An Orange blog

Today Beatrix ("Beatrix, by the Grace of God Queen of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, etc. etc. etc."), Queen of the Netherlands, announced she will be "stepping down". Her first-born son, Willem-Alexander ("His Royal Highness Willem-Alexander , Prince of Orange, Prince of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer van Amsberg"), will be our King, Koning Willem de 4e (King William IV) Koning Willem-Alexander. This will be the first king of the Netherlands since a long time, I think since 1890. Thank you Queen Beatrix for leading our country through good and bad times. Your people love you and the Royal House of Orange. Thank you also to our new King William IV Willem-Alexander, hope you do a great job too. Our Democracy... The non-Dutch readers might not understand, but yes: The Netherlands (Holland) is a democracy. Our royal house has only ceremonial duties. There are a few relics in our constitution that give them a bit more power than some think is healthy, but we tend to trust the royal family more than our elected politicians ;-)