Thank you to Beatrix

Just over a year after she told her fellow citizens that she would be abdicating, a huge thank you party for the reign of the former Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has taken place.  A gala evening, attended by the whole Dutch royal family and many of the country's dignitaries, in Rotterdam was the crowning point of the event but there was also a special programme on Dutch TV with tributes from many world leaders and former leaders who discussed the reign and legacy of Beatrix of the Netherlands.

Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands arriving at the thank you gala held in her honour in Rotterdam

The big thank you was originally scheduled for September 2013 but was postponed following the death of Beatrix's second son, Johan Friso, in August.  Beatrix has been wearing grey, mauve and purple a lot in recent times, the colours traditionally chosen for the next stage after the full mourning of black.  Friso's widow, Mabel, is still wearing black for her formal appearances.  Queen Maxima chose a regal blue for the thank you gala.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima arriving for the thank you gala held for Princess Beatrix

But the evening itself was one of celebration.  While the TV programme featured some of the serious side of Beatrix's reign, the big gala was filled with fun and included the sight of the former queen bouncing balloons - and not doing too bad a job of it.  There were lots of laughs and smiles too - the perfect way to say thank you to a queen who brought a lot of happiness with her.

Beatrix steals the show - the former queen of the Netherlands joins in the fun at the thank you gala held in her honour

Royal pictures for 2013: the Netherlands

The abdication of Beatrix, Queen of the Netherlands was a surprise but not a shock.  The pattern for standing aside is well established in the country but Beatrix's appearance on television on the evening of January 28th 2013 to announce she would abdicate in favour of her eldest son and her heir, Willem-Alexander, was still unexpected at that time.  Her reign came to an end on the 33rd anniversary of its start, April 30th 2013, when she signed away her realm in a moving ceremony that was as emotional as it was simple.  After Willem-Alexander had also signed the instrument of abdication mother and son held hands in a very human gesture at the most important state event of all.

A mother and her son, a former queen and her new king - Beatrix and Willem-Alexander in the moments immediately following her abdication and his accession on Queen's Day, April 30th 2013

The events surrounding the end of one reign and the beginning of a new era had been filled with joy as well as pomp and circumstance, with members of all of Europe's royal families attending the two days of celebrations.  But it was the image of the new royal family of the Netherlands waving from the balcony after the king's accession that summed up how special the whole event had been.

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and their children salute the crowds who gathered to celebrate the beginning of the new reign on April 30th 2013

The new king quickly adapted to his new role as head of state but within months he was called upon to lead his family on one of its hardest days.  The king's younger brother, Johan Friso, died on August 12th 2013 at the age of 44.  He had been badly injured in a ski-ing accident in February 2012 in Lech, Austria and had received treatment in London for many months before returning home to the Netherlands in the early summer of 2013.  He had been in a coma for much of that time but had recovered some minimal consciousness in the months before his death from complications from the accident.  On the eve of his funeral, the royal household released an image of the prince with his wife and children as the lasting memory of a prince who became a family man.

The lasting memory of Friso, seen here with wife Mabel and their daugthers, Luana and Zaria, in the photograph issued by the royal household as they prepared to say their final goodbyes

Johan Friso was buried in a private ceremony on August 16th 2013 at Lage Vuursche, near the home his mother had only recently moved to.  Princess Beatrix turned to comforting his widow and children.

Princess Beatrix leads mourners at the funeral of her second son, Johan Friso, on August 16th 2013

The new king and queen embarked on a series of visits to other royal courts around Europe to introduce themselves as monarchs and in November they played host to their neighbours, the new king and queen of the Belgians.  The image of Willem-Alexander and Philippe with their consorts, Maxima and Mathilde, sealed a year of momentous change in both royal houses.

The new face of Europe's monarchies as the kings and queen consorts of the Belgians and the Netherlands meet in November 2013

Royal Review of 2013 - a year of surprises

Europe's royals have had a busy year.  But when the dust settles and the ink dries on the history books, 2013 will be remembered for the arrival of a future king and the departure of two monarchs.  The impending birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's baby was known about as the year began but the abdications of Beatrix of the Netherlands and Albert II of the Belgians were both unexpected in their own ways and changed the royal landscape of Europe rapidly and decisively.

 

Memories of times now past - the reigns of Beatrix, Queen of the Netherlands and Albert, King of the Belgians both came to an end in 2013

 

The abdications brought the continent two new monarchs, two new consorts and two new families of young princes and princesses.  Overnight, the average age of the continent's monarchs and heirs dropped by several decades.  But the events also changed attitudes towards monarchies and suddenly questions were asked about the ongoing reigns of just about every other European king or queen and the likelihoods of them, too, leaving their posts for a younger generation to fill them were raised.  Nowhere more so than in Spain where in a strange day in September the country was set abuzz with whispers, unfounded and wrong, that Juan Carlos I was about to leave his palace by a back door and his crown with his son and heir. 

 

 

Three generations of Spanish royalty together and, despite a day of fevered rumours, there was no change in the order of seniority in the family in 2013

 

The Spanish king did have to contend with ill health and with more controversies around his family.  If 1992 was an annus horribilis for Elizabeth II, 2013 is added to a list of similar bad years for the Spanish royals who spent the year experiencing the same turbulence that hit them in 2012 and 2011 as well.  It was a more peaceful year for the Norwegian and Danish royals with regular public appearances and some high profile overseas trips including King Harald's visit to Turkey and Crown Princess Mary's humanitarian trip to a camp for Syrian refugees in Jordan.

 

 

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark meets young Syrians in a refugee camp in Jordan earlier in 2013

 

And the personal part of royal life was in the spotlight as well.  Mathilde of Belgium began the year with her focus on her fortieth birthday, perhaps not knowing that within six months she would become the first Belgian born queen of her country.  In the Netherlands, the royal family was left devastated by the unexpected death of Prince Johan Friso.  The second son of Beatrix died of complications of the injuries sustained in an avalanche in Austria in 2012 - he had been unconscious since the accident and died in the Netherlands after being brought back there from treatment in London earlier in the year.

 

 

Prince Johan Friso, brother of the king of the Netherlands, died in 2013 at the age of 44

 

In Sweden the royal family was at the centre of the country's life for the whole of 2013.  Princess Madeleine's wedding, in June 2013, was greeted with widespread celebrations and the announcement of her pregnancy just a few months later brought more happiness.  But it was the year of events marking the 40th jubilee of King Carl XVI Gustaf that really focused the joy of a nation on the royal family.  The year ended with the 70th birthday of Queen Silvia and more national celebrations which topped a spectacular year for Sweden's royals.

 

 

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, with Queen Silvia at his side, toasts his people on September 15th 2013 - the 40th anniversary of his accession to the Swedish throne

 

But it was the birth of a future king in Great Britain that captured the most attention.  While Monaco had also welcomed a possible future ruler when Andrea Casiraghi and Tatiana Santo Domingo welcomed a son in March, it was the birth of George Alexander Louis of Cambridge that really caught the popular imagination around the world.  The arrival of a fourth generation of monarch in the British royal family secured the succession well into the 22nd century in the year that Queen Elizabeth II marked the 60th anniversary of her coronation.

 

 

The first glimpse of a boy who will be one of the most photographed in the world - George of Cambridge leaves hospital on July 23rd 2013 with his parents

 

Over the next few days, there's a chance to look back at these royal highlights and plenty more in the Royal Review of 2013.

 

Farewell to Friso

On Friday, at 3pm, the Dutch royal family will say goodbye to Prince Johan Friso who died on Monday.  His wife, Mabel, and their daughters, Luana and Zaria, will lead mourners in a private ceremony for the prince.  And as the final farewell approaches, the Dutch Royal Household has released two more photos of Friso and his family.  Born a prince of the Netherlands and second in line to his country's throne for over twenty years, he gave up his dynastic rights to marry the woman he loved.  As she lays him to rest, the last memories of Friso are as a family man.

 

Friso and family - with Mabel, Luana and Zaria