Alex Van Halen knighted in the Netherlands, his country of birth

Alex Van Halen, drummer and co founder of the legendary rock band Van Halen, has received a special honor from his home country. On Tuesday, September 1, he was appointed Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion, the highest civilian royal distinction the Netherlands can bestow upon its citizens. The honor is awarded to people who have made an extraordinary contribution to society, in the fields of science, sport or the arts.

The ceremony took place in Nijmegen, the Gelderland city where Alex and his late brother Eddie Van Halen spent much of their childhood before the family made the move to the United States in 1962 and eventually settled in Pasadena, California. The award was presented at the Berchmanianum, the academy building of Radboud University, where mayor Hubert Bruls handed the 73 year old musician his royal distinction. On that occasion, Bruls spoke about Van Halen's role in writing a "remarkable chapter in the history of rock music."

After the ceremony, Alex signed the City Book of Nijmegen, a register reserved for distinguished visitors. That same book contains the signatures of, among others, Bruce Springsteen and King Willem Alexander. In a statement, the municipality of Nijmegen noted that Alex still feels a connection to the city, and that Nijmegen in turn honors that bond. The city added: "The musical legacy of Alex Van Halen and the band Van Halen is immense. As a drummer, he developed a recognizable sound and a style of his own, inspiring musicians for generations."

Alex Van Halen himself responded to the honor with characteristic modesty. On the sidelines of the gathering he said: "My cousin organized most of this. 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 got to have something to live up to."

The knighthood is a worthy addition to an already impressive list of accolades. Van Halen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance for the 1991 album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, and took home four MTV Video Music Awards. In the United States, the band scored five number one albums on the Billboard 200 and more than twenty entries on the Billboard Hot 100, including the iconic 1984 single Jump, which spent five weeks at the top.

For music fans in the Netherlands, this news carries an extra dimension. It shows that the country takes its own musical heritage seriously, even when that heritage has unfolded largely beyond its borders. In his memoir Brothers, published in 2024 by HarperCollins, Alex looks back on his childhood in Europe, the move to America and the band's turbulent rise to fame. He also reflects on the special bond with his brother Eddie, the guitarist who passed away in October 2020 at the age of 65 after a long battle with cancer. Alex is currently working with guitarist Steve Lukather on completing the final Van Halen recordings Eddie made before his death, though no timeline for that project has been announced.