Queen
Beatrix of the Netherlands
The
75-year-old monarch signed the instrument of abdication in
Willem-Alexander
has now become the country's first king since 1890.
Huge
crowds of orange-clad partygoers are in Amsterdam
to pay tribute to the popular queen, who has maintained a recent Dutch
tradition in handing over to a new generation.
'Heart-warming affection'
Queen Beatrix announced her intention to stand down in
January, saying her son was ready to reign and that it was time for the throne
to be held by "a new generation".
She formally relinquished the throne at a short
ceremony in the Royal Palace on Tuesday, signing a statement which read:
"I now withdraw from my office of Queen of the Netherlands
About a million visitors were expected in Amsterdam
There were huge cheers from the crowds outside,
watching on giant screens in Dam
Square
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The visibly emotional queen, now Princess Beatrix,
told the crowds: "I am happy and grateful to introduce to you your new
king, Willem-Alexander."
King Willem-Alexander thanked mother for "33
moving and interesting years", saying he and the Dutch public and people
in Dutch overseas territories were "intensely grateful" to her.
The three then held hands on the balcony as the
national anthem was played, before the new king and queen's three young
daughters were brought out to wave at the crowds.
Their eldest daughter, nine-year-old Catharina-Amalia,
has become Princess of Orange and is now first in line to the throne.
Willem-Alexander will later be officially sworn at the
Nieuwe Kerk, before a joint session of the Dutch parliament.
In the evening, the royal family will take part in a
water pageant.
The ceremonies will be attended by 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.
On Monday, Queen Beatrix thanked the nation, saying 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," she said.
Paying tribute to her late husband 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," said the monarch, who is known
affectionately as Queen Bea.
She 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.
Willem-Alexander has already said he wants to "be
a king that can bring society together, representative and encouraging in the
21st Century".
"People can address me as they wish because then
they can feel comfortable."
Abdication 'tradition'
Queen Beatrix is the sixth monarch from the House of
Orange-Nassau, which has ruled the Netherlands
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.
He or she is expected to be politically impartial,
co-sign acts of parliament, help with the formation of new governments and to
both undertake and host state visits
King Willem-Alexander has become not only the monarch
of the Netherlands but also
the Dutch Caribbean territories of Curacao, Aruba and Saint
Maarten .
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 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 February last year her second son, Prince
Friso, was struck by an avalanche in
Courtesy: bbc