Show dutch queen works for peace but shuns red tape diplomacy J rr WILL be my lifes lie endeavor to M reign oi as is is expected from corn a queen of the house of orange faithful to the constitution I 1 wish to enhance the th 6 respect of the name and flag of the netherlands I 1 wish tush to be a lust just ruler over the possessions and colonies ana and to contribute to your personal and ani spiritual welfare to the best of my ability trusting in in god and praying that he will strengthen me I 1 take lake the reins of government forty one years ago a handsome lass of 18 stood on the royal balcony con in amsterdam and gave her pledge to the 8 subjects who dwell in a nation no larger than maryland and to subjects in the dutch east indies today 69 59 year old queen wilhelmina faces a more desperate international situation with the same pledge hoping to escape invasion by the french british or germans knows her people the queen popped into headlines recently when she joined king leopold ot of belgium in offering her mediation services to the warring nations the offer was refused and a few days later a border clash occurred between dutch and nazi N I 1 nationals strongly reminiscent of the disputes leading to polands bolands Po lands invasion A A 4 Q plain unassuming the dutch queens n s socia social consciousness is ralee her greatest ass asset it in preserving the me netherlands neutrality she has few troubles on her frontiers through this crisis as in 1911 wilhelmina Wilhelm lna has stood firm knowing that no aggressor could expect any help from factions within the dutch frontiers her subjects know her as a housewifely queen who in 1918 was clever enough to turn a threat ened revolution into a love least feast the day her socialist subjects planned to revolt she issued a proclamation la announcing important social and economic reforms As a result the netherlands now has a successful system of poor relief arid add work mens compensation the duider zee has been reclaimed until the dutch have a new province she has held her throne longer than any other european ruler known as the dutch victoria she takes her place as the only woman to sit around the continents table this Is a signal success for the inexperienced ruler of 41 years ago who took charge of a nation where monarchy was on the wane you belong bothem to them 1 wilhelmina Wilhelm lna got her first taste of royal life when still a wee child led to the palace balcony by her mo mother ther she looked down on a sea of subjects and asked mama do all those people belong to me her mother replied quietly no dear you belong to them Wilhel minas father william ill III was the son of a russian princess willful like all Roma he be bame came discouraged when he could not conquer the indomitable spirit of his dutch subjects broken he be withdrew from active governmental participation and lived abroad many of his later years the dowager queen emma retrieved much of the orange popularity after his dea death t h but it was Wilhel minas task to stem the upsurge of revolution one reason for her popularity Is a complete scorn of the hidebound customs of royalty wilhelmina Wilhelm lna rides a bicycle dresses plainly and vacations informally not as queen of the netherlands but as the countess van buren she occasionally visits switzerland norway and england but her calls are seldom of ohp the state variety and she discourages return retarn visits from other rulers unless they have business to discuss her reason is that state visits cost too much rejected nazi protest Wilhel minas neutrality even jarred by the mar marriage ariage of her fier daughter princess juliana to ger banys prince bernhard zu lippe Blest biesterfeld erfeld when the nazis objected to her demanding passports of german guests at the wedding she answered coldly this Is the marriage of my daughter to the man she loves it is not the marriage of holland and germany |