Full Name: Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria
Profession: Queen of the Netherlands
Biography: Wilhelmina reigned over the Netherlands for 57 years after her coronation at age 10, following the death of her father, in 1890. During these early years her mother ruled as regent, with Wilhelmina taking charge properly in 1898.
Throughout her reign she was popular with the Dutch people, particularly for maintaining the Netherlands’ neutrality during World War I.
After the Netherlands was invaded by Germany in 1940, Wilhelmina fled to England. She made constant broadcasts from there to the Dutch people, urging them to remain strong in the face of German occupation and to maintain their faith in a coming liberation.
When she returned after the end of German occupation in 1945, the people welcomed her back with open arms.
Born: August 31, 1880
Birthplace: Noordeinde Palace, The Hague, Netherlands
Star Sign: Virgo
Died: November 28, 1962 (aged 82)
Married Life
- 1901-02-07 Queen Wilhelmina marries Prince Heinrich von Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Historical Events
- 1892-08-04 Queen Wilhelmina and Emma open Merwede Canal between Amsterdam and the Rhine
- 1900-12-09 President Paul Kruger of South Africa's Transvaal & Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands have a triumphant procession
- 1903-05-27 Queen Wilhelmina opens the new Amsterdam stock exchange Beurs van Berlages, designed by influential architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage
- 1903-09-15 Queen Wilhelmina calls Dutch railroad strikers "criminals"
- 1905-07-10 Dutch Queen Wilhelmina opens Technical Hague court
- 1911-06-10 Queen Wilhelmina opens Rembrandt house in Amsterdam
- 1913-07-05 Dutch Queen Wilhelmina meets SDAP-leader Pieter Jelles
- 1913-08-28 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands opens the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, an international law administrative building housing the Permanent Court of Arbitration
- 1919-08-01 Queen Wilhelmina opens 1st Air Fair in Amsterdam
- 1922-11-01 Queen Wilhelmina opens Dutch Historical Maritime museum in Amsterdam
- 1923-06-28 Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry of the Netherlands state visit to London, England
- 1923-09-06 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands celebrates her silver jubilee
- 1925-07-11 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands names Hendrikus Colijn of the Anti-Revolutionary Party as head of Dutch government
- 1926-10-09 Dutch Queen Wilhelmina opens Royal Colonial Institution
- 1927-10-27 Queen Wilhelmina opens the Maas–Waal Canal between Nijmegen and Heumen
- 1936-06-16 Dutch Queen Wilhelmina opens the Waal bridge with the longest arch in Europe at the time
- 1938-09-06 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands celebrates 40th anniversary
- 1939-08-27 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands receives German ambassador Grave Zech
- 1940-05-13 Dutch Queen Wilhelmina flees to England
- 1940-05-24 Dutch Queen Wilhelmina speaks on BBC radio
- 1940-08-23 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands dismisses Dutch Prime Minister Dirk Jan de Geer
- 1941-05-10 Queen Wilhelmina on Radio Orange warns against treason
- 1942-12-06 Queen Wilhelmina announces Dutch Commonwealth
- 1945-03-13 Dutch monarch Queen Wilhelmina returns to Netherlands at Eede, after five years in exile in the UK
- 1945-10-05 Queen Wilhelmina visits Rotterdam
- 1945-11-20 Queen Wilhelmina opens Dutch parliament in Hague
- 1945-11-27 Dutch resistance fighter Hannie Schaft re-buried in presence of Queen Wilhelmina
- 1947-10-14 Dutch Queen Wilhelmina gives golden award to general Eisenhower
- 1948-01-08 Queen Wilhelmina signs death sentence against Ans van Dijk for treason
- 1948-05-12 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicates due to ill health
- 1948-08-31 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands celebrates her golden jubilee
- 1948-09-04 Queen Wilhelmina abdicates the Dutch throne in favour of her daughter Juliana because of illness, after 58 years, longest of any Dutch monarch
- 1962-12-08 Funeral for Queen Wilhelmina of Holland (New Kerk, Delft)
Biographies and Sources
- Andrew Carnegie - Carnegie Foundation Peace Palace
Anne Stuart
Camilla Parker Bowles
Catherine the Great
Elizabeth I
Margaret of Anjou
Zenobia