EN

Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

Wilhelmina was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948.

Person

Vervaardiger onbekend. Collectie Elsevier. Nationaal Archief, Den Haag.
  • Wilhelmina der Nederlanden
  • Born on: Aug. 31, 1880
  • Born in: Den Haag, Nederland
  • Died on: Nov. 28, 1962
  • Died in: Apeldoorn, Nederland

Wilhelmina der Nederlanden

Vervaardiger onbekend. Collectie Elsevier. Nationaal Archief, Den Haag.

Publiek domein

Wilhelmina was the daughter of Willem III and Emma van Waldeck-Pyrmont. She was Queen[1] of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948 (her mother was the regent until 1898). In 1901 she married Prince Hendrik. Princess Juliana was their only child.

Wilhelmina left The Hague with the intention of going to Zeeland in May 1940. When the province came under heavy bombardment from the Luftwaffe, the plans changed and she went instead to England in a British naval ship. Thereafter she headed the Dutch government in exile. The relationship with this cabinet proved to be difficult.[2]

Wilhelmina was considered a "vital notion of solidarity" among the heads of state who had been forced to flee to London as a result of the war.[3] During the speech mentioned by Anne in her diary, the Queen said: As soon as I'm back with you, plans will be made to honour those who have taken on these heavy burdens.[4]

On 3 July 1947 Otto Frank sent Wilhelmina a copy of The Secret Annex. He told her that Anne had been devoted to the royal family. He briefly touched on the statelessness of his family. Wilhelmina’s private secretary wrote a thank-you letter on 8 July.[5] After she abdicated, Wilhelmina wrote her autobiography Eenzaam maar niet alleen (Amsterdam 1959).[2]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Anne referred to her as: the queen. Anne Frank, Diary Version A, 30 December 1943, 11 May 1944, in: The Collected Works, transl. from the Dutch by Susan Massotty, London [etc.]: Bloomsbury Continuum, 2019.
  2. a, b Zie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelmina_of_the_Netherlands (geraadpleegd april 2014).
  3. ^ Wilhelmina prinses der Nederlanden, Eenzaam maar niet alleen, Amsterdam: Ten Have, 1959, p. 332.
  4. ^ Wilhelmina prinses der Nederlanden, Eenzaam maar niet alleen, p. 359.
  5. ^ Anne Frank Stichting (AFS), Anne Frank Collectie (AFC), Otto Frank Archief (OFA), reg, code OFA_100: M. Kohnstamm aan Otto Frank, 8 juli 1947.