dutch - was due to be performed in the presence ofthe new king and queen on the day of Willem-Alexander's swearing-in at 19:30 (17:30 GMT).
And it's fitting that we are commemorating the life ofthe Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King with an evening ofsong. (Applause.) Because songs played, as all of you know, an important part in the civil rights movement that he led.