A popular female monarch and an aging son. She steps aside before she has to let the next generation rule. No, this isn’t England, this is the Netherlands.
Queen Beatrix, three-day shy of 75, told her nation she will abdicate to her son Willem Alexander, who will become the Netherlands’s first king since 1890. He was once known as a boozing Casanovanover, but since he married the Argentinian Maxima, he and his three little princesses have became more popular, just like Beatrix. She is known as queen B and is considered to down to the earth. Her family is always being willing to step aside.Beatrix’s mother and grandmother both abdicated to their daughters.
But don’t expect the same thing in Britain-- mummy. Prince Charles has been herited to the throne since he was three. He has been waited longer than anyone in British history. The 64-year-old knows he's not getting any younger. "It's a nice thought to be a father, grandfather in my old age." But he also knows his mother has no plan to step down. She considers her job God’s mission, which means he’s content to wait and sometimes busy himself with less important tasks.
The potential for few flurries about Balmoral, who the hell wrote this script?
Now the women in prince Charles’s family has pretty good genes. The prince is in good health at 86, her mum lived to 101, so Charles has a while to wait, but Prince Willem Alexander will assume the throne at just 45 years old in two-month time.
Nick Schifrin, ABC News, London.
