Dutch king sworn in as queen bows out

After a €12 million national party that lasted well into the small hours, the Netherlands woke this morning to a new era: Queen Beatrix (75) had been fondly consigned to her retirement, to be succeeded by her son, Willem-Alexander, the first king in 123 years, and the first monarch to reign without political power.

The transition to a purely ceremonial monarchy took place in the first hour of a day of celebrations. After a 101-gun salute by the Dutch navy, the document of abdication was signed by Queen Beatrix, and the two generations appeared side by side, holding hands, on the balcony of Dam Palace – King Willem-Alexander, his wife, Queen Maxima, and Beatrix, now, once again, “Princess” Beatrix.

“Some moments ago I abdicated the throne,” a clearly emotional Beatrix told the cheering mass of 25,000 orange-clad well-wishers who packed the square. “I am happy and thankful to present to you your new king, Willem-Alexander.”

King and Queen were then joined by their three blonde-haired daughters, the new heir to the throne, Princess Amalia (9) and her two sisters, Alexia (7) and Ariane (6), whose lives, like those of their parents, had in that hour changed forever.

Investiture
The formal investiture of King Willem-Alexander took place later in Amsterdam's 600-year-old Nieuwe Kerk, next door to the palace, where the monarch (46) swore to uphold the constitution – and stressed the need for national unity at a time of economic crisis.

“I take office in a period when many in the kingdom feel vulnerable or uncertain, vulnerable in their jobs or in their health, uncertain about their income or their immediate prospects,”, he told guests who included members of 18 royal houses, among them Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, as well as heads of state and politicians.

“We can, for example, no longer take it for granted that children will be better off than their parents. In such a climate, our strength will always be in co-operation, never in isolation from one another.”

Willem-Alexander wore a royal mantle decorated with silver lions that has been used for investitures since 1815, while Maxima wore a tiara and full-length royal blue dress and cloak by Dutch couturier Jan Taminiau.

The investiture was attended by both houses of the Dutch parliament, and afterwards prime minister Mark Rutte said the celebrations would lift the mood of the nation and might even have a positive economic impact.

Guest list
The guest list also included Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, the latter on her first foreign trip since falling ill a decade ago, as well as the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and former UN secretary general Kofi Annan.

There was, however, one sombre note for Queen Maxima: her parents were barred from attending the ceremony, as they were from her wedding in 2002, because of the involvement of her father, Jorge Zorreguieta, in the Videla military junta that ruled Argentina in the late 1970s and was responsible for thousands of “disappearances”.

Security was tight. There were anti-monarchist protesters, however, and in typically Dutch fashion they were accommodated at six “designated demonstration sites”.