Two die as car hits royal crowd

A speeding car smashed into a crowd of royal watchers today near a open-top bus carrying the Netherlands’ Queen Beatrix today, killing two of them.

About a dozen others were injured in the incident in the town of Apeldom during celebrations to mark the national holiday of Queen’s Day.

The small black car appeared to be deliberately heading at high speed toward the royal bus and passed within a few yards before it ploughed into a stone monument.

People were sent flying after the car swerved across police railings, where crowds of people lined five or six deep to see the royal family pass on its way to a palace.