Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands abdicated on Tuesday after 33 years in her role, allowing son Willem-Alexander to become the first king of the Netherlands in over 120 years, NBC News reported. An estimated crowd of 25,000 people cheered outside the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, while Beatrix signed the abdication document in front of the Dutch cabinet. "Today, I make way for a new generation," said Beatrix, 75, who now takes the title of Princess. The crowd gathered at Dam Square on Tuesday to see Willem-Alexander, a 46-year-old water management specialist and his wife, Queen Maxima, a popular investment banker from Argentina. The Dutch monarch is never crowned, since, in the absence of a state church, there is no cleric available to carry out the coronation. But a crown will sit on a table next to him throughout the ceremony, along with other regalia that constitute the crown jewels.
