Beatrix of the Netherlands

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Beatrix Queen of the Netherlands Reign 30 April 1980 – present Titles Queen of the Netherlands Princess of Orange-Nassau Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld Predecessor Juliana of the Netherlands Heir-Apparent Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange Consort Claus von Amsberg Issue Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange Prince Johan-Friso of the Netherlands Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands Royal House House of Orange-Nassau Father Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld Mother Juliana of the Netherlands

Dutch Royal Family HM The Queen HRH The Prince of Orange HRH Princess Máxima HRH The Hereditary Princess of Orange HRH Princess Alexia HRH Princess Ariane HRH Prince Friso HRH Princess Mabel Countess Luana Countess Zaria HRH Prince Constantijn HRH Princess Laurentien Countess Eloise Count Claus-Casimir Countess Leonore HRH Princess Irene HRH Princess Margriet Prof. Mr. Pieter van Vollenhoven HH Prince Maurits HH Princess Marilène HH Prince Bernhard HH Princess Annette HH Prince Pieter-Christiaan HH Princess Anita HH Prince Floris HH Princess Aimée HRH Princess Christina

Styles of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
Reference style	Her Majesty
Spoken style	Your Majesty
Alternative style	Ma'am

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Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard; born 31 January 1938) has been the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands since 30 April 1980, when her mother, Queen Juliana, abdicated.

[edit] Early life of the Queen

Queen Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard. Her godparents are King Leopold III of Belgium, Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg (brother of her maternal grandfather Prince Hendrik), Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, and Allene Countess de Kotzebue.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands is a direct descendant of Sophia, Electress of Hanover via her great-granddaughter Anne, Princess Royal (1709–1759). The queen could claim British nationality because of her descent from Sophia, based on the Sophia Naturalization Act 1705, as she was born before the act was repealed in 1948.

When the queen was a young girl, the Dutch royal family fled the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II, moving to Britain in May, 1940. During the summer of 1942, when Beatrix was four and a half years old, they rented the John Bross Lloyd estate, just outside Lee, Massachusetts in the United States. They then went to Ottawa, Canada. The family lived at Stornoway, now the official residence of the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in Canada. She attended Rockcliffe Park Public School, during their exile in Canada.

[edit] Education

While in Canada, Princess Beatrix attended nursery and primary school. On her return to the Netherlands, she continued her primary education at The Workshop (De Werkplaats), Kees Boeke's progressive school in Bilthoven. In April 1950, Princess Beatrix entered the Incrementum, a part of Baarnsch Lyceum, where, in 1956, she passed her school-graduation examinations in the subjects of arts and classics.

On January 31, 1956, Princess Beatrix celebrated her 18th birthday. From that date, under the Constitution of the Netherlands, she was entitled to assume the Royal Prerogative. At that time, her mother installed her in the Council of State.

The same year, at Leiden University her university studies began. In her first years at the university, she studied sociology, jurisprudence, economics, parliamentary history and constitutional law. In the course of her studies she also attended lectures on the cultures of Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles, the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, international affairs, international law, history and European law.

The Princess also visited various European and international organisations in Geneva, Strasbourg, Paris, and Brussels . She was also an active member of the VVSL (Female Union for Students in Leiden), now called L.S.V.Minerva. In the summer of 1959, she passed her preliminary examination in law, and she obtained her law degree in July 1961.

[edit] Political involvement and marriage

Queen Beatrix with her husband, the late Claus von Amsberg

Her appearance on the political scene was almost immediately marked by controversy. In 1965, Princess Beatrix became engaged to the German aristocrat Claus von Amsberg, a diplomat working for the German Foreign Office. Her marriage to him caused a massive protest during the wedding day in Amsterdam on 10 March 1966. Prince Claus had served in the Hitler Youth and the Wehrmacht and was, therefore, associated by a part of the Dutch with German Nazism. Protests included the memorable slogan "Geef mijn fiets terug" (Give me back my bicycle), a reference to the memory of occupying German soldiers confiscating Dutch bicycles. A smoke bomb was thrown at the wedding carriage by a group of Provos causing a violent street battle with the police. As time went on, however, Prince Claus became one of the most popular members of the Dutch monarchy and his 2002 death was widely mourned.

An even more violent riot occurred on 30 April 1980, during the investiture (sovereigns of the Netherlands are not crowned as such) of Queen Beatrix. Some people, including anarchist squatters, used the occasion to protest against poor housing conditions in the Netherlands and against the monarchy in general, using the also memorable slogan "Geen woning; geen Kroning" (No house; no coronation). Clashes with the police and security forces turned brutal and violent. The latter event is reflected in contemporary Dutch literature in the books of A.F.Th. van der Heijden.

[edit] Queen of the Netherlands

On 30 April 1980, Beatrix became Queen of the Netherlands when her mother abdicated. She approaches her role as queen with more formality than Queen Juliana, and many admire her professionalism. While the monarchy remains popular, in recent years some members of the Dutch media have openly criticized the royal family. Journalists have also published "tabloid" stories, similar to the stories that have covered the British House of Windsor for decades. Some Dutch subjects view the monarchy as an ongoing "soap opera," rather than an institution that plays an important role in Dutch society. As a result, Beatrix's current challenge is to keep the Dutch monarchy modern, efficient, and most of all, in tune with the wishes of the Dutch people.

As queen, Beatrix wields more power than most of Europe’s reigning monarchs. In domestic matters, she has little political say; however, in international relations, the queen has much more latitude. It was once reported that she threatened to dismiss a cabinet minister if he turned down her request to open a Dutch embassy in Jordan.

On 6 October 2002, the Queen's husband, Prince Claus died after a long illness. A year and a half later, her mother died after a long battle with senile dementia, while her father succumbed to cancer in December 2004.

Beatrix is rarely quoted directly in the press, since the government information service (Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst) makes it a condition of interviews that she may not be quoted. This policy was introduced shortly after her inauguration, reportedly to protect her from political complications that may arise from "off-the-cuff" remarks. It does not apply to her son Prince Willem-Alexander.

On 8 February 2005, Beatrix received a rare honorary doctorate from Leiden University, an honour the Queen does not usually accept. In her acceptance speech she reflected on the monarchy and her own 25 years as queen.^[1] The speech was broadcast live.^[2] On 29 April and 30 April 2005, she celebrated her 25th anniversary of her reign. She was interviewed on Dutch television, was offered a concert on Dam Square in Amsterdam, and a celebration took place in The Hague, the country's seat of government.

It is not known if Beatrix will follow the example of her mother and grandmother and abdicate. Some people close to her have stated that she has never seriously talked about abdication.^{[citation needed]}

Beatrix is an honorary member of the Club of Rome [1] and a member the Bilderberg Group.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Personal wealth

This article or section may contain an excessive amount of information with limited interest or intricate details. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. (June 2008)

Popular myth had for long stated that the queens of the Netherlands were the richest women in the world. Even in the 2005 Forbes website report, the queen's family wealth was estimated at $4.7 billion. Queen Juliana however had sold the remaining royal palaces and had put the cultural assets (paintings, antiques, books, etc.) into non-personal trusts. When the inheritance of Juliana was revealed in 2004 it was a 'mere' $240 million, which the queen had to share with her three royal sisters and her two half-sisters (born to her father's two mistresses). Since 2006, the queen and her family are no longer included in the Forbes list. The personal assets of the queen include several estates, houses and a shares-portfolio.

The royal palaces are property of the Dutch state and given in use to the reigning monarch: however, should the monarchy be disbanded, the property would be returned to the royal family.^{[citation needed]} Paintings, historical artifacts and jewellery belonging to the House of Orange are usually bound up with the performance of royal duties and have a certain cultural value. This property has been placed in the hands of trusts: the House of Orange-Nassau Archives Trust and the House of Orange-Nassau Historic Collections Trust. Part of the collection is on permanent loan to Het Loo Palace Museum in Apeldoorn and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The regalia (crown, orb and sceptre, Sword of State, royal banner, and ermine mantle) have been placed in the Crown Property Trust. The trust also holds the items used on ceremonial occasions, such as the carriages, table silver, and dinner services. Placing these goods in the hands of a trust ensures that they will remain at the disposal of the monarch in perpetuity.

The Royal Archives (Netherlands) comprise the personal archives of the royal family as well as their library, photographic archives, and art collection. The library encompasses the books of the House of Orange-Nassau and the music library. The library was begun in 1813, following the return of the Orange-Nassaus to the Netherlands. King William I allowed the Stadtholder's library to remain part of the Royal Library in The Hague. The library houses a collection of some 70,000 books, journals and brochures. The music library has 6,000 scores, going back to the mid-1700s.

Expenditure on the Royal House is governed by or pursuant to the Royal House Finances Act (1972). There are three categories of expenditure: allowances paid to the Queen, the Princes of Orange and Princess Máxima, totalling some €5.6 million in 2006. Official expenses are incurred in the performance of official duties and are included in the budget of the most relevant ministry. They will total some €22.5 million in 2006. Other expenses relate to the management of the royal household. Under the Royal House Finances Act, they are not included in the budget of the royal household. They will total some €71.7 million in 2006.

[edit] Ancestry

[edit] Patrilineal descent

Beatrix's patriline is the line from which she is descended father to son.

Patrilineal descent is the principle behind membership in royal houses, as it can be traced back through the generations - which means that if Beatrix were to choose an historically accurate house name it would be Lippe, as all her male-line ancestors have been of that house.

House of Lippe (claimed descent from Saxon kings)

1. Hermann I of Lippe, 1071 - 1126
2. Hermann II of Lippe, 1119 - 1160
3. Bernhard II of Lippe, 1151 - 1224
4. Hermann III of Lippe, 1175 - 1229
5. Bernhard III of Lippe, 1197 - 1265
6. Bernhard IV of Lippe, 1240 - 1275
7. Simon I of Lippe, d. 1344
8. Otto of Lippe, d. 1360
9. Simon III of Lippe, d. 1410
10. Bernhard VI of Lippe, 1366 - 1415
11. Simon IV of Lippe, 1404 - 1429
12. Bernhard VII of Lippe, 1429 - 1511
13. Simon V, Count of Lippe, 1471 - 1536
14. Bernhard VIII, Count of Lippe, 1527 - 1563
15. Simon VI, Count of Lippe, 1554 - 1613
16. Simon VII, Count of Lippe-Detmold, 1587 - 1627
17. Jobst Herman, Count of Lippe-Sternberg, 1625 - 1678
18. Rudolf Ferdinand, Count of Lippe-Sternberg, 1671 - 1726
19. Friedrich, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld, 1705 - 1781
20. Karl of Lippe-Biesterfeld, 1735 - 1810
21. (Wilhelm) Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld, 1777 - 1840
22. Julius Peter, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld, 1812 - 1884
23. Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld, 1842 - 1904
24. Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, 1872 - 1934
25. Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, 1911 - 2004
26. Beatrix of the Netherlands, 1938 -

[edit] Children

The queen and her late husband, Prince Claus, have three sons:

• Prince Willem-Alexander, The Prince of Orange and his mother's heir apparent (born 1967)
• Prince Friso (born 1968)
• Prince Constantijn (born 1969)

[edit] Grandchildren

Queen Beatrix and her late husband, Prince Claus, have eight grandchildren:

• Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, second in line to the throne, after her father
• Princess Alexia of the Netherlands
• Princess Ariane of the Netherlands
• Countess Luana of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg
• Countess Zaria of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg
• Countess Eloise of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg
• Count Claus-Casimir of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer van Amsberg
• Countess Leonore of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg

[edit] Titles

Royal coat of arms of The Netherlands

Queen Beatrix's titles are:

"Beatrix, by the Grace of God Queen of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, etc. etc. etc."

The triple 'etc.' refers to the title Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld and the following titles formerly borne by the princes of Orange. These being dormant titles, they are retained in the masculine form.

• Marquis of Veere and Vlissingen
• Count of Katzenelnbogen (now in Germany), Vianden (now in Luxembourg), Diez and Spiegelberg (both now in Germany), Buren, Leerdam, and Culemborg
• Viscount of Antwerp (now in Belgium)
• Baron of Breda, Diest (now in Belgium), Beilstein (now in Germany), the town of Grave and the lands of Cuijk, IJsselstein, Cranendonck, Eindhoven, Liesveld, Herstal (now in Belgium), Warneton, Arlay and Nozeroy (both now in France)
• Hereditary Lord and Seigneur of Ameland
• Lord of Besançon (now in France), Borculo, Bredevoort, Bütgenbach (now in Belgium), Clundert, Daasburg, Geertruidenberg, Hooge en Lage Zwaluwe, 't Loo, Lichtenvoorde, Montfoort, Naaldwijk, Niervaart, Polanen, Steenbergen, Sint-Maartensdijk, Sankt Vith (now in Belgium), Soest, Ter Eem, Turnhout (now in Belgium), Willemstad, and Zevenbergen.

The queen signs official documents "Beatrix" and is addressed as "Your Majesty" (Dutch: "Uwe Majesteit"). Queen Beatrix's mother, Queen Juliana, frowned upon this title. She preferred to be addressed as "Mevrouw", Dutch for "Madam". Queen Beatrix re-introduced the Royal Style of Majesty when addressing her.

Queen Beatrix is Grand Master of the Military Order of William (Militaire Willemsorde) and the other Dutch orders of merit. She is also a supernumary member of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, a Dame of the Order of the Elephant (Elefantordenen) and has received numerous other medals and decorations.

Queen Beatrix International Airport in Oranjestad, Aruba, is named after Her Majesty.

[edit] Prime Ministers of the Netherlands during The Queen's reign

• Dries van Agt (1977–1982)
• Ruud Lubbers (1982–1994)
• Wim Kok (1994–2002)
• Jan Peter Balkenende (2002–present)

[edit] See also

• Dutch monarchs family tree

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Beatrix of the Netherlands

• Queen Beatrix: Official website
• Information on Counts of Lippe
• Further information on House of Lippe

v • d • e Heads of state of the European Union member states Fischer (AT) · Albert II (BE2) · Parvanov (BG) · Christofias1 (CY) · Klaus (CZ) · Margrethe II (DK2) · Ilves (ET) · Halonen (FI) · Sarkozy1 (FR) · Köhler (DE) · Papoulias (GR) · Sólyom (HU) · McAleese (IE) · Napolitano (IT) · Zatlers (LV) · Adamkus (LT) · Henri (LU2) · Fenech Adami (MT) · Beatrix (NL2) · Kaczyński (PL) · Cavaco Silva (PT) · Băsescu (RO) · Gašparovič (SK) · Türk (SL) · Juan Carlos I (ES2) · Carl XVI Gustaf (SE2) · Elizabeth II (UK2) 1 Also members of the European Council. 2 Monarchies.

[edit] References