Willem-Alexander has been sworn in as king of the Netherlands at a colourful ceremony attended by 2,000 visitors in Amsterdam.
The 46-year-old became the country's first king since 1890 when his 75-year-old mother Beatrix signed the abdication deed after 33 years on the throne this morning. As King Willem-Alexander and his wife Queen Maxima took centre stage in Nieuwe Kerk, a decommissioned church, Princess Beatrix smiled happily, watching the proceedings with her three granddaughters, who all wore matching royal blue dresses.
Wearing a fur-trimmed ceremonial mantle, swore an oath of allegiance to his country and the constitution in the historic New Church.
In recent years, speculation about when she might abdicate had grown, as she endured personal losses that both softened her image and increased her popularity further as the public sympathized.
Her husband Prince Claus died in 2002; and last year she was devastated when her youngest son, Prince Friso, was hit by an avalanche while skiing in Austria and suffered severe brain damage. Friso remains in a near comatose state.
In her pre-recorded message she said she had been thinking about the issue for some years and now was the 'the moment to lay down my crown'.'Now that my oldest son is to take over this fine and responsible job tomorrow, it is my deep wish that the new royal couple will feel themselves supported by your loving trust,' the popular monarch said in a nationally televised address.
'I am convinced that Willem-Alexander will apply himself with true devotion for everything a good king is obliged to do.'Beatrix succeeded her mother, Juliana, as head of state, and she won widespread acclaim and admiration from the Dutch people. Most feel she has proved a supremely competent, if occasionally aloof, head of state over her 33-year reign.
'My mother taught me that being queen is a position that you carry around with you day and night,' she said once. 'You can never forget about it, not for a moment.'
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please comments are invited