According to the National Post:
Dutch Queen Beatrix announced Monday that she will abdicate on April 30 after 33 years as head of state, clearing the way for her eldest son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, to become the nation’s first king in more than a century.
“Responsibility for our country must now lie in the hands of a new generation,” Beatrix said in the speech delivered from her Huis ten Bosch palace just days before she was to turn 75.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte, a staunch monarchist, paid his respects in a speech that immediately followed Beatrix on all Dutch television channels.
To read the entire article in the National Post, please click here.
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on Prinsjesdag. Photo by Roel from The Netherlands-Nederland
