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Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands

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By strange coincidence a similar controversy was to be mirrored in the next generation when Beatrix's son and heir, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, announced his engagement to Argentine economist Maxima Zorreguieta in March 2001. In addition to the fact that Maxima is a Catholic, whereas the Netherlands is a predominantly Calvinist country, her father had served as a minister with the Argentinian military dictatorship – not something the Dutch, with their strong record for human rights, were happy to countenance. The Queen, however, dealt with the matter intelligently and firmly, consulting the Dutch prime minister, Wim Kok, before an official announcement was made.

Born on January 31, 1938, at the Soestdijk Palace in Baarn, Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard was just two years old when her family fled to England (and later to Canada) following the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Her sisters Irene, Margriet and Christina were born one, four, and nine years after her. After school, "Trix", as she is known, went to Leiden University, where she concentrated on subjects which would stand her in good stead for her future role, emerging with a degree in politics in July 1961.

And then came Claus, and later, marriage. In true regal fashion, the House of Orange ignored the furore surrounding their future monarch's betrothed and Claus, who received the title of Prince of the Netherlands upon the occasion of his and Beatrix's church marriage, was later cleared of having deeper links with the Third Reich. It has been said that Prince Claus has had some difficulty adapting to life as the monarch's consort – "How could I ever have been so naïve as to marry the Crown Princess of the Netherlands?", he is reported to have commented to a friend. And over the last 20 years he has been treated several times for severe depression in a psychiatric clinic. He passed away in 2002, at the age of 76.

In 1980, Beatrix's mother, Queen Juliana, made the surprise announcement that, after 31 years on the throne, she was abdicating in favour of her eldest daughter. "As one gets older one realises sooner or later that one's powers decrease and that one cannot fulfil one's duties as before," she told the nation in a televised address. Five months later, Beatrix was crowned amidst some of the worst street violence ever witnessed in Amsterdam, as squatters clashed with police in the streets, angry over the sums being spent on the coronation when the capital was suffering from a desperate housing shortage.

This outgoing and gregarious monarch, who is believed to be the second richest woman in the world, has headed up the Dutch nation for over two decades. And her people, despite not being overwhelmingly monarchist, are very much fans of their Queen. So much so that, should the country ever become a republic, it is said the mother-of-three –in addition to the Prince of Orange, she has two other sons, Johan Friso and Constantijn – would be the first choice for the role of president.

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