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| 2205 King Willem-Alexander with his wife, his mother, and his three daughters, in 2013, soon after coronation. |
Posted on 10.01.2016, 19.02.2016
The Kingdom of the Netherlands has been an independent monarchy since 16 March 1815, but has been hereditarily "governed" by members of House of Orange-Nassau since 1559, when Philip II of Spain appointed William of Orange as stadtholder. William became the leader of the Dutch Revolt and the independent Dutch Republic. He was followed by several of his descendants, and during the 18th century, the function of stadtholder developed into a hereditary head of state. The last stadtholder was William V, and his son William I became the first king.
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| 2307 King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands |
The current King of the Netherlands is Willem-Alexander (full name Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born 27 April 1967), the oldest child of Beatrix of the Netherlands and German diplomat Claus van Amsberg. He went to public primary and secondary schools, served in the Royal Netherlands Navy, studied history at Leiden University, and is interested in sports and international water management issues. He is the first male monarch of the Netherlands since the death of his great-great-grandfather King William III in 1890.
He married Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti (born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17 May 1971) in 2002. Queen Máxima has a particular concern for the integration of immigrants into Dutch culture, and is one of the few members of royal families in the world to be an open supporter of gay rights. The royal couple has three daughters: Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange and heir apparent (full name Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria; born 7 December 2003), Princess Alexia (full name Alexia Juliana Marcela Laurentien; born 26 June 2005), and Princess Ariane (full name Ariane Wilhelmina Máxima Inés; born 10 April 2007).
Willem-Alexander ascended the throne on 30 April 2013, when his mother abdicated. Beatrix of the Netherlands (full name Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard; born 31 January 1938) reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until 2013. She is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana (30 April 1909 - 20 March 2004) and her husband, Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (29 June 1911 - 1 December 2004). When her mother abdicated on 30 April 1980, Beatrix succeeded her as Queen.
She attended a public primary school in Canada during WWII, and then finished her primary and secondary education in the Netherlands. In 1961, she received her law degree from Leiden University. In 1966, Beatrix married Claus von Amsberg, a German diplomat, with whom she had three children: King Willem-Alexander, Prince Friso and Prince Constantijn. Prince Claus died in 2002. At the time of her abdication, Queen Beatrix was the oldest reigning monarch of the Netherlands.
About the stamp
On the postcard 2205
The stamp is one of the two issued by Netherlands for Europa Stamps 2013, with the theme The postman van., about which I wrote here.
On the postcard 2307
The stamp is part of the series Dutch Icons, about which I wrote here.
References
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands - Wikipedia
Sender 2205: Wilma van Vegten (direct swap)
Sent from Leiden (South Holland / Netherlands), on 23.05.2013
Sender 2307: Larissa / xmissroman (postcrossing) NL-3324801
Sent from Vlissingen (Zeeland / Netherlands), on 08.02.2016
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