At the time of her abdication at age 75, Beatrix was the oldest reigning monarch in the country's history. On Koninginnedag ( Queen's Day), 30 April 2013, Beatrix abdicated in favour of her eldest son, Willem-Alexander. This was followed by the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, which created the new special municipalities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba, and the two new constituent countries of Curaçao and Sint Maarten. When her mother abdicated on 30 April 1980, Beatrix succeeded her as queen.īeatrix's reign saw the country's Caribbean possessions reshaped with Aruba's secession and becoming its own constituent country within the kingdom in 1986. In 1966, Beatrix married Claus von Amsberg, a German diplomat, with whom she had three children. In 1961, she received her law degree from Leiden University. Beatrix attended a public primary school in Canada during World War II, and then finished her primary and secondary education in the Netherlands in the post-war period. Upon her mother's accession in 1948, she became heir presumptive.