Queen Máxima of the Netherlands debate over her future title and style. On 28 January 2013, it was announced that Queen Beatrix would abdicate on 30 April in favour of Willem-Alexander. Máxima is the Kingdom's first queen consort since Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, the second wife of William III. She is the first Dutch queen consort to have been born as a commoner, and the first to have been born outside Europe. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands Queen Máxima of the Netherlands (born Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti; 17 May 1971) is the wife of King Willem-Alexander. On 30 April 2013, she became the first
Beatrix de Rijk Beatrix de Rijk Beatrix de Rijk (1883–1958) was a pioneering Dutch aviator. On receiving her pilot's licence from the Aéro-Club de France on 6 October 1911, she became the first Dutch woman pilot. Born on 24 July 1883 in Surabaya in the Dutch East Indies, de Rijk was raised in a well-to-do family. She was able to take part in a variety of activities including riding, tennis, and driving. When she was about 20, she went to Paris where she chose a well-paid occupation working as a mannequin for a fashion house. When she became interested in ballooning and flying,