80 Years with Beatrix

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Princess Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands was born to be the queen in a line of queens. When she arrived on January 31, 1938, her grandmother Wilhelmina was the first queen in the history of their country. Wilhelmina's only child, Beatrix's mother Juliana, would become the second upon Wilhelmina's retirement in 1948. Wilhelmina would become the third when Juliana retired in 1980. When Beatrix herself stepped down in 2013, women had been sitting on the Dutch throne for nearly 123 years. It was the longest stretch of female leadership in the history of European monarchies. (See my post The End of the Queen Streak)


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During World War II, Beatrix, her mother and her sister Irene were evacuated to Canada, where her sister Margriet was born. Another sister, Christina, was born after they returned to post-war Europe. Unlike her British counterpart Queen Elizabeth II, who is 12 years older, Beatrix received a university education.


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Beatrix's marriage was controversial at the beginning because she had fallen in love with a German diplomat. The Dutch, who had suffered greatly under German occupation in the war, were not excited about their princess marrying a man who had been a ember of the Hitler Youth and the German Wehrmacht, even if he had been conscripted. Nevertheless the couple went on to have three handsome sons: Willem Alexander (now the king), Friso and Constantijn. Friso tragically died after being in a coma following an avalanche while skiing.


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Prince Claus died in 2002 after years of illness including cancer, Parkinson's disease, depression and, finally, pneumonia. he was given a full state funeral.


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Today, the former Queen Beatrix is once again known at Princess Beatrix. Although she has slowed down her schedule a bit, she continues to work on behalf of her many charities, to represent her son the King at home and abroad, and to spend as much time as she can with her eight children.


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