Alex Van Halen, drummer and co-founder of the rock band Van Halen, has been knighted in the Order of the Netherlands Lion, the country's highest civilian honour. The ceremony took place in Nijmegen, the city where he and his late brother Eddie Van Halen grew up before their family emigrated to Los Angeles in 1962, marking a symbolic homecoming for a musician whose innovative drumming helped define one of rock's most influential bands.

At the ceremony, an emotional but humble Van Halen credited his cousin with organising the honour and reflected on the importance of institutions that lend "dignity and gravity" to people's achievements. The city of Nijmegen shared photographs praising his remarkable career, and he signed the Book of the City, joining past signatories including Bruce Springsteen and King Willem-Alexander. The honour follows Van Halen's October 2024 memoir, Brothers, in which he chronicled his life and close bond with Eddie, from their childhood in the Netherlands to the end of Van Halen's original lineup in 1984.