Five people have been killed and 12 others injured when a Dutch driver ploughed through police barriers into a crowd of well-wishers cheering their queen.
The speeding car, already dented apparently from catapulting bystanders into the air, passed within a few metres of the open-topped bus carrying Queen Beatrix and other members of the royal family on a parade route, then smashed into a stone monument.
"I think that it has become clear that this happened with pre-meditation," said Netherlands prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende.
Prosecutors said the driver, badly injured and still in his crumpled car, acknowledged targeting the queen and her family.
"The man said that his action was aimed at the royal family," said prosecutor Ludo Goossens.
The driver, whose name was not released, "is formally suspected of... an attack on members of the royal house and manslaughter or murder", Mr Goossens said, and he could face life in prison. The motive for the attack was unclear.
Police identified him as a 38-year-old Dutch man with no history of mental illness or police record, but they would not release his name.
Officials in Apeldoorn said the driver had a map of the queen's route.
Celebrations were cancelled for Queen's Day, the national holiday which was to draw millions of people to street dances, picnics and outdoor parties under sunny skies around the country. Flags were lowered to half-mast and the Dutch Embassy in Washington cancelled a scheduled reception.
A shaken Queen Beatrix extended her sympathies to the victims in a brief nationally televised address.
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