King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands has begun his reign by paying tribute to his mother Princess Beatrix who abdicated in his favour after 33 years as Queen.
In an emotional investiture, the first Dutch king for 123 years addressed two thousand guests, including the Prince of Wales, and the country's legislators in Amsterdam's De Nieuwe Kerk church.
Outlining his new role as monarch, King Willem-Alexander honoured his mother as the guardian of Dutch democracy and the country's constitution for the last three decades.
"Wherever the path leads, your wisdom and your warmth I carry with me. Thank you for the many wonderful years in which we were allowed to have you as our queen," he said.
"She stood for the values anchored in the constitution. Dear mother, you were queen in full knowledge of the duties you had you were also a wife and mother, and you were fully aware of your duties there too. You were a great support to us all."
Visibly moved, Princess Beatrix turned to her granddaughters, including the new heir to the throne, smothering her tears in family laughter over a private joke.
The new king, Europe's youngest monarch, has pledged to be a 21st century royal head of state, even telling Dutch people that they do not have to call him "your majesty" unless they want to.
"As king I want to encourage people to make the most of the opportunities they have. I will represent the kingdom with pride. I want to unite the Dutch, in times of happiness and in times of sadness," he said.
Wearing an ermine fringed "royal mantle" and an orange sash, King Willem-Alexander's speech was the ceremonial highpoint of a day combining street celebrations with the legal niceties of the Dutch constitution.
His Argentinian wife, Queen Maxima, 41 who is hugely popular as the glamorous face of the Dutch monarchy, was resplendent in a royal blue dress with a 655 diamond and platinum tiara.
Following the new king's speech and oath Dutch MPs and senator stood up to swear allegiance to the king by saying"So help me God" or "I promise".
All but 16 of Holland's 225 members of the upper and lower houses of parliament took the oath in an investiture ceremony that eschews crowns and sceptres to focus on the constitutional role of the Dutch monarch.
The swearing in ceremony, which lasted almost 20 minutes, was almost too much for the king's nine-year old daughter Catharina-Amalia, the Princess of Orange, the new heir to the Dutch throne.
As a children's choir began to sing, she stifled a yawn.
In a formal act of abdication earlier this morning, the Dutch queen became a princess handing over her throne to the Prince of Orange who is now King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands.
"Today I make way for a new generation," said Queen Beatrix.
Before signing the state documents of the "act of abdication" inside the royal palace in Amsterdam, Queen Beatrix smiled, winked and took her son's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze in front of the cameras.
"I Queen Beatrix abdicate in favour of my son Willem-Alexander," said the legal act.
At that moment, as Queen Beatrix gave away her throne, a crowd of tens of thousands of Dutch people gathered on Dam Square burst into emotional applause, shouting "Thank you Bea".
The cheering began again and bells rang out eight minutes later after the signing by all 10 members of the royal House of Orange-Nassau and state officals.
To rapturous applause at 10.30 am, Princess Beatrix appeared on the palace balcony with King Willem-Alexander and his wife, Queen Maxima.
"I am happy and grateful to introduce to you your new king, Willem-Alexander," she said.
To more cheers, King Willem Alexander then turned to his mother Princess Beatrix.
"Dear mother. You have given the kingdom 33 moving and inspired years, which we are intensely grateful for," he said.
Facing back to the crowds, he shouted "Thank you".
As the crowd shouted "long live the king", Princess Beatrix told her son, "maybe you should wave a bit" before fetching her granddaughters to the balcony for the national anthem.
In her farewell speech to the nation on Monday night, Queen Beatrix thanked the Dutch people for over three decades of support and popular affection.
"Without your heartwarming and encouraging signs of affection, the burden would have weighed very heavily," she said.
Among more than 2,000 guests attending the abdication and investiture will be heirs to monarchies including the Prince of Wales, Prince Felipe of Spain and Princess Masako of Nihon.
The ceremony will have extra significance for Prince Charles, who attends with his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall because he also attended the investiture of Queen Beatrix 33 years ago.
Millions of Dutch people are celebrating and Amsterdam's population has doubled with at least 800,000 visitors flooding the city with orange painted faces, orange hats, wigs, flags and banners, the official colour of the Dutch royal house.
More than 10,000 police officers from all over Holland are on duty in the Dutch capital amid a security scare following the Boston marathon bombings.
The security focus has shifted from public order, there were riots when Beatrix was crowned in 1980, to loners after an attack on the Duch royals in 2009.
Four years ago to the day, a man drove his car at high speed into a Queen's Day parade which included Beatrix, King Willem-Alexander and other members of the royal family.
(The Telegraph, 30 April 2013)
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