This is one of her new passions. Since her abdication in favor of her son, King Willem-Alexander, in 2013, Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands has been working hard to promote the preservation of the thousands of windmills that have adorned the Batavian landscapes for centuries. It is in this capacity that she has been the honorary president of the association De Hollandsche Molen, “the windmills of Holland”, since 2014. A patronage that is particularly close to her heart since it came to her after the death of her son, Prince Friso, who was also very attached to this national heritage.
The memory of Prince Claus
In September, the 86-year-old princess reopened no fewer than two mills, the Noordstar in Noordbroek and the Herder in Medemblik. The latter, which was put back into service after a year of renovation on 24 September, has a special symbolism for Beatrix. Rebuilt in the 1980s, it was her husband, Prince Claus, who inaugurated it for the first time in 1990. Twelve years her senior, he died in 2002 at the age of 73.
Interviewed by local channel WEEFF, the president of the foundation that manages the flour mill, Bert de Jong, is delighted with the links built over the years with the royal family: “When I invited the princess, I mentioned the visit of Prince Claus, saying to myself ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’, finally she came and I am delighted.”
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Greeted by a bouquet of flowers and gusts of wind, the grandmother of Catharina-Amalia, Alexia and Ariane greets the crowd that has come to see her, before presiding over the ceremony of putting her back into service. As her Royal Highness requires, it is Princess Beatrix who has the honour of starting the mill mechanism. An exercise that requires pulling on a rope which, in return, releases the latch that serves as a brake on the machine. Elderly but alert, the mother-in-law of Maxima of the Netherlands willingly lends herself to the game, assisted by a gentleman came to lend a hand.
After 11 years away from the throne, Princess Beatrix shows no sign of slowing down and continues, with her characteristic sense of duty, to numerous official engagements. On Friday evening, she will preside over the 70th edition of the Nationale Taptoe, the gala evening of the armed forces bands, in Rotterdam. An opportunity to revive, once again, the memory of her beloved Claus. It was with him that Princess Beatrix attended the event for the last time, in 1966.
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