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Queen Beatrix thanks Dutch people on eve of abdication | Queen Beatrix thanks Dutch people on eve of abdication |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has made a farewell national address on the eve of her abdication and investiture of her son, Prince Willem-Alexander. | Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has made a farewell national address on the eve of her abdication and investiture of her son, Prince Willem-Alexander. |
The queen thanked the Dutch people for their "heart-warming displays of affection" and paid tribute to her late husband, Prince Claus. | |
The queen was also attending a sumptuous gala dinner in her honour at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. | The queen was also attending a sumptuous gala dinner in her honour at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. |
She has been head of state since 1980, when her mother abdicated. | She has been head of state since 1980, when her mother abdicated. |
Monday evening's gala dinner was attended by her family and other invited royals and high-ranking dignitaries, including Britain's Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Spain and Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik and his wife. | |
In her televised address, an emotional Queen Beatrix said that the people's devotion had given her the strength to carry on during her 33-year reign. | |
"Without your heart-warming and encouraging displays of affection, the burdens, which certainly have existed, would have weighed heavily." | "Without your heart-warming and encouraging displays of affection, the burdens, which certainly have existed, would have weighed heavily." |
Paying tribute to Prince Claus, who died in 2002, she said he had helped modernise the House of Orange. | |
"Perhaps history will bear out that the choice of my partner was my best decision." | "Perhaps history will bear out that the choice of my partner was my best decision." |
The queen said hereditary authority of itself did not give substance to a contemporary monarchy; rather this was earned through "the will to serve the country". | |
Willem-Alexander is well-prepared for the task ahead of him and will stand above party and group interests, she said. | |
Now aged 75, the woman known affectionately as Queen Bea has said it is time for a new generation to take over. | |
In a short ceremony in the Royal Palace on Tuesday, she will sign the instrument of abdication. | |
Her son will become the Netherlands' first king since Willem III, who died in 1890. | |
Earlier on Monday, Willem-Alexander, 46, his future queen Maxima, an Argentinian-born investment banker, and their three children took part in a final dress rehearsal at Amsterdam's Nieuwe Kerk. | |
Abdication 'tradition' | Abdication 'tradition' |
Queen Beatrix is the sixth monarch from the House of Orange-Nassau, which has ruled the Netherlands since the early 19th Century. | Queen Beatrix is the sixth monarch from the House of Orange-Nassau, which has ruled the Netherlands since the early 19th Century. |
Correspondents say she is extremely popular with most Dutch people, but her abdication was widely expected and will not provoke a constitutional crisis. | Correspondents say she is extremely popular with most Dutch people, but her abdication was widely expected and will not provoke a constitutional crisis. |
Under Dutch law, the monarch has few powers and the role is considered ceremonial. | Under Dutch law, the monarch has few powers and the role is considered ceremonial. |
In recent decades it has become the tradition for the monarch to abdicate. | In recent decades it has become the tradition for the monarch to abdicate. |
Queen Beatrix's mother Juliana resigned the throne in 1980 on her 71st birthday, and her grandmother Wilhelmina abdicated in 1948 at the age of 68. | Queen Beatrix's mother Juliana resigned the throne in 1980 on her 71st birthday, and her grandmother Wilhelmina abdicated in 1948 at the age of 68. |
She has remained active in recent years, but her reign has also seen traumatic events. | She has remained active in recent years, but her reign has also seen traumatic events. |
In 2009 a would-be attacker killed eight people when he drove his car into crowds watching the queen and other members of the royal family in a national holiday parade. | In 2009 a would-be attacker killed eight people when he drove his car into crowds watching the queen and other members of the royal family in a national holiday parade. |
In February last year her second son, Prince Friso, was struck by an avalanche in Austria and remains in a coma. | In February last year her second son, Prince Friso, was struck by an avalanche in Austria and remains in a coma. |
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