75 Facts about Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands

1. Princess Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard was born 31 January 1938 {Source}
2. She was born at Soestdijk Palace {Source}.
3. She is the eldest of Queen Julianna & Prince Berhard's daughters{Source}
4. At her birth, she held the titles: Princess of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau and Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld{Source}
5. She was named:
1. Beatrix:?
2. Wilhelmina: For her grandmother, Queen Wilhelmina
3. Armgard: ?
6. She has three younger full sisters, Princess Margriet, Princess Irene & Princess Christina{Source}
7. Through her father, she also has two half-sisters who are illegitimate and were not acknowledged until after his death{Source}: 
1. Alicia von Bielefeld (1952)
2. Alexia Grinda (1967)
8. During WWII, the family took refuge in the United Kingdom and Canada {Source}
9. She was only two years old when her family fled from The Netherlands in 1940, just ahead of the Nazi occupation during World War II {Source}. 
10.  She spent the war in Canada, and her family returned home, victorious, in 1945, the year Beatrix turned 7 {Source}. 
11. While in Canada, she attended to her early education {Source}.
12. Upon the family's return to The Netherlands, she continued her education at The Workshop, Kees Boeke's progressive School{Source}.
13. In 1950, she entered the Incrementum, part of the Baarns Lyceum, where she took her school-leaving exams in arts and classics in 1956{Source}.
14. Upon graduation, she began attending Leiden University {Source}.
15. During her time at Lieden, she was a member of Women Students Association {Source}.
16. While studying at Liden, she studied sociology, jurisprudence, economics, parliamentary history, constitutional law, the cultures of Suriname & Netherlands Antilles, the Charter of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, international affiars, international law, history & European Law {Source}.
17. In 1959, she earned a preliminary degree in Law{Source}.
18. While there, she paid numerous visits abroad to organizations in Switzerland, France, and Belgium {Source}.
19. In 1961, she obtained a combined degree in law and other subjects {Source}.
20. She received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, recognizing the way she raises the issue of importance of individual freedoms & the responsibilities that go with it in 2005 {Source}.
21. She married a German diplomat, Claus van Amsberg on 10 March 1966 {Source}
22. Together, they have three sons:
1. Prince Williem-Alexander of Oranje (1967){Source}
2. Prince Fiso (1968){Source}
3. Prince Constantijn (1969){Source}
23. She has 8 grandchildren:
1. Countess Eloise (June 2002, Prince Constantijn){Source}
2. Princess Catharina-Amalia (December 2003, Prince Williem-Alexander){Source}
3. Count Claus-Casimir (March 2004, Prince Constantijn){Source}
4. Countess Luana (March 2005, Prince Friso){Source}
5. Princess Alexia (June 2005, Prince Williem-Alexander){Source}
6. Countess Leonore (June 2006, Prince Constanijn){Source}
7. Countess Zaria (June 2006, Prince Friso){Source}
8. Princess Ariane (April 2007, Prince Williem-Alexander){Source}
24. At her wedding, the following were in the wedding party{Source}:
1. Princess Christina of The Netherlands (senior bridesmaid, sister of the bride, then 19 years old)
2. Princess Christina of Sweden (senior bridesmaid, then 23 years old)
3. Lady Elizabeth Anson (senior bridesmaid)
4. Joanna Roëll (senior bridesmaid)
5. Eugénie Loudon(senior bridesmaid)
6. Christina von Amsberg (sister of the groom, senior bridesmaid)
7. Daphne Stewart Clark (Junior bridesmaid)
8. Carolijn Alting von Geusau (Junior bridesmaid)
9. Joachim Jencquel(page boy)
10.  Markus von Oeynhausen-Sierstorpff (page boy)
25. She became a widower in October 2002{Source}
26. Prince Claus died in 2002; he suffered from depression for many years {Source}
27. Her second son, Prince Friso, was caught in an avalanche in Austria in 2012 and has been in a coma since{Source} 
28. She makes frequent visits to London to visit her daughter-in-law and granddaughters and get updated on her son Friso's condition {Source}
29. She was only 10 years old when she became heiress presumptive {Source}
30. She succeed her mother as Queen in 1980 {Source}.
31. She was 42 years old when she succeeded her mother {Source} 
32. Coincidentally, her son will only be 4 years older than she was when she took up the crown {Source}
33. Even though the role of the Monarchy is scaled back compared to other monarchies, Queen Beatrix has meetings with the Prime Minister, Parliment and Cabinet frequently {Source}
34. She acts as a representative of The Netherlands both in Netherlands and at functions abroad {Source}
35. She holds orders from The Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, & 46 other nations {Source}
36. The Queen of the Netherlands truly cares about her people {Source}.
37. On 16 May 1996, the Queen was awarded the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen for her contribution to European unification {Source}.
38. She is 3rd cousins with King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden,  through George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont & Princess Helena of Nassau.
39. She has at least 2 goddaughters {Source}
1. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
2. Katherine Abel-Smith
40. She has 5 godparents {Source}:
1. King Leopold III of Belgium  (??)
2. Duke Adolf of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (her great half-uncle)
3. Princess Alice of Teck, Countess of Athlone (her 1st cousin 1x removed)
4. Countess Allene de Kotzebue(??)
5. Princess Elisabeth zu Erbach-Schönberg (her great-aunt)
41. In 2009, Forbes estimated her wealth at US$300 million but gave no details to substantiate this figure.{Source}
42. On 30 April 2009, the queen and many senior members of the Royal Family were targeted in a car attack by a man called Karst Tates {Source}
43. In November 2011, she became the oldest reigning Dutch monarch {Source}
44. In April 2013, she will abdicate in favor of her son, Prince Williem-Alexander {Source}.
45. Upon her abdication, she will be known as  Princess Beatrix of The Netherlands{Source}.
46. Her son will be the first King of The Netherlands since 1890 {Source}
47. Her Granddaughter, Princess Catharina-Amalia will be the 1st Princess of Oranje in her own right {Source}
48. During her abdication announcement, she explained that she was not abdicating because
1. She was "tired" or "thought she could no longer handle the position"{Source}
49. She stated that she believed that {Source}:
1. She believes the time is right for her to abdicate
2. This year is the 200th year of the anniversary of The Netherlands becoming a monarchy.
3. She believes it's time for a new generation to lead and that Williem-Alexander & Maxmia will be good for the monarchy.
50. Princess Beatrix will take up residence at Drakensteyn Castle in Lage Vuursche after her abdication {Source}
51. She and  her husband Prince Claus raised their children and resided until 1980 at Drakensteyn Castle {Source}
    At present, she is the oldest reigning Dutch monarch {Source}
52. On her personal time, she enjoys skiing and horsebackridding {Source}
53. Her favorite sailing boat is De Groene Draeck, her 18th birthday gift from the nation {Source}.
54. Shrewd investments in both the stock market and real estate market allowed Queen Beatrix to become one of the most wealthy women in the world {Source}
55. In 2009, she was among the world's Richest Royals according to Forbes {Source}
56. Queen Beatrix paid an official visit to the former Dutch colony of Indonesia in 1995 as they celebrated the 50th anniversary of their independence from the Netherlands {Source}
57. Queen Beatrix had 240 official engagements in 2012, compared to 425 for Queen Elizabeth II{Source} 
58. She appeared in the 2007 Dutch TV miniseries Waar was u toen? (Where were you then?) {Source}
59. She speaks English, Dutch, German, French, Italian & some Danish {Source}
60. She and Prince Claus had a border terrier namdd Miss Pepper in the early 1990s{Photo}
61. Around 2007, she had a dog named Chip {Photo}
62. She once gave a horse to Queen Elizabeth.
63. She is known for her array of hats {Source}
64. Queen Beatrix is now seen as a "surrogate grandmother" in the Netherlands, according to the BBC, which adds that "under Dutch law it is still illegal to insult the queen." {Source}
65. Queen Beatrix is nicknamed "Trix" {Source}
66. Forbes magazine called her the world's 14th richest royal in 2007; the magazine estimated her wealth then at $300 million{Source}.
67. Both her mother and grandmother also abdicated the throne voluntarily: Queen Juliana in 1980, and Queen Wilhelmina in 1948 {Source}.
68. Her last official state occasion (so far anyway) was a joint trip to Singapore with her eldest son and daughter-in-law, where she attended a state dinner and gave a speech {Source}
69. Also in early 2013, they visited Brunei, where again, she gave a speech {Source}
70. Other recent (2012) state visits include (both her going to and these countries dignitaries coming to her): Slovakia, Italy, and Turkey
71. Like her British Counterpart, she gives an opening speech on Parliment's Opening Day to open the sesssion {Source}
72. She is said to be good friends with her British counterpart, Queen Elizabeth II {Photo} 
73. Queen Beatrix has some of the highest approval ratings in Europe, her reign has not been without its bumps along the road {Source}. 
74. When she does abdicate, she and her son will be getting a joint stamp from the Postal Service of the Netherlands{Source}
75. Queen Beatrix has given her name to a number of facilities in the Netherlands and beyond. These include:
1. Streekziekenhuis Koningin Beatrix, regional hospital in Beatrixpark, Winterswijk.{Source}
2. Queen Beatrix International Airport in Aruba.
3. Reina Beatrix School in Aruba.{Source} 
4. Queen Beatrix Hospital Medical Center, Sint Eustatius.{Source} 
5. Queen Beatrix Chair in Dutch Studies at UC Berkeley {Source} 
6. Queen Beatrix Nursing Home, Albion Park Rail, NSW, Australia.{Source} 
7. The ferry MS Koningin Beatrix.