Eurovision: Dutch royal family and prime minister heap praise on winner

In an unusual outpouring of emotion, the Dutch king and queen, as well as the country’s prime minister, have all lavished praise on the native singer who won this year’s Eurovision song contest for them.

Duncan Laurence, aged just 25, went from being the bookies’ favourite to bringing home the Netherland’s first victory after singing an earnest winning piano ballad called “Arcade”.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he talked to Laurence to congratulate him and in a tweet called his performance "sublime and powerful".

“Awesome! For the first time in 44 years, the Netherlands has won the Eurovision Song Contest,” he tweeted excitedly.

Elsewhere, the king and queen of the Netherlands have said they are “proud” of the singer who they feel “conquered Europe with musical class”.

Mr Laurence’s victory means the Netherlands will host next year's event.

The contest was controversially hosted by Tel Aviv this year, and a number of artists signed an open letter to say they would boycott the show over Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and Israel’s treatment of Arab citizens.

The musical artists included Wolf Alice, Roger Waters and Peter Gabriel.

Madonna, however, resisted calls to boycott and performed on the closing night regardless. Her performance was largely criticised, with some on social media saying it was “disappointing” and others labelling it an “epic fail”.

Overall though, Rob Holley, who covered the Eurovision contest for The Independent, said this year’s show “feels like a watershed moment”.

“Every single one of those performances was exceptional, and every single song will chart across the continent,” he wrote. “Anyone that calls Eurovision naff or irrelevant really hasn’t been paying attention.”