Queen Beatrix possibly abdicating

[old medic]

Lots of speculation being repeated by various news outlets.

Dutch Queen Beatrix 'to abdicate in favour of son'
Dutch Queen Beatrix is expected to announce later on Monday her abdication in favour of her son after 33 years on the throne, Dutch media reported.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/9832284/Dutch-Queen-Beatrix-to-abdicate-in-favour-of-son.html

Beatrix, who turns 75 on Wednesday, will abdicate "in favour of her son Willem-Alexander," Dutch news agency ANP said, quoting sources close to the court.

The queen is to make the surprise announcement on national television at 7:00pm (1800 GMT), after which Prime Minister Mark Rutte is to speak.

Beatrix's much-loved mother Juliana also abdicated, in 1980, when her daughter stepped into her shoes at age 42.

Beatrix's abdication would end more than 100 years of female reign on the Dutch throne.

Willem-Alexander, 45, is to become the first Dutch king since Willem III, who reigned until his death in 1890.

http://www.france24.com/en/20130128-dutch-queen-beatrix-abdicate-favour-son-report

AFP - Dutch Queen Beatrix is expected to announce later Monday her abdication in favour of her son, Dutch media reported Monday.

Beatrix, who turns 75 on Wednesday, will abdicate "in favour of her son Willem-Alexander," after an almost 33-year reign, Dutch news agency ANP said, quoting sources close to the court.

 

[Bzzliteyr]

If everyone knows about it is it really a "surprise" announcement?

 

[old medic]

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands to abdicate for son

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has announced she is abdicating in favour of her son, Prince Willem-Alexander.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21237254

In a pre-recorded address broadcast on TV, she said she would formally stand down on 30 April.

The queen, who is approaching her 75th birthday, said she had been thinking about this moment for several years and that now was "the moment to lay down my crown".

Queen Beatrix has been head of state since 1980, when her mother abdicated.

In the short televised statement, the queen said it was time for the throne to be held by "a new generation", adding that her son was ready to be king.

Prince Willem-Alexander, 45, is married and has three young children.

He will become the Netherland's first king since Willem III, who died in 1890.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte was also due to address the nation on Monday evening.
Abdication 'tradition'

Queen Beatrix is the sixth monarch from the House of Orange-Nassau, which has ruled the Netherlands since the early 19th Century.

Correspondents say her abdication will not provoke a constitutional crisis. Under Dutch law, the monarch has few powers and the role is considered ceremonial.

In recent decades it has become the tradition for the monarch to abdicate.

Queen Beatrix's mother Juliana resigned the throne in 1980 on her 70th birthday, and her grandmother Wilhelmina abdicated in 1948 at the age of 68.

Queen Beatrix will be 75 on Thursday.

She has remained active in recent years, but her reign has also seen traumatic events.

In 2009 a would-be attacker killed eight people when he drove his car into crowds watching the queen and other members of the royal family in a national holiday parade.

In March last year her second son, Prince Friso, was struck by an avalanche in Austria and remains in a coma.