Amsterdam  - The Dutch royal family was the real target of a car that ploughed into spectators, killing five, at a parade Thursday in the city of Apeldoorn, Dutch officials reported.

Officials said the 38-year-old driver of the car confessed to attempting to ram the open-top bus carrying 71-year-old Queen Beatrix as well as Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife, Maxima, during Queen's Day celebrations, a national holiday in the Netherlands.

The black Suzuki Swift missed the bus after smashing through barriers, hitting several people and dragging some along the road with it. The car then crashed into a monument nearby.

Four people were seriously injured and eight suffered minor injuries in the incident, Apeldoorn Mayor Freed de Graaf told an earlier press conference.

No explosives were found in the car, a police spokesman said.

The driver, who was himself seriously injured, was removed from the wreckage of the car by firefighters and later underwent surgery. He was last reported in critical condition.

The man had no history of mental health problems, the police said.

Beatrix expressed her "deepest sympathy" for the dead and the survivors. She cancelled a ceremonial march-past scheduled in memory of her mother, Queen Juliana, who died in 2004.

Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende said it was "a sad day for the Netherlands." (dpa)