THE QUEEN ABDICATES! Wait, the Netherlands had a Queen?

Alright, this title is a bit misleading, I’m not as naive as my writings appear. I did know that the Netherlands had a royal family and I did know that it’s the only country (I think) in the world with two capitals: Amsterdam and The Hague.  I have absolutely no political science training but apparently Amsterdam is the capital based on the constitution of the country whereas the Hague is the official seat of government.  I think I nailed that explanation.

Sorry for the government lesson, let me continue.  I may have learned of the existence of a Dutch Royal Family in high school World History, but my teacher may have glazed over this information. Instead, he shared stories of how the best looking prostitute in Norristown was a man. (That is an absolute true story! Well, I can’t verify the prostitute part but my teacher going on on this topic was indeed fact.)  Dam! Sorry, I’m all over the place today, must have been that coffee from that dam Nespresso machine, I’m addicted. (Post on that to come.)

Okay, where was I, yes, The Dutch Royals.  I “re-learned” about them prior to my first visit to the Netherlands back in October of last year. Vicki and I took a trip to Amsterdam while we were still living in Ireland.  Funny story (now) but we actually missed our early AM RyanAir flight.  One day I’ll write about that experience.

Well, this post was sure all over the place. Sorry folks. Thanks Nespresso.

The moral of the story is that yes, the Netherlands has a Royal Family and the current Queen, Queen Beatrix announced on Monday, January 28th that she will be abdicating and her son Prince Willem-Alexander, will be the new king.   She will officially be stepping down on April 30th.  This is a big deal since he will be the first Dutch King in 123 years.  Anyway, God Save the Queen! Do they say that here?  

That’s the Queen, the one in pink.  

Photo Credit:

http://magpiefarm.wordpress.com/2010/05/04/queens-day/

I’d be remiss if I didn’t credit friend, Phillies fan, and “big deal on twitter,” @loctastic for tweeting me when this story broke.  Thanks man.