Princess Beatrix at 80: January 31, 2018

[lucien]

As HRH Princess Beatrix will celebrate her 80th birthday on january 31st,lots of events are planned,at least in the TV and book department.More later.

 

[eya]

Princess Beatrix she celebrates her 80th birthday on January 31 in private with family and friends.
But on Saturday 3 February Princess Beatrix will give a birthday reception for personal guests at the Royal Palace Amsterdam.

Maybe some Royals too?

https://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/actueel/nieuws/2018/01/11/prinses-beatrix-80-jaar

 

[eya]

The Palace released Official Portraits of Princess Beatrix for the occassion of the 80th Birthday tomorrow

The photos were taken at Drakensteyn Castle

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DUyfrCbX0AA5a4s?format=jpg&name=small
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DUyfrCXXUAIoaab?format=jpg&name=orig
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DUyfrCWWAAAd_Xg?format=jpg&name=360x360

New lovely photo of the Queen with her grand children

https://scontent.fath4-1.fna.fbcdn....=8459221b064e6e59f4136945f732e367&oe=5B19A3C7

The bakers of confectionery Landwaard delivers a special birthday cake at Drakensteyn Castle, where Princess Beatrix celebrates her eightieth birthday.

Belga Image

 

[Mbruno]

The Palace released Official Portraits of Princess Beatrix for the occassion of the 80th Birthday tomorrow

The photos were taken at Drakensteyn Castle

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DUyfrCbX0AA5a4s?format=jpg&name=small
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DUyfrCXXUAIoaab?format=jpg&name=orig
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DUyfrCWWAAAd_Xg?format=jpg&name=360x360

She looks great and in excellent health, which again begs the question about why she abdicated so soon. Her mother and grandmother had much stronger reasons to do it.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

She looks great and in excellent health, which again begs the question about why she abdicated so soon. Her mother and grandmother had much stronger reasons to do it.

In the announcement of her abdication (then) Queen Beatrix named the fact that she approached her 75th birthday and the bicentennial of the constitution of state in 2013 and concluded: "To me this seems a good time to take this step, which I have been contemplating for some years now".

She remarked by the way: "I do not abdicate because the task has become an onerous one but because I am convinced the responsibility for our country should be in hands of a new generation. It is with a feeling of the highest confidence that I will hand over the kingship to my son, The Prince of Orange."

 

[An Ard Ri]

Beatrix looks wonderful for an 80 year old I had hoped she'd remain on as queen a little longer and maybe done 35 years before abdicating,its not the same without her as queen.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

I agree. I miss her style and grace, her every inch royal standard. Máxima knows how to dazzle but beside the highs she has such lows that Queen Beatrix would never have permitted for herself. Having said that, King Willem-Alexander continues in the highly professional court organization she has left behind and does the kingship quite well, in his own easygoing and jovial style.

We can see that he has an eye for decorum (the King required the new Cabinet to appear in jacquet as dresscode, which Beatrix never did), the King also likes to bring show, like that amazing entrance to the Petit Palais in Paris, decorated with thousands of flowers, illuminated with floodlights and lined by splendid dressed footmen holding torchlights. (See: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/d5/50/9f/d5509f0533a8d605bfd4881bb7801020.jpg )

So King Willem-Alexander certainly extends his mother's decorum but he does not have the appearance of Beatrix, majestic and stately.

 

[COUNTESS]

I think, perhaps, part of her decision was the loss of her son. She may have felt she needed to grieve, privately.

 

[QueenPenny]

She is lovely & elegant, and I wish her many more years of good health & happiness. I do think that the loss of her son weighed heavily in her decision to abdicate while she was still relatively young for a monarch.

Happy 80th Birthday!

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

New lovely photo of the Queen with her grand children

https://scontent.fath4-1.fna.fbcdn....=8459221b064e6e59f4136945f732e367&oe=5B19A3C7

The Princess (not the Queen) ;-)

Lovely picture. At granny's romantic estate.

Funny to see Count Claus-Casimir as only boy in the whole group.

 

[royalfanvivian]

After the new pictures of yesterday, there are today, on the anniversary of Princess Beatrix even released some pictures which are also made by Castle Drakensteyn in the fall of 2017. The princess poses with her sons, daughters and grandchildren.

Foto's Prinses Beatrix met zonen, schoondochters en kleinkinderen | De Oranjes

 

[Marengo]

Wonderful photographs, the royal house has been generous in providing these. Especially nice to see Princess's other grandchildren. It seems that Css Eloise is already wearing heals.

Today's NRC Handelsblad had an article about princess Beatrix by Jutta Chorus. Her conclusion was that the irony of her reign was that while she always tried to do everything perfect, she did not become popular for what she did but for what happened to her. She interviewed former lady-in-waiting Miente Boellaard and Huub Oosterhuis (friend of Prince Claus) on record.

Article: https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2018/01/26/geliefd-door-wat-haar-overkwam-a1589937

Article in Google translate: https://translate.google.nl/transla...fd-door-wat-haar-overkwam-a1589937&edit-text=

 

[Winnie]

Ah, one of my all time favorite royal. Such a classy lady who always dresses properly and looked immaculate at all times no matter what the occasion. She has aged perfectly and I miss seeing her and wish she was still Queen. She never put a foot wrong IMO.

 

[Biri]

I think, perhaps, part of her decision was the loss of her son. She may have felt she needed to grieve, privately.

When she abdicated Johan Friso was still alive.

 

[barber]

Prachtige foto's van onze koninklijke familie ! Eindelijk weer wat nieuws !

 

[Biri]

Which girl is which one?
The grandma still looks georgeous!

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tUbVhNqJ.../s640/prinses-beatrix-met-kleinkinderen-2.jpg

 

[Michiru-Kaiou]

Which girl is which one?
The grandma still looks georgeous!

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tUbVhNqJ.../s640/prinses-beatrix-met-kleinkinderen-2.jpg

From left to right:
Countess Leonore, Countess Eloise, Princess Alexia, Countess Luana, Princess Beatrix, Countess Zaria, Princess Ariane, The Princess of Orange, Count Claus-Casimir.

Wonderful new pictures. And I hope Her Royal Highness has a wonderful day today.

best wishes Michiru

 

[W.Y.CII]

The pictures of Beatrix and her grandkids are wonderful, very lovely.

 

[Empress Merel]

Lovely picture. Kasteel Drakensteyn must be such a great place for them to gather, not to mention for Beatrix to enjoy her retirement. It's beautiful and inviting.

 

[Somebody]

She is lovely & elegant, and I wish her many more years of good health & happiness. I do think that the loss of her son weighed heavily in her decision to abdicate while she was still relatively young for a monarch.

Happy 80th Birthday!

Both her grandmother (at 68) and mother (at 71) were younger when they abdicated. So, she wasn't young for a Dutch monarch. And clearly her philosophy was to avoid having a prince of Orange waiting too long to take over, i.e., a monarch should be reigning when in his prime years not waiting for his parent to finally hand over (by abdication or death) and be passed retirement age when duty finally calls.

She was in her fourties herself when she took over and I expect that king Willem-Alexander will also abdicate when the current princess of Orange is in her fourties. By that time she hopefully has established her family and has had sufficient preparation/experiences to be ready. So, a very different philosophy than that of many other monarchs. Although there are others in the same boat. Noth in Bhutan and Liechtenstein (in practice) the reigns were handed over at a far earlier age...

 

[An Ard Ri]

Which girl is which one?
The grandma still looks georgeous!

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tUbVhNqJ.../s640/prinses-beatrix-met-kleinkinderen-2.jpg

Another great photo Count Claus-Casimir is blessed among women!

 

[Biri]

Her firstborn granddaughter looks so much like her!

 

[Lee-Z]

Her firstborn granddaughter looks so much like her!

You think? I always thought Eloise (like her siblings) looked particularly like her mother Laurentien...

 

[Biri]

I noticed similarity in their faces and remembered photos of Princess Beatrix when she was younger.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Just saw a retrospect, Beatrix 80, and the interesting thing of young Princess Beatrix in her new home (Drakensteyn): I saw a shelf with pictures of her family. And next to it a portrait of King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola. For the rest no other foreign royals, only them. I thought that was nice and touching.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Princess Beatrix many moons ago at the castle and area where the wonderful photo released today with all her many adorable grandchildren was taken!

https://www.holland.com/upload_mm/4/b/8/cid23540_fullimage_Drakensteyn-1.jpg

 

[Mbruno]

Just saw a retrospect, Beatrix 80, and the interesting thing of young Princess Beatrix in her new home (Drakensteyn): I saw a shelf with pictures of her family. And next to it a portrait of King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola. For the rest no other foreign royals, only them. I thought that was nice and touching.

Quite telling considering that Belgian law still forbids the princes and princesses "van België" from ever marrying an Orange-Nassau, doesn't it ?

 

[Zonk]

What fabulous pictures showing the Princess with her sons, daughter in laws and grandchildren. Still its bittersweet that her beloved Claus and Johan Friso are no longer with her.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Quite telling considering that Belgian law still forbids the princes and princesses "van België" from ever marrying an Orange-Nassau, doesn't it ?

And that it was only in the interbellum, under Wilhelmina, that there were formal contacts with the Von Sachsen-Coburgs, who "stole" their throne. Wilhelmina's very own father (Willem III) was born in Brussels, one of the two capitals of the Kingdom of the United Netherlands, it was all not that very long ago.

Maybe the young Princess Beatrix learned King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola and was very attached to them.

Here you see a still.

 

[W.Y.CII]

A wonderful retrospective of Beatrix and her millineries.

I always have a complicated feeling to Beatrix's hats. I mean, personally I don't like her iconic hat at all (the large hat without brim like this one), but she always looks so well with them!