Willem-Alexander, 45, married Argentina’s Maxima Zorreguieta, 42,  in 2002 and has three daughters. He will be known as King Willem-Alexander, the government’s information office said, making him the first monarch to bear the name. The Netherlands has had female heads of state since King Willem III died in 1890. Juliana’s mother, Wilhelmina, also gave up the throne in 1948.

 

In 1966, Beatrix’s marriage to Claus von Amsberg, a former German diplomat who served in that nation’s army during World War II, drew protests that deteriorated into rioting, with smoke bombs thrown at police. That reflected continuing bitterness over Germany’s wartime occupation of the Netherlands. Prince Claus died Oct. 6, 2002, at the age of 76.

Queen Beatrix graduated in law from Leiden University in 1961.

 

Willem becomes king at a time when the role of the Dutch monarch in politics has been reduced. The sovereign previously played a key part in the formation of governments. Parliament decided early last year, though, that it should oversee the process of agreeing on new coalitions without the involvement of the monarch, and the Liberal and Labor parties formed a government under the new rules after elections in September.

 

Willem-Alexander, who has the title at present of Prince of Orange, studied history at Leiden University and served in the Royal Netherlands Navy. He’s a member of the International Olympic Committee. He became chairman of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation in 2006.