| Willem-Alexander | |||||
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.jpeg) Formal portrait, 2013 | |||||
| King of the Netherlands | |||||
| Reign | 30 April 2013 – present | ||||
| Inauguration | 30 April 2013 | ||||
| Predecessor | Beatrix | ||||
| Heiress apparent | Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange | ||||
| Born | 27 April 1967 Utrecht, Netherlands | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | |||||
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| House |
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| Father | Claus von Amsberg | ||||
| Mother | Beatrix of the Netherlands | ||||
| Religion | Protestant | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
| Military career | |||||
| Service | |||||
| Years of service | 1985–2013 | ||||
| Rank |
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| Dutch royal family |
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| * Member of the Dutch royal house |
Willem-Alexander (Dutch: [ˈʋɪləm aːlɛkˈsɑndər]; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born 27 April 1967) is King of the Netherlands.
Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht during the reign of his maternal grandmother, Queen Juliana, as the eldest child of Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus. He became Prince of Orange as heir apparent upon his mother's accession on 30 April 1980. He went to public primary and secondary schools in the Netherlands, and an international sixth-form college in Wales. He served in the Royal Netherlands Navy, and studied history at Leiden University. He married Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti in 2002, and they have three daughters: Catharina-Amalia, Alexia, and Ariane. Willem-Alexander succeeded his mother as monarch upon her abdication in 2013. He is the first man to hold this position since the death of his great-great-grandfather William III in 1890, as the intervening three monarchs—his great-grandmother Wilhelmina, his grandmother Juliana and his mother Beatrix—had all been women.
Willem-Alexander is interested in sports and international water management issues. Until his accession to the throne, he was a member of the International Olympic Committee (1998–2013),[1] chairman of the Advisory Committee on Water to the Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment (2004–2013),[2] and chairman of the Secretary-General of the United Nations' Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (2006–2013).[3][4]
- ^ "Dutch Crown Prince quits IOC in preparation to become king". Sports Illustrated. 2013-01-29. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
- ^ "Prins Willem-Alexander neemt afscheid van Adviescommissie Water" [Prince Willem-Alexander says goodbye to the Water Advisory Committee]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). 2013-04-16. Archived from the original on 2013-05-06. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
- ^ "Who We Are". United Nations Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation. Archived from the original on 2013-05-19. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
- ^ "Willem-Alexander neemt afscheid als 'waterprins'" [Willem-Alexander says goodbye as 'water prince']. Trouw (in Dutch). 2013-03-21. Archived from the original on 2013-05-17. Retrieved 2013-04-19.