“A queen in the heart of society.”
That’s how Dutch prime-minister Mark Rutte called queen Beatrix yesterday, just after the television speech in which her majesty announced her retirement. Beatrix will quit at April 30th of this year in favor of her son, Willem-Alexander.
“This is the best moment fort his step. I have been thinking about this for a few years, and decided to leave now. Until this day, I have enjoyed being your queen. It’s inspiring to feel with people in good times and in bad times,” Queen Beatrix said in her speech.
The queen has a lot of faith in her son, Willem-Alexander. He will be the king from April the 30th, which is Queens Day, traditional a day of celebration of the monarchy in the Netherlands. When Willem-Alexander will become king, the celebration will be called Kings Day, and will be on April 27th. Beatrix is sure that her son is ready for his job: “He and Maxima are really prepared fort heir future task.”
Queen Beatrix ended her speech with the words that her resignment is no goodbye.
“I hope I will meet many of you many times the next few years. I thank you deeply for the trust you gave me in the beautiful years I was you queen,” she said.
