My latest articles: Theodore Roosevelt at court & the last Queen of Bavaria

In the February issue of Majesty (Vol. 40, No. 2), which is out in Britain today, I continue my series on Theodore Roosevelt and the royals. In this second of three article, the former US President visits the courts of Brussels, The Hague, Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm, where he takes a strong dislike to one monarch, forms a lasting friendship with another and is smitten with an unhappy princess.
In the same magazine I also write about the life of Marie Therese, the last Queen of Bavaria (and Jacobite claimant to the British throne), who died 100 years ago in February 1919 while fleeing the revolution in Munich that had brought down the ancient Wittelsbach dynasty.

My latest article: The troubled history of kings consort

Earlier this month, Prince Henrik of Denmark caused quite an uproar when he announced that he no longer wants to be buried together with his wife of fifty years, Queen Margrethe II. In a series of interviews he also launched a personal attack on his wife, who he claimed makes a fool of him, and stated that he would be willing to reconsider the decision about his burial place if she would agree to make him King Consort.
It was explained that the Prince’s decision was made because of his dissatisfaction with his title and function, something a spokeswoman said had become more and more important for him in recent years. It is far from the first time Prince Henrik raises the issue of his title and the fact that he believes that as the wife of a king is queen, a queen’s husband ought to be king (i.e. king consort and not, as some ill-informed people have claimed, take over as monarch).
Many seem to think that this is an idea Prince Henrik has grasped out of thin air, but in a long article in today’s issue of the broadsheet Politiken (external link) I recount the history of kings consort, which began in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the twelfth century and soon spread to Naples, Spain, Navarre, Portugal, Poland, England, Scotland and Cyprus. In fact, the husbands of queens regnant were actually usually (although not always) styled kings and many of them took part in the governance of the realm. The so far last king consort in Europe died as recently as 1902, and it is only during the last century and a half that it has become more common for male consorts not to be called kings. Thus, although Prince Henrik may have history and principles on his side, it seems highly unlikely that he will ever achieve his dream of becoming King Consort of Denmark.

My latest article: The three Dutch male consorts

For more than a century gender roles were reversed within the Dutch monarchy as three condecutive queens reigned and their husbands filled the traditionally female role of consort to the monarch. In an article in the May issue of Majesty (Vol. 38, No. 5), I look at the very dissimilar ways in which Princes Hendrik, Bernhard and Claus shaped the role as male consorts. The magazine went on sale in Britain on 20 April and will probably be on sale in Norway from Thursday of this week.

My latest article: Fabergé eggs and King Willem-Alexander

Easter will soon be upon us, and in the April issue of Majesty (Vol. 38, No. 4) I mark the occasion with an article on the imperial Fabergé eggs, the splendid works of art that were created as Easter eggs for the Russian empresses Maria Fyodorovna and Alexandra Fyodorovna, a tradition that, along with the Russian monarchy, came to an end 100 years ago this year.
As April will also see the fiftieth birthday of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands (on 27 April) I have also contributed a profile of him. The magazine went on sale in Britain two weeks ago and is on sale in Norway from today.

Book news: The soft power of royal heirs

In August last year I participated in a conference on the soft power of royal heirs at the University of St Andrews, and now Palgrave Macmillan has gathered the lectures given at this conference in a book titled Royal Heirs and the Uses of Soft Power in Nineteenth-Century Europe, edited by Frank Lorenz Müller and Heidi Mehrkens and published earlier this month. I write about how the Bernadottes during the Swedish-Norwegian union of crowns tried to create a Norwegian identity for the heirs, particularly by the power of presence, education and the office of Viceroy, while Maria-Christina Marchi deals with Italy, Kristina Widestedt with Sweden, Erik Goldstein with the United States, Milinda Banerjee with the Bengal, Janet Ridley, Imke Polland and Edward Owens, with Britain, Alma Hannig with Austria-Hungary, Richard Meyer Forsting with Spain, Miriam Schneider with Greece, Jeroen Koch with the Netherlands and Frederik Frank Sterkenburgh with Prussia, and Frank Lorenz Müller, Monika Wienfort and Heidi Mehrkens provide more general overviews of the topic.

Falling support for Dutch monarchy

Yesterday was the 49th birthday of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, which since his accession in 2013 is also the country's national day. On this occasion, broadcaster NOS published an opinion poll conducted by polling institute Ipsos, which shows that support for the Netherlands remaining a monarchy has fallen to 65 percent. In 2008, 80 percent were in favour of the monarchy, while 78 % supported it in 2013, the year of Queen Beatrix's abdication and King Willem-Alexander's accession. However, only 16 percent favour a republic, which obviously means that rather many are undediced.

My latest article: Retired monarchs and King Carl Gustaf at 70

The April issue of Majesty (Vol. 37, No. 4), which is now out, is an unusually large issue of 84 pages, much of it marking the upcoming 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II of Britain on 21 April. My contributions are an article looking at how her four European counterparts who have chosen to take things easier in old age, i.e. Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, King Albert of the Belgians and King Juan Carlos of Spain, are faring in their retirement, and a profile of this month's other birthday boy, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, who will turn seventy on 30 April.
While Queen Elizabeth's official birthday celebrations have been postponed until June, King Carl Gustaf will mark his milestone with a series of events at the end of this month, starting with a performance at the Royal Dramatic Theatre on the 25th and a concert by the army's orchestra in the Palace Church the next day. On the 28th and 29th, the King will receive congratulatory deputations and on the 29th King Carl Gustaf will also present scholarships at the Royal Opera and attend a concert at the Nordic Museum.
On his actual birthday, Saturday 30 April, there will be a service of thanksgiving in the Palace Church before the customary military event at the Palace's Outer Courtyard, which is held every year. Thereafter, the King will be serenaded by a multitude of singers on the northern side of the Palace and thereafter travel by carriage to a lunch in the City Hall before receiving well-wishers from Parliament, the government and the county governors at the Palace. In the evening there will be a banquet in the Palace's Hall of State. (Fans of the Swedish court's penchant for "glitter" may perhaps be disappointed to hear that the dresscode for the latter is black tie).

Book news: The male consorts of female monarchs

While much has been written about female monarchs, there has until now been no study of the roles and challenges of the men who were in the unusual position of consorts to female rulers. Therefore I am glad to be one of the contributors to the new book The Man Behind the Queen: Male Consorts in History, edited by Charles Beem and Miles Taylor, which has just been published by Palgrave Macmillan of New York.
My contribution is a chapter on Prince Consort Henrik of Denmark and his struggle for recognition of the role he has tried to carve out through his more than four decades as the first ever male consort of a Danish monarch. But this is only the last chapter of a book that covers a number of male consorts in Navarre, Spain, England/Britain, Sweden, Russia, Austria, Portugal, Brazil, India, the Netherlands and Denmark from the end of the thirteenth century till today.
The table of contents:

Introduction: The Man Behind the Queen; Charles Beem and Miles Taylor
1. The King Consorts of Navarre, 1284-1512; Elena Crislyn Woodacre
2. Ferdinand the Catholic: King and Consort; David Abufalia
3. "He to be Entitled Kinge": King Philip and the Anglo-Spanish Court; Sarah Duncan
4. Why Prince George of Denmark Did Not Become a King of England; Charles Beem
5. From Ruler in the Shadows to Shadow King: Frederick I of Sweden; Fabian Persson
6. Count Ernst Johann Bühren and the Russian Court of Anna Ioannova; Michael Bitter
7. Francis Stephen: Duke, Regent and Emperor; Derek Beales
8. Prince Albert; The Creative Consort; Karina Urbach
9. Commemorating the Consort in Colonial Bombay; Simin Patel
10. Ferdinand II of Portugal: A Conciliator King in a Turmoil Kingdom; Daniel Alves
11. Gaston d'Orléans, Comte d'Eu: Prince Consort to Princess Isabel of Brazil; Roderick Barman
12. The Rise and Fall of Siddiq Hasan, Male Consort of Shah Jahan of Bhopal; Caroline Keen
13. Royalty, Rank, and Masculinity: Three Dutch Princes Consort in the Twentieth Century; Maria Grever and Jeroen Van Zanten
14. Prince Philip: Sportsman and Youth Leader; Ina Zweiniger-Bargielowska
15. The Prince Who Would Be King: Henrik of Denmark's Struggle for Recognition; Trond Norén Isaksen

Title issues: King Juan Carlos to keep royal title

On Friday the Spanish government approved an amendment to the decree of 6 November 1987 on royal titles, so that King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía will retain the titles of King and Queen after his abdication. They will also retain the style of Majesty, but, interestingly, will rank after the descendants of the new King and Queen. This is, according to the government, done partly as a mark of respect for King Juan Carlos's and Queen Sofía's services to Spain, but also in keeping with historical precedents and customs in other monarchies.
Indeed I believe both King Carlos IV and Queen Isabel II retained their royal titles after their abdications. This is also how things have been done in Belgium and Luxembourg. Currently King Albert II of the Belgians, who abdicated in 2013, and Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, who abdicated in 2000, retain their titles, as did their parents, King Léopold III, who abdicated in 1951, and Grand Duchess Charlotte, who abdicated in 1964.
Britain and the Netherlands have chosen another solution. When King Edward VIII renounced the British crown in 1936 it was decided that his ceasing to be king meant that he reverted to being a prince, and he was granted the dukedom of Windsor in addition. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, who abdicated in 1948, argued that her abdication was constitutionally equal to her death and reverted to being Princess Wilhelmina. This precedent was followed by her daughter, Queen Juliana, when she abdicated in 1980, and again by her granddaughter, Queen Beatrix, who renounced the Dutch crown last year.

Memorial service held for Prince Friso

On Saturday a memorial service was held in the Old Church in Delft for Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau (by birth Prince of the Netherlands), who died on 12 August after a year and a half in coma following a skiing accident.
The mourners at the memorial service, held in the church where he married in 2004, were led by his widow, Princess Mabel, their daughters, countess Luana and Zaria of Orange-Nassau, and his mother, Princess (former Queen) Beatrix of the Netherlands. Prince Friso’s brothers, King Willem-Alexander and Prince Constantijn, attended with their wives, Queen Máxima and Princess Laurentien, but without their children.
The only foreign royals present seem to have been the Crown Prince of Norway, the Crown Prince of Bahrain, Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and her husband Ari Behn, and Prince Hassan and Princess Sarvath of Jordan.
The extended Dutch royal family was out in force, including Princess Margriet of the Netherland and Pieter van Vollenhoven, Prince Maurits and Princess Marilène of Orange-Nassau van Vollenhoven, Prince Pieter-Christiaan and Princess Anita of Orange-Nassau van Vollenhoven, Prince Floris and Princess Aimée of Orange-Nassau van Vollenhoven, Princess Irene of the Netherlands, Duke Carlos of Parma, Prince Jaime and Princess Viktoria of Bourbon-Parma, Princess Margarita of Bourbon-Parma and Tjalling ten Cate, Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Parma and Albert Brenninkmeijer, Princess Christina of the Netherlands, Bernardo Guillermo and Juliana Guillermo.
Among the mourners were also Prince (Fürst) Wittekind of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former Prime Minister of Norway Gro Harlem Brundtland and the singer Bono of U2.

Dutch King and Queen in Oslo

Today the new King and Queen of the Netherlands will pay a brief visit to Oslo. This is one of the one-day so-called introductory visits King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima are undertaking after their accession on 30 April. These visits are a new invention and are not state visits, but courtesy calls. Similar visits have already been made to other European heads of state, including the Queens of Denmark and Britain.
The King and Queen will hold a lunch at the Royal Palace in honour of the Dutch guests, which will also be attended by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess and by Princess Astrid. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will also meet outgoing Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and go to the Parliament Building to call on the Speaker of Parliament, Dag Terje Andersen (as the new Parliament convened yesterday but has not yet been constituted or opened the Speaker of the previous Parliament is still carrying out the duties of his office).

Queen Máxima designated Dutch regent

The Dutch Government Information Service yesterday announced that the government has made a proposition to Parliament designating Queen Máxima regent if the Princess of Orange, Princess Catharina-Amalia, should succeed to the throne before reaching her eighteenth birthday. If the Princess comes to the throne as a minor and Queen Máxima should herself be deceased the regency will devolve to Prince Constantijn, King Willem-Alexander’s only brother.
This is in line with Dutch and Orange traditions, whereby the surviving parent rather than the nearest adult in the line of succession has generally been designated regent. This was also the case in the reign of Queen Beatrix, when her consort, Prince Claus, was designated regent ahead of her sister, Princess Margriet.
The last time such a scenario became a reality was in 1890, when King Willem III upon his death was succeeded by his ten-year-old daughter Wilhelmina, whose mother, Queen Emma, served as regent for the next eight years. There are also several examples from before the House of Orange became the Dutch royal family of mothers deputising for their minor sons.

Dutch Prince Friso laid to rest

The younger brother of the King of the Netherlands, Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, who died on Monday at the age of 44 after having been in a coma for eighteen months following a skiing accident, was buried in a private ceremony today.
The funeral took place in the small Stulp Church in the village Lage Vuursche in the municipality of Baarn, near Utrecht, at 3 p.m. and was attended by some 100 mourners. The priest Carel ter Linden, who is close to the Dutch royal family, officiated, while King Willem-Alexander read from the bible and their younger brother, Prince Constantijn, gave an address. Following the service the two brothers and four friends carried the simple black coffin to its grave in the churchyard.
The mourners were led by Prince Friso’s wife, Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau, their daughters, countesses Luana and Zaria of Orange-Nassau, and his mother, Princess (former Queen) Beatrix of the Netherlands. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima were joined by their three daughters, princesses Catharina-Amalia, Alexia and Ariane, while Prince Constantijn brought his wife, Princess Laurentien, and their children, Countess Eloise, Count Claus-Casimir and Countess Leonore of Orange-Nassau. The King of Norway, who was Prince Friso’s godfather, was the only foreign royal present. The King, who is known for his big heart, was seen comforting Princess Laurentien as they left the cemetery after the burial.
Among other relatives present were Prince Friso’s three maternal aunts, princesses Irene, Christina and Margriet and the latter’s husband, Pieter van Vollenhoven, and several of his cousins: Prince Maurits of Orange-Nassau van Vollenhoven and his wife Marilène, Prince Bernhard of Orange-Nassau van Vollenhoven and his wife Annette, Prince Pieter-Christiaan of Orange-Nassau van Vollenhoven and his wife Anita, Prince Floris of Orange-Nassau van Vollenhoven and his wife Aimée, Juliana Guillermo, Bernardo Guillermo, Nicolas Guillermo, Princess Margarita of Bourbon-Parma and her husband Tjalling ter Cate, Duke Carlos of Parma and his wife Annemarie, and Prince Jaime of Bourbon-Parma with his fiancée Viktória Cservenyák, who announced their engagement on the very day Prince Friso died.

King to attend Prince Friso’s funeral

The royal court has confirmed that the King will attend the private funeral of Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, which will be held in the Stulp Church in the village Lage Vuursche at 3 p.m. on Friday. The Prince, who died on Monday after having been in a coma for one and a half year after a skiing accident, was the King’s godson. The King and Queen were among the few foreign royals who attended the wedding of Prince Friso and Mabel Wisse Smit in the Old Church in Delft on 24 April 2004.

Private funeral for Prince Friso on Friday

The funeral of Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, the younger brother of the King of the Netherlands who died yesterday at the age of 44, will take place privately in the Stulp Church in the small village Lage Vuursche in the municipality of Baarn on the coming Friday. Carel A. ter Linden, a priest who is close to the royal family, will officiate.
Following the funeral service in the church, the Prince will be buried in the local cemetery, rather than in the New Church in Delft, where members of the royal family have traditionally been laid to rest in the vault. The village is close to Drakesteyn Palace, where the Prince lived during his early childhood and to which his mother, the former Queen Beatrix, is due to return to in the near future.
Although the Prince was no longer a member of the royal house the government has decided that flags shall be flown at half mast on public buildings throughout the realm on the day of the funeral.
A public memorial service will be held at a later date.

At the road’s end: Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau (1968-2013), by birth Prince of the Netherlands

The Dutch court has just announced the death of Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, King Willem-Alexander’s younger brother, at the age of 44. The Prince had been in a coma since he suffered severe brain damage after being buried by an avalanche while skiing off piste in Lech, Austria in February 2012.
Prince Johan Friso Bernhard Christiaan David of the Netherlands, as he then was, was born in Utrecht on 25 September 1968. He was the second of the three sons born to the then Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus within two and a half years. His mother ascended the throne in 1980, but abdicated on 30 April this year.
Prince Johan Friso studied mechanical engineering at Berkeley and in Utrecht, and obtained a MSc in economics from Erasmus University in Rotterdam. He thereafter embarked on a career in business, working for in Amsterdam and London. He did not carry out official engagements on behalf of the royal family.
On 30 June 2003 Prince Johan Friso announced his engagement to Mabel Wisse Smit. They married in Delft on 24 April 2004, which cost the groom the title of Prince of the Netherlands and his rights of succession to the throne as it had emerged that Mabel Wisse Smit had lied to the government about her relationship with a drugs baron. The government therefore decided not to seek Parliament’s approval for the marriage, which was necessary for the groom to maintain his position. However, Queen Beatrix allowed him to retain the subsidary, dynastic title of Prince of Orange-Nassau and he was still ranked as the second son of the monarch. At the same time he dropped the name Johan, choosing to be known as Prince Friso.
Prince Friso and Princess Mabel had two daughters, countesses Luana and Zaria of Orange-Nassau, born in 2005 and 2006 respectively. The family lived in London, and it was to the Wellington Hospital in that city that Prince Friso was flown after his accident. In November of that year it was announced that he was showing signs of minimal awareness and in July this year he was moved to his mother’s home, the Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague, as he was no longer needed hospital care. It was there that he passed away this morning.

King Willem-Alexander ascends the Dutch throne

Not only a reign, but a unique historical epoch of three successive female reigns came to an end at 10.07 a.m. today, when Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands signed her instrument of abdication in the Moses Room at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. As she signed the final letter of her name, her eldest son, Willem-Alexander, ascended to the Dutch throne, becoming the first King of the Netherlands in 123 years.
The ceremony in the Moses Room was brief, as Queen Beatrix, unlike her mother upon her abdication in 1980, did not make any speech. In the presence of several witnesses the Director of the Queen’s Office read the instrument of abdication aloud before it was signed by the Queen and the witnesses.
Princess Beatrix, as she had now again become, thereafter led her son and daughter-in-law onto the palace balcony. Looking both moved and relieved, the former Queen presented the new monarch to the people and King Willem-Alexander expressed his gratitude in a short speech. After Princess Beatrix retreated inside, the King and Queen Máxima were joined on the balcony by their three daughters, Princesses Catharina-Amalia, Alexia and Ariane.
The Dutch Constitution requires that the new monarch, as soon as possible after his accession, should swear to uphold the Constitution at a joint session of the States General. This rather magnificent ceremony was held in the New Church, adjacent to the Royal Palace, at 2 p.m. Having delievered his inaugural speech, the King swore the oath before the MPs swore loyalty.
Among the guests at the investiture in the New Church were members of the royal families of the Netherlands, Belgium, Britain, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Morocco, Japan, Thailand, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
The colour of the day was blue, this being the colour of the dresses worn for the investiture by Queen Máxima, her three daughters and Princess Beatrix as well as of the carpet and the canopy linking the Palace and the church. The new Queen matched this with a magnificent tiara of diamonds and 33 sapphires, apparently created by the French jeweller Mellerio for Queen Emma.
Following the investiture the guests proceeded to the Royal Palace for a reception and the celebrations continue tonight.

Queen Beatrix bows out

It is now 30 April, meaning that the Netherlands has entered the final day of the 33-year-reign of Queen Beatrix, who will sign the instrument of her abdication at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam shortly after 10 a.m. Tonight the outgoing Queen hosted a dinner in the splendid setting of the National Museum in Amsterdam, which has just reopened after years of renovation.
As it is not very often that a monarch has the chance to make a farewell speech, the speech made by the Queen at the dinner is very much worth reading. Touching on the end of 123 years of female kingship, it also says something important about her own philosophy of kingship, the values she finds important to society, her confidence in her successor and her gratitude to the people who will soon no longer be her subjects, and contains a touching tribute to her late husband:

On the eve of my abdication, I would like to take this opportunity to address you all. Unity and freedom have traditionally been the driving forces shaping our country's constitutional order. In years of struggle and revolt against foreign domination, the words of the Wilhelmus were a source of hope and encouragement: "I dedicate undying faith to this land of mine".
Since that time, the unconditional loyalty of the founding father of our country has also been demonstrated by all those who have fought for our freedom. To this day, this loyalty forms the bedrock of our country's history, which is closely connected with the House of Orange.
From 1890 onwards, our national unity was inextricably linked with four female heads of state. After Queen Regent Emma, after my grandmother Wilhelmina - so valiant in wartime - and after my mother Juliana, with her strong sense of duty, the task and privilege of being your Queen fell to me. The unifying power shown by previous generations was my inspiration. In our constitutional monarchy, with the Constitution as our foundation, the monarch stands for unity in the service of a constantly changing society.
At the investiture, in the presence of the States General, the monarch swears to uphold the Constitution and protect the rights and freedoms of all the inhabitants of the Kingdom. The converse of ministerial responsibility for the acts of the monarch is the duty of the monarch - within the government - to coordinate his actions with the ministers. Democratically enacted laws and decrees are ratified by the monarch's signature. In day-to-day life, the monarch can contribute to respect for democracy, to solidarity within society and to integration and personal development for all sections of the population. This calls for full and unconditional dedication to what - sooner or later, to a greater or lesser degree - presents itself as the common interest of our society. Neither power, nor personal will, nor a claim to inherited authority, but solely the determination to serve the community can give substance to today's monarchy.
In fulfilling this task, the monarchy aims to foster a community whose members feel solidarity with one another. Throughout the last thirty-three years I have had the privilege of meeting great numbers of my compatriots who put themselves at the service of other people, demonstrate their commitment and are willing to do their utmost for their country. I have seen what creative effort and perseverance can accomplish, in the most diverse circumstances. Over the years, my appreciation of people's impressive achievements in science, art and culture has grown immensely. Scope for self-expression and exploration of new avenues are of vital importance for us all. The way people of different beliefs or convictions seek to draw closer to one other has touched me deeply, also because it is a sign of openness and tolerance.
In all this, the great trust you placed in me was indispensable. I have shared both joy and national pride with you. And I have shared in your sorrow and anxiety. The population of the Netherlands in Europe and in the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom have strengthened me with their spontaneous warmth and expressions of solidarity. Beyond our borders too, international contacts proved their worth in furthering mutual understanding. The vicissitudes of the world touch our daily lives. Countless ties bind us to people in other continents. This compels us to remain open to other ways of life and other cultures.
A divided Europe long bore the scars of a past marked by war and violence. Today, peaceful cooperation and an awareness of common interests prevail. Decisions made by the European Union determine our daily life where this is necessary or useful. Our own self-interest obliges us to contribute to the common interest and to the wider perspective of a shared responsibility in the world.
In all this, I had the great good fortune to be able to count on the support of Prince Claus. His level-headed insights and nuanced approach were of great value to me. Through his work in the fields of urban planning, the environment, development cooperation and culture, he focused attention on crucial social issues. He taught our sons, when they were still very young, to be alert to developments in society and to suffering and need in the world. In this way, he brought our House closer to modern times. History may indeed conclude that my choice of husband was the best decision I ever made.
Since I announced my intention to relinquish the throne, I have been overwhelmed by expressions of warmth and kindness, accompanied by a profound understanding of my wish to hand over my task to the Prince of Orange. He is well prepared for every aspect of his new role, through his intensive activities at national and international level and his keen interest in the developments taking place in our world today. During the ceremonial investiture in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, King Willem-Alexander will accept the imperative that is essential to the office: to act without regard to personal preference, and to stand above the interest of party or group. In fulfilling his task, he will ask for the support and trust of the Dutch people. We all feel blessed by the fact that his endearing wife Máxima, with her warm heart and clear understanding of human relations, will play a special role.
In laying down my duties as Queen, I am above all filled with a sense of deep gratitude. Without your heart-warming and encouraging expressions of regard, the burdens of office - and they have certainly made themselves felt - would have been very heavy indeed. I would like to let you know, in saying farewell, that your affection has given me the strength I needed. In the future too, your continuing closeness will remain a great support.
When tomorrow my eldest son assumes this rewarding and responsible task, it is my dearest wish that the new Royal couple will also feel supported by your loving trust. I am convinced that Willem-Alexander will devote himself, with loyalty and dedication, to discharging his duties as a good King should.

Dutch abdication and investiture on Norwegian TV

We are now in the last hours of the 33-year-reign of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, which will come to an end with her abdication in favour of her eldest son, Prince Willem-Alexander, shortly after 10 a.m. tomorrow. The abdication, which takes place in the Council Chamber of the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, and the investiture of the new King at a joint session of the States General in the adjacent New Church, will both be broadcast by Norwegian public service broadcaster NRK; the abdication from 9.55 a.m. until 11 a.m., the investiture from 2 p.m. till 3.30 p.m. The commentary on the former will be provided by Nina Owing and me, on the latter by Viggo Johansen and me. I believe it should be possible to watch it through the website of NRK (external link).

Official guest list for Dutch investiture

The Dutch royal court has just released the official list of the most important guests who will be present at the investiture of King Willem-Alexander in the New Church in Amsterdam on Tuesday afternoon, following the abdication of Queen Beatrix.
The adult members of the Dutch royal family will naturally be present en masse, with the obvious exception of Prince Friso, who remains in a coma following his skiing accident last year. The daughter-in-law of Princess Christina, Eva Guillermo-Prinz Valdez, will also not attend, but otherwise all the children and grandchildren of the late Queen Juliana will be present with their partners. Of the younger members only the three daughters of the new King and Queen will attend.
Reigning monarchs are normally not invited to Dutch investitures (like they are not invited to British coronations), so as not to outrank the incoming monarch, but Sovereign Prince Albert II of Monaco will nevertheless be present (without his wife, Princess Charlène). The wife of the King of Morocco, Princess Salma, and the wife of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikha Mozah, will be the only consorts present.
Most other royal houses will be represented by the heirs: The Duke and Duchess of Brabant representing Belgium, the Crown Prince of Bahrain, the Crown Prince of Brunei and his wife, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Japan (the Crown Princess is rarely seen at royal events, but a trip to the Netherlands will give her the chance to visit her parents, who live in The Hague), the Hereditary Prince and Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein, the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (who the Dutch royal court has mistakenly upgraded to Grand Duke and Grand Duchess on the guestlist), the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway, the Prince and Princess of Asturias representing Spain, the Crown Prince of Thailand and his sister Princess Sirindhorn, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall representing Britain, and Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel representing Sweden.
Other royal guests will be Prince Hassan of Jordan (the former Crown Prince, uncle of the present King) and his wife Sarvath, Haitham bin Tareq al Said representing the Sultan of Oman and Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed al Nahyan representing the United Arab Emirates.
While the family of Princess Máxima will not be present, her native Argentina will be represented by Vice President Amado Boudou and the acting President of the Senate, Senator Beatriz Rojkes de Alperovich. The Governor General of Canada, David Johnston, will attend with his wife Sarah Johnston, and Turkey will be represented by Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan and his wife Zeynep Babacan. There will also be lower-ranking representatives of Germany and South Korea in attendance, along with the Presidents of the European Commission (José Manuel Barroso), the European Parliament (Martin Schulz) and the European Council (Herman Van Rompuy).
Other guests will include the President of the International Olympic Committee, Count Jacques Rogge, the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark (former Prime Minister of New Zealand).