Королева сердец

Когда мой муж говорит "моя Принцесса", я улыбаюсь и целую его.

Но!

Когда он говорит "моя Королева", я слышу в его тоне  немного сентиментального патриотизма, гордости, преданности.

В его нидерландской семье чувство гордости за свою страну, за королевскую семью и, особенно, за королеву, а теперь уже будущую королеву-мать, абсолютно искренне и глубоко.

Это очень трогательно. Немного завидую ему - у меня нет такой родины, правительства, которыми я могла бы так гордиться, как это делают члены его семьи.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has announced her abdication. Her stepping down clears the way for her eldest son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, to become the nation's first king in more than a century.

The queen will abdicate on April 30 after 33 years as head of state. Beatrix announced her abdication in a nationally televised speech, signaling an end to the reign of one o Europe's longest-serving monarchs.

The queen, who turns 75 on Thursday, said that her birthday and the 200-year anniversary of the monarchy in 2013 were "the reason for me to step down."

Beatrix's mother, Juliana, abdicated in 1980, allowing her daughter to assume the throne at age 42. The queen's stepping down will end more than 100 years of female reign on the Dutch throne. Willem-Alexander, 45, will be the first Dutch king since Willem III, who led until his death in 1890.

mkg/dr (AFP, Reuters, dpa, AP)
DW.de

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, who has abdicated. Her son Crown-Prince Willem-Alexander will become the new monarch. Photograph: Marcel Antonisse/EPA

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, the oldest reigning Dutch monarch, announced her abdication on Monday evening in a sudden move three days before her 75th birthday.

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