Beatrix of the Netherlands eldest son, Willem-Alexander, and resumed the title of princess. At the time of her abdication at age 75, Beatrix was the oldest reigning monarch in the country's history. Beatrix was born "Princess Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld", on 31 January 1938 at the Soestdijk Palace in Baarn, Netherlands. She is the first child of Princess Juliana of the Netherlands and German aristocrat Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. Beatrix was baptized on 12 May 1938 in the Great Church in The Hague. Her five godparents were King Leopold III of Belgium; Princess Alice, Countess of
House of Orange-Nassau his following service in the German Wehrmacht. Beatrix needed permission from the government to marry anyone if she wanted to remain heiress to the throne, but after some argument, it was granted. As the years went by, Prince Claus was fully accepted by the Dutch people. In time, he became one of the most popular members of the Dutch monarchy, and his death in 2002 was widely mourned. On April 30, 1980, Queen Juliana abdicated in favor of her daughter, Beatrix. In the early years of the twenty-first century, the Dutch monarchy remained popular with a large part of the