The Dutch Royal Family has released a new photo of Princess Beatrix to celebrate her 83rd birthday.
The former Queen will celebrate her birthday with limited visitors to abide by the governemental advice regarding the COVID-pandemic.
Princess Beatrix was born on Monday morning, 31 January 1938, at Soestdijk Palace. She was given the names Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard for both her grandmothers. She weighed eight pounds and was 52 centimetres long. Her parents were the future Queen Juliana and her husband, Prince Bernhard. She was baptised on 12 May 1938. Her five godparents were King Leopold III of Belgium, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, Elisabeth, Princess of Erbach-Schönberg, Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg, and Countess Allene de Kotzebue.
Beatrix married German diplomat Claus von Amsberg in 1966, and they went on to have three sons together: the future King Willem-Alexander, Prince Friso (died in 2013) and Prince Constantijn. She reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from her mother’s abdication in 1980 until her own abdication in 2013. Prime Minister Rutte paid tribute to her saying, “Since her investiture in 1980, she has applied herself heart and soul to Dutch society.” She was widowed in 2002; Prince Claus had been ill for a long time. She has remained largely out of the spotlight since her abdication but does the occasional royal engagement.
Through her three sons, she has eight grandchildren.
