Change of Throne – Double Portrait of Queen Beatrix and Crown Prince Willem-Alexander

Double portrait with Queen Beatrix's portrait in the foreground and the slightly obscured profile of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, in the background. Surrounding both portraits, the inscription “WILLEM-ALEXANDER PRINS VAN ORANJE (crown symbol) BEATRIX KONINGIN DER NEDERLANDEN (mintmark) 28 JANUARI 2013”.

On 28 January 2013, Beatrix of the Netherlands abdicated after 33 years as Queen of the Netherlands and handed the crown to her eldest son Willem-Alexander - the first change of monarch in the Netherlands since 1980. Beatrix had succeeded her mother Juliana in 1980 and had led the country through a period of economic change, European integration and profound social debate. Her governing style was considered businesslike and consensus-oriented; she shaped the office through a sober approach that firmly anchored the Dutch monarchy within the constitutional system.

Willem-Alexander, born in 1967 in Utrecht as the eldest son of Beatrix and Prince Claus, grew up in the Netherlands to become a public figure. After studying history at Leiden and completing military service, he became particularly engaged in water management - a subject of enduring national importance in a low-lying country long shaped by water. As Prince of Orange, he was a member of the Dutch delegation at international water conferences and worked with the UN. With his mother's abdication and his own investiture on 30 April 2013, he became the first Dutch king in more than a century. The 2013 2-euro commemorative coin of the Netherlands was issued to mark this historic transition and shows both monarchs side by side.