BBC: Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has made a farewell national address on the eve of her abdication and investiture of her son, Prince Willem-Alexander.
The queen thanked the Dutch people for their "heart-warming displays of affection" and also paid tribute to her late husband, Prince Claus.
The queen was also attending a sumptuous gala dinner in her honour at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
She has been head of state since 1980, when her mother abdicated.
In her televised address, Queen Beatrix said that the people's devotion had given her the strength to carry on.
"Without your heart-warming and encouraging displays of affection, the burdens, which certainly have existed, would have weighed heavily."
Paying tribute to her late husband, Prince Claus, who died in 2002, she said he had helped modernise the House of Orange.
"Perhaps history will bear out that the choice of my partner was my best decision."
Monday evening's gala dinner was being attended by her family and other invited royals and high-ranking dignitaries. » | Monday, April 29, 2013
