Just six days after her 18th birthday, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands walked from the Royal Palace in Amsterdam to the adjacent New Church to have her inauguration as Queen of the Netherlands. She had succeeded her father as a girl of 10, and for eight years, her mother had served as regent – now [read more]
When I studied history, I was particularly struck by the abdication of Emperor Charles V in 1555. I recognized the wisdom in it. Queen Wilhelmina’s decision to abdicate certainly caused some raised eyebrows with her British cousins, who had been left reeling by the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936. When the future Queen [read more]
On 6 August 1942, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands addressed a joint session of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives – becoming the first reigning sovereign to do so. She said, “I stand here as the spokesman of my country, not only of those nine million of my compatriots in Europe but also [read more]
Princess Irene of the Netherlands was born on 5 August 1939 as the second daughter of the future Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard and she was thus a granddaughter of Queen Wilhelmina. Her eldest sister was the future Queen Beatrix, and her two younger sisters are Princess Margriet and the late Princess Christina. Embed from [read more]
Read part one here. On 6 September 1898, Wilhelmina was inaugurated in the New Church in Amsterdam. She later wrote, “While my mother was already in the church, I had to walk alone, all alone, with all those unknown gentlemen, from the palace to the church.” Emma had done her duty, but her job was [read more]
On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie were assassinated in Sarajevo. The event has gone down in history as the kickstarter of the Great War. However, at the time, not all of Europe’s royals were that concerned. Emperor Wilhelm II continued to sail around Norway, and Queen Wilhelmina continued [read more]
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