Queen Beatrix abdicates. Willem Alexander to be King
 

Willem Alexander will become King on Koninginnedag, 30th April.
This will undoubtedly have an impact on celebrations in Amsterdam that day for anyone planning to visit.
More details will follow.

No Koninginnedag Queensday this year. The investiture of Koning Willem-Alexander will take place on April 30th in the Palace in Amsterdam.

From next year Koningsdag will be 27 April!!!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21237254

And the first Dutch king since 1891 the BBC article says!

Was it Willem's younger or older brother who had the skiing accident ?

It was his younger brother, Johan Friso, the second of Beatrix' three sons.

>>And the first Dutch king since 1891 the BBC article says!<<

And he only has daughters.

Indeed - it will take some getting used to having a Koningsdag Kings day. I expect there will be many a slip of the tongue next year. Must be annoying for calender makers who start printing a long time in advance too :).

Anyway for anyone visiting Amsterdam on April 30th it will not be a normal Koninginnedag, and security will be tight. I expect the palace on the Dam and the Nieuwekerk will be closed for some time before the big event too.

It will be nice to have a royal neighbour again, though Beatrix won't be just round the corner like her mother was, and I don't expect to see her frequenting the local shops like Juliana did.

FWIW, many years ago, I was on the King's Road in Chelsea when a party of rather formally dressed people walked by and into one of the more radical-looking clothes boutiques - it was her and her entourage. I can't remember if Willem was with her, but I don't think either of them quite seemed the Vivienne Westwood type.

So the question is whether EII will take a hint. I hope that she goes on and passes succession straight onto William, but I'd guess that Camilla won't pass up the chance to be Queen.

On the day Beatrix became queen in 1980, there were riots in Amsterdam. Maxima's parents are not attending, probably a good decision if they want to keep things calm.

It should be an interesting day in Amsterdam on April 30; not something you see every day.

In the Netherlands there is a tradition of abdication. In Belgium they are wondering what King Albert will do.

I actually had a chance to see them both, Prince Wilhem and Princess Maxima, very up close when they visited NY in September 2009. They were at a museum function a couple of miles from my house.

Funny how Maxima's Father has been so scrutinized while Queen Beatrix husband's was a Nazi sympathizer, member of the Hitler Youth, captured by the Americans in Italy while serving in the German invading Army. Talk about a dark past....pleasssseee.

>>>So the question is whether EII<<<

For me, the real question is, why do we have heriditary monarchies in the 21st century?

Elizabeth will not abdicate. In the UK you take the throne for life - except for the last Edward, who left to marry Wally - though god knows why. (But probably a good thing considering how pro fascist the two of them were.)

I think Camilla will be Queen consort - not Queen - but who knows.

As for monarchies - nothing wrong with having a head of state separate from the head of government. A big tourist attraction - and if the locals want it - why not.

The Dutch sure know how to screw up a good thing. I took advantage of a number of opportunities to enjoy the real Queen's Day, and have the memories, http://tinyurl.com/yln3hrp.

Queen Elizabeth won't abidicate - she is Queen because it is God's will - which is why she is also crowned.
The Dutch monarch is monarch by will of the people, so isn't crowned (in fact the "crown jewels" are mostly silver gilt and paste) and is able to retire.

There was a huge uproar when Beatrix married Claus, and it was many years before he was accepted. There were lots of debates in parlaiment before he was allowed to marry her. There were enquiries into his wartime history. He was found to have committed no war crimes. He was a conscript in the German army at 16, and had joined the Hitler Youth when he was younger, as did vast numbers of young Germans, before realising exactly what an evil B Hitler was.
Claus acted as interpreter after being captured in Italy.
I think his past laid heavily upon him and he suffered from terrible depression for many many years.
In the end he was a good Prince consort and gradually won the hearts of the Dutch. Not an easy thing for a German to do.

>>For me, the real question is, why do we have heriditary monarchies in the 21st century?<<

Those that have them think there are more important things for governments and parliaments to spend their time on than reorganising their constitutional arrangements. As do most countries.

I read somewhere that part of her celebrations for the day included taking in Keukenhof -- I wonder, will she miss that or think, thank God, I've seen enough damn tulips to last six lifetimes.

" I hope that she goes on and passes succession straight onto William,"

It's none of her bloody business who succeeds her.

Queen Beatrix normally visits two towns in one of the provinces. This year she was due to visit Amstelveen and De Rijp in Noord Holland. That won't know take place. Afaik she never visits Keukenhof on Koninginnedag - her day is taken up with the visits to the towns, and after that she puts her feet up I suspect.

No idea what WimLex will want to do for Koningsdag. Maybe next year he will visit Amstelveen and de Rijp since they were promised the visit, and thereafter he will do his own thing. Juliana used to stand on the steps of Paleis Soestdijk whilst the people paraded past giving her flowers and other gifts.

As to hereditary monarchies - as I said in the Netherlands they are there by will of the people. Should the mood change then it will be easy to remove them. Can't see that happening though.

"why do we have heriditary monarchies in the 21st century?"

Because they work. half the world's 20 highest ranking countries in the United Nations' Human Development Index are constitutional monarchies.

If countries governed by the unchangeable whim of 18th century slave owners give their citizens the rights, medical care and safety that the people of New Zealand, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Canada etc take for granted, it might be worth listening to claptrap about "outdated" modes of government.

Till then: look and learn how to run a country properly.