By Mirembe Martina
The Queen of Netherlands, Queen Beatrix announced on Monday her intention to end her 33 year rule and hand over power to her eldest son, Willem-Alexander.
Appearing on a brief television speech, Queen Beatrix said, “Responsibility for our country must now lie in the hands of a new generation.” Known for her generosity, Queen Elizabeth who in a few days will turn 75 is going to let her son take the reigns from her on April 30th. “I am not abdicating because this office is too much of a burden, but out of conviction that the responsibility for our nation should now rest in the hands of a new generation,” Queen Beatrix said, in a speech delivered from her Huis ten Bosch palace. “I am deeply grateful for the great faith you have shown in me in the many years that I could be your Queen,” she added.
On the same day that she steps down, her eldest son, Alexander will be appointed king at an inauguration in Amsterdam. Alexander will be Netherlands’ first king since Willem III died in 1890.
The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte thanked Queen Beatrix for her service to the nation. “Since her coronation in 1980s she’s applied herself heart and soul for Dutch society,” he said. “She has grown into a Dutch icon.” Queen Beatrix assumed the throne in 1980 when her mother, Queen Julianna, stepped down after 32 years of ruling. Her grandmother, Queen Wilhelmina, abdicated in 1948 after a reign of 58 years.
