Her Majesty Queen Beatrix is patron of The Netherlands Cancer Institute.
The royal Dutch family has a long-standing relation with the Institute. In 1915 Queen mother Emma visited the Institute on the Keizersgracht and in 1929 she officially opened the location Saphatistraat. In 1961 Queen Juliana, patron at that time, visited the Institute to see the newly installed cobalt irradiation unit. Queen Juliana came to open the hospital at the Plesmanlaan on October 30, 1973, and 6 years later, on May 7, 1979, she opened the research laboratory. Queen Beatrix attended in 1988 the 75th anniversary celebrations of The Netherlands Cancer Institute. On June 22, 2004, she opened the newly build hospital.