From Nijmegen to rock ’n’ roll immortality – and now one of the Netherlands’ highest honours 🤘🇳🇱
Stick “Sir Alex Van Halen” on the drum riser.*
Well… not technically. But allow us the rock ’n’ roll excitement for five minutes. 😂🤘
Legendary Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen has received a prestigious royal honour in his native Netherlands, being appointed Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion in recognition of his extraordinary musical career.
The 73-year-old drummer received the honour on Tuesday, 1 September 2026, during a ceremony in Nijmegen, the Dutch city where Alex and his late brother Eddie Van Halen spent part of their childhood.
And if there was ever a bloke worthy of receiving a medal while somebody somewhere blasts the opening drums of ‘Hot for Teacher’, it’s Alex Van Halen.
🥁🔥🇳🇱
👑 A ROYAL HONOUR FOR A ROCK LEGEND
Alex was presented with the royal decoration by Nijmegen mayor Hubert Bruls during a ceremony at the Berchmanianum, part of Radboud University.
He had travelled from the United States especially for the occasion.
The honour makes Alex a Ridder in de Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw – Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.
And this isn’t just some shiny medal they hand out with your stroopwafels, either.
The Order of the Netherlands Lion dates back to 1815 and is the country’s oldest and highest civilian order of chivalry, recognising exceptional contributions to society.
For one of rock music’s most distinctive drummers, it’s a pretty spectacular acknowledgement of a lifetime spent behind the kit.
🥁 ALEX: “I’M VERY GRATEFUL”
Speaking after receiving the honour, Alex revealed that a family member had helped organise the recognition and said he was extremely grateful.
He also reflected on the importance of institutions recognising people’s achievements and giving them something to continue living up to.
But perhaps the loveliest moment came when Alex addressed those gathered at the ceremony.
His message was simple:
Be creative and chase your dreams with your heart and your head.
Considering this is a man who helped take a family name from the Netherlands to arenas around the planet, we’d say that’s pretty decent advice.
🇳🇱 BACK WHERE THE VAN HALEN STORY BEGAN
The location makes the honour particularly special.
Long before the enormous American arenas, screaming guitar solos, mountains of amplifiers and enough backstage rock ’n’ roll stories to keep documentary makers busy until 2087, the Van Halen story had its roots in the Netherlands.
Alex and Eddie were born in Amsterdam and spent their early childhood years in Nijmegen before the family emigrated to the United States in 1962.
They eventually settled in Pasadena, California.
Their father, Jan Van Halen, was himself a musician, and music became an enormous part of the brothers’ lives.
Nobody could have predicted just how far those two lads would eventually take it.
🎸 THEN CAME VAN HALEN…
Alex and Eddie eventually formed the band that would become Van Halen.
And things got rather silly from there.
After years grinding through clubs and backyard parties around Southern California, Van Halen unleashed their self-titled debut album in 1978.
What an album.
‘Runnin’ with the Devil’.
‘Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love’.
‘Jamie’s Cryin’’.
And, of course, Eddie’s jaw-dropping ‘Eruption’.
Rock music suddenly had a serious problem on its hands.
Van Halen had arrived.
🥁 THE OTHER HALF OF THAT VAN HALEN SOUND
Eddie’s revolutionary guitar playing understandably attracted enormous attention, but Alex’s drumming was every bit as crucial to the band’s identity.
That enormous snare.
Those thundering toms.
The swing.
The groove.
And that ridiculous opening to ‘Hot for Teacher’ that has probably caused approximately nine billion air-drumming incidents over the years.
Alex wasn’t simply keeping time behind his brother.
He was driving the bloody thing.
His combination of power, precision and swing became one of the defining ingredients of Van Halen’s sound.
Put headphones on.
Turn up ‘Panama’.
You’ll understand.
Actually, turn it up again.
That’s better. 🤘
🌎 FROM DUTCH CHILDHOOD TO GLOBAL SUPERSTARDOM
Van Halen would become one of the biggest rock bands on Earth.
Albums including Van Halen, Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, 1984, 5150 and For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge helped establish the band as genuine rock royalty.
There were different singers.
Different eras.
Arguments.
Reunions.
Line-up changes.
Enough drama to fill several seasons of a Netflix series.
But through it all, Alex and Eddie Van Halen remained the heartbeat of Van Halen.
One brother with a guitar.
One brother behind the drums.
Together, they created something absolutely enormous.
🖤 EDDIE’S LEGACY IS NEVER FAR AWAY
There’s inevitably an emotional element to Alex returning to the Netherlands to receive such an honour.
Eddie Van Halen died in October 2020, aged 65.
His death was a devastating loss to the rock world and effectively brought the Van Halen story to its end.
But Eddie’s influence remains everywhere.
Pick up a guitar.
Walk into a music shop.
Watch young players tapping across a fretboard.
His fingerprints are all over modern rock guitar.
And Alex remains one of the people who knew that extraordinary musician better than anybody else.
Not simply as Eddie Van Halen, guitar hero.
But as his brother.
That makes Alex’s return to the country where their journey began feel particularly poignant.
📖 A PLACE IN NIJMEGEN HISTORY
Following the ceremony, Alex also signed Nijmegen’s Book of the City, reserved for distinguished visitors.
It’s another permanent link between the city and one of the most famous musical families ever to emerge from the Netherlands.
Nijmegen has celebrated that connection before, too.
The city has previously honoured the Van Halen brothers, including temporarily renaming part of Hunnerpark Van Halenplein in 2019.
More than six decades after the family left for America, the connection clearly remains strong.
🤘 THE RIFF REPORT VERDICT
This one is just bloody lovely.
Alex Van Halen spent decades sitting behind one of the most famous guitarists who ever lived while quietly becoming one of rock’s most influential drummers himself.
No Alex?
No Van Halen as we know it.
Simple as that.
And now his native country has recognised what millions of rock fans have known for decades.
Alex Van Halen is rock royalty. 👑🥁
From a young lad growing up in Nijmegen…
To Pasadena backyard parties…
To sold-out arenas…
To ‘Jump’, ‘Panama’, ‘Hot for Teacher’ and ‘Runnin’ with the Devil’…
And now back to Nijmegen as a Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.
What a journey.
What a drummer.
What a band.
Raise those drumsticks, people. 🥁🤘
Congratulations, Alex Van Halen.
Absolutely deserved.
🇳🇱👑🥁🤘
*Dutch knighthoods don’t normally give recipients the British-style title “Sir”, before anybody starts changing his Wikipedia page after three pints.
Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud. Zero Apologies.
🎸 The Riff Report Blog
