Beatrix of the Netherlands

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard van Oranje-Nassau) (born January 31, 1938), Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld, styled HM The Queen is the Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne in 1980.

Related Topics:
January 31 - 1938 - Orange-Nassau - Queen - Kingdom of the Netherlands - 1980

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Beatrix is the daughter of the late Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and the late Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, Prince of Lippe-Biesterfeld. When Beatrix 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 and then to Ottawa, Canada. They returned home in 1945.

Related Topics:
Juliana of the Netherlands - Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands - Lippe-Biesterfeld - German - World War II - Britain - 1940 - Ottawa - Canada - 1945

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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, part of Baarnsch Lyceum, where she passed her school-leaving examinations in arts subjects and classics in 1956.

Related Topics:
Kees Boeke - Bilthoven - 1950 - 1956

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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.

Related Topics:
January 31 - 1956 - Council of State

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Beatrix began her university studies the same year, at Leiden University. In her first years at university, she attended lectures in 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 of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, international affairs, international law, history and European law.

Related Topics:
Leiden University - Sociology - Jurisprudence - Economics - Parliamentary history - Constitutional law - Suriname - Netherlands Antilles - Charter of the Kingdom of the Netherlands - International affairs - International law - European law

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While at university, the Princess visited various European and international organisations in Geneva, Strasbourg, Paris, and Brussels. She was also an active member of the Leiden Women Students' Association. In the summer of 1959, she passed her preliminary examination in law, and she obtained her law degree in July 1961.

Related Topics:
Geneva - Strasbourg - Paris - Brussels - Students' Association - 1959 - 1961

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Her appearance on political scene was almost immediately marked with controversy. Her marriage to German diplomat Claus von Amsberg who was associated by some Dutch radicals with the Hitler Youth Nazi youth organization and hence with German Nazism, caused a massive protest during her wedding day at Amsterdam on 10 March 1966. Protests included the memorable slogan "I want my bicycle back," a reference to the memory of occupying German soldiers confiscating Dutch bicycles. On a less peaceful note, a smoke bomb was thrown at the wedding carriage by a group of Provos causing a violent street battle with the police.

Related Topics:
Claus von Amsberg - Hitler Youth - Nazism - Amsterdam - 10 March - 1966 - Provo

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An even more violent riot occurred on 30 April 1980, during her inauguration (kings of the Netherlands are not crowned as such) as Queen Beatrix. Anarchist squatters and other radicals used the occasion to protest against poor housing conditions in Netherlands and against the monarchy in general; clashes with the police and security forces turn brutal and violent. As time went on, however Claus became one of the most popular members of the Dutch monarchy and his 2002 death was widely mourned.

Related Topics:
30 April - 1980 - Anarchist - Squatters - The Dutch monarchy - 2002

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Both events are reflected in contemporary Dutch literature: the 1966 affair in the classic ?De Aanslag? by Harry Mulisch, and the riot of 1980 in the books of A.F.Th. van der Heijden.

Related Topics:
Harry Mulisch - A.F.Th. van der Heijden

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