Beatrix

Beatrix (bē'utriks, bē-ă'triks) [key], 1938–, queen of the Netherlands. The oldest daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, she received a law degree from the Univ. of Leyden (1961). In 1966 her marriage to German diplomat Claus von Amsberg, once a member of the Hitler Youth and the German army but cleared of charges by an Allied court, caused considerable controversy. The following year she gave birth to a son, Willem Alexander Claus, the first male heir in the line of succession since 1884; she also has two other sons. In 1980, Juliana abdicated in favor of Beatrix.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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