Wilhelmina (1880-1962)

[Principessa]

Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; born 31 August 1880 in The Hague ('s Gravenhage) - died 28 November 1962 Palace Het Loo (Apeldoorn).
- only child of King Willem III and his second wife princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont (who differed about 40 years in age)
- heir presumptive to the Dutch throne, after her half brothers (from her fathers 1st marriage) and great uncle had died.
- became queen when her father died, when she was 10 years old. As she was still a minor, her mother served as regent until Wilhelmina became 18 years old (1898)
- In 1895, Queen Wilhelmina visited Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, who penned an evaluation in her diary:
  The young Queen ... still has her hair hanging loose. She is slender and graceful, and makes an impression as a very intelligent and very cute girl. She speaks good English 
     and knows how to behave with charming manners.
- In 1901, she married Duke Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Whose name was Dutchified to Hendrik
- It was said Wilhelmina suffered several miscarriages, and 1 one surviving child: Juliana
- The Netherlands remained neutral during World War I. Wilhelmina was a "soldier's queen". In the war, she felt she was a "Queen-On-Guard"
- At the end of World War I, Kaiser Wilhelm fled to the Netherlands, where he was granted political asylum, partly owing to his familial links with Queen Wilhelmina. In response to Allied efforts to get their hands on the deposed Kaiser, Wilhelmina called the Allies' ambassadors to her presence and lectured them on the rights of asylum.
- In 1934, both Wilhelmina's mother Queen Emma and her husband, Prince Hendrik, died.
- Most of the 1930s were also occupied by the need to find a suitable husband for Juliana. This was a difficult task since Wilhelmina was very religious, and insisted that her daughter's hand be given to a Protestant of royal birth.
- During WWII Wilhelmina fled to and stayed in exile in the United Kingdom.
- During the war her photograph was a sign of resistance against the Germans. And Wilhelmina broadcasts messages to the Dutch people over Radio Oranje.
- In 1944, Queen Wilhelmina became the first woman since the 15th century, other than Queens of the United Kingdom, to be inducted into the Order of the Garter. Churchill described her as the only real man among the governments-in-exile in London
- Wilhelmina's health started failing her, forcing her to cede her monarchial duties to Juliana temporarily towards the end of 1947 (14 October through 1 December). Wilhelmina abdicated on 4 September 1948
- Wilhelmina died in Het Loo Palace at the age of 82 on 28 November 1962, and was buried in the Dutch Royal Family crypt in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, on 8 December. The funeral was, at her request and contrary to protocol, completely in white to give expression to her belief that earthly death was the beginning of eternal life.[18] She was the last surviving grandchild of Willem II of the Netherlands.

[Principessa]

Oh, Beatrix is chic. 
I've alway liked the Dutch queens though I don't know much about them  (or any royalty) but they do radiate girl power.
My grand mother never spoke about Elizabeth; she spoke about Juliana.

And don't forget Wilhelmina. Rock solid through WWI as well as WWII.

Your comments reminded me about two items of Wilhelmina:

WWI:
Before the First World War started, the young Wilhelmina visited the powerful German Emperor Wilhelm II. The Emperor thought he could impress the queen of a relatively small country by telling her, "My guards are seven feet tall and yours are only shoulder-high to them." Wilhelmina smiled politely and replied, "Quite true, Your Majesty, your guards are seven feet tall. But when we open our dikes, the water is ten feet deep!"

WWII:
The following statue, which can be found in the square just before the gates of Noordeinde Palace (in The Hague), depicts a familiar image of Wilhelmina during WWII and her last years:

so sorry 

does that mean the GErman guards just had their heads above water and didn't drown but the Dutch guards drowned because they were shorter. 

Love the statue

thx

G

[Principessa]

Both the Dutch and German soldiers wouldn't survive it. As far as I know 10 feet is higher than 7 feet

The Emperor tried to impress young Wilhelmina, who had a quick and witty answer


In 1964 a statue of Wilhelmina was reveiled in Rotterdam by then Queen Juliana:


Yes, this one looks very familiar......as a bronze version of this statue is used for the Wilhelmina-monument in The Hague (which was reveiled in 1987 by then Queen Beatrix and her mother princess Juliana).

The Wilhelmina monument also contains the following text:
EENZAAM MAAR NIET ALLEEN
Opgericht ter nagedachtenis aan Wilhelmina Helene Pauline Maria, Koningin der Nederlanden, geboren 31 augustus 1880 te 's-Gravenhage, ingehuldigd 8 september 1898 te Amsterdam. Op 4 september 1948 deed zij afstand van de troon ten gunste van haar dochter Juliana. Op 28 november 1962 overleed zij op Paleis het Loo.
1880-1962 Wilhelmina. Achter haar stem uit ballingschap stond een gestalte als deze 1940-1946

can be translated as:
LONELY BUT NOT ALONE (title of the biography of Wilhelmina)
Erected in remembrance of Wilhelmina Helene Pauline Maria, Queen of the Netherlands, born 31 August 1880 in 's-Gravenhage, inaugurated 8 September 1898 in Amsterdam. On 4 September 1948 she abdicated in favor of her daughter Juliana. On 28 November 1962 she died at Palace Het Loo.
1880-1962 Wilhelmina. Behind her voice from exile was a figure like this 1940-1946

[Principessa]

The statue is a bit unflattering, IMO.

I'm puzzled by that comment. Wilhelmina wasn't dainty, petit or small. She was fierce, determined, pragmatic and practical. The statue reflects all that. It's also based on a moment in time that was very important: the moment she stepped back onto Dutch soil after being away during the war.

https://youtu.be/NQ7cXovSbZM

[Principessa]

Wilhelmina's image can still be found in the Netherlands.......as there is even so called Wilhelmina peppermints

http://www.wilhelminapepermunt.nl/

[lellobeetle]

We have a very good chocolate specialty shop here in Pittsburgh and they are the only ones to carry Wilhelmina mints, which I buy when I'm in the shop, but they're always out - apparently Pittsburghers like Wilhelmina mints!

I'm a BIG Wilhelmina fan and recently purchased a used hardcover edition of her autobiography. Going to get around to reading it soon.  She was very interesting, in my humble opinion. Even bred the fantastic Samoyed dogs



I just love her character

[Principessa]

We have a very good chocolate specialty shop here in Pittsburgh and they are the only ones to carry Wilhelmina mints, which I buy when I'm in the shop, but they're always out - apparently Pittsburghers like Wilhelmina mints!

I'm a BIG Wilhelmina fan and recently purchased a used hardcover edition of her autobiography. Going to get around to reading it soon.  She was very interesting, in my humble opinion. Even bred the fantastic Samoyed dogs



I just love her character

I personally like Wilhelmina mints, good taste and duration. My mother often used them in church, to keep us quiet or when someone of us was coughing or had a sore throat 

[Principessa]

We have a very good chocolate specialty shop here in Pittsburgh and they are the only ones to carry Wilhelmina mints, which I buy when I'm in the shop, but they're always out - apparently Pittsburghers like Wilhelmina mints!

I personally like Wilhelmina mints, good taste and duration. My mother often used them in church, to keep us quiet or when someone of us was coughing or had a sore throat  

Several years ago my mother suddenly asked me to select and count a full small can of so called dubbeltjes (10 ct in the Gulden system). Apparently  she had previously intended the collected money to be used for her weddingdress (as a teenager), but was never used for this purpose. At the time she asked me to select& count it, it was still possible to change old currency for the Euro currency.

[debbydeb]

Wilhelmina's image can still be found in the Netherlands.......as there is even so called Wilhelmina peppermints

http://www.wilhelminapepermunt.nl/

Someone gave me this as a souvenir (a box of it too!)
I like them! Unlike most modern peppermints that are trying to score a place on the Scoville index, Wilhelmina mints are milder but still with enough kick without being too overpowering.

They lasted forever and very firm however! I actually fell asleep with one still in my mouth, woke up and it's still there.

[Passing Stars]

Both the Dutch and German soldiers wouldn't survive it. As far as I know 10 feet is higher than 7 feet

The Emperor tried to impress young Wilhelmina, who had a quick and witty answer


In 1964 a statue of Wilhelmina was reveiled in Rotterdam by then Queen Juliana:


Yes, this one looks very familiar......as a bronze version of this statue is used for the Wilhelmina-monument in The Hague (which was reveiled in 1987 by then Queen Beatrix and her mother princess Juliana).

The Wilhelmina monument also contains the following text:
EENZAAM MAAR NIET ALLEEN
Opgericht ter nagedachtenis aan Wilhelmina Helene Pauline Maria, Koningin der Nederlanden, geboren 31 augustus 1880 te 's-Gravenhage, ingehuldigd 8 september 1898 te Amsterdam. Op 4 september 1948 deed zij afstand van de troon ten gunste van haar dochter Juliana. Op 28 november 1962 overleed zij op Paleis het Loo.
1880-1962 Wilhelmina. Achter haar stem uit ballingschap stond een gestalte als deze 1940-1946

can be translated as:
LONELY BUT NOT ALONE (title of the biography of Wilhelmina)
Erected in remembrance of Wilhelmina Helene Pauline Maria, Queen of the Netherlands, born 31 August 1880 in 's-Gravenhage, inaugurated 8 September 1898 in Amsterdam. On 4 September 1948 she abdicated in favor of her daughter Juliana. On 28 November 1962 she died at Palace Het Loo.
1880-1962 Wilhelmina. Behind her voice from exile was a figure like this 1940-1946

Is there a reason that there are no facial features on this statue or am I just not seeing them in the photo?  Thanks!  She seems like a very formidable and very interesting woman 

[Lurker]

Both the Dutch and German soldiers wouldn't survive it. As far as I know 10 feet is higher than 7 feet

The Emperor tried to impress young Wilhelmina, who had a quick and witty answer


In 1964 a statue of Wilhelmina was reveiled in Rotterdam by then Queen Juliana:


Yes, this one looks very familiar......as a bronze version of this statue is used for the Wilhelmina-monument in The Hague (which was reveiled in 1987 by then Queen Beatrix and her mother princess Juliana).

The Wilhelmina monument also contains the following text:
EENZAAM MAAR NIET ALLEEN
Opgericht ter nagedachtenis aan Wilhelmina Helene Pauline Maria, Koningin der Nederlanden, geboren 31 augustus 1880 te 's-Gravenhage, ingehuldigd 8 september 1898 te Amsterdam. Op 4 september 1948 deed zij afstand van de troon ten gunste van haar dochter Juliana. Op 28 november 1962 overleed zij op Paleis het Loo.
1880-1962 Wilhelmina. Achter haar stem uit ballingschap stond een gestalte als deze 1940-1946

can be translated as:
LONELY BUT NOT ALONE (title of the biography of Wilhelmina)
Erected in remembrance of Wilhelmina Helene Pauline Maria, Queen of the Netherlands, born 31 August 1880 in 's-Gravenhage, inaugurated 8 September 1898 in Amsterdam. On 4 September 1948 she abdicated in favor of her daughter Juliana. On 28 November 1962 she died at Palace Het Loo.
1880-1962 Wilhelmina. Behind her voice from exile was a figure like this 1940-1946

Is there a reason that there are no facial features on this statue or am I just not seeing them in the photo?  Thanks!  She seems like a very formidable and very interesting woman 

I think it's some modern art rendering of Queen Wilhelmina.  It looks like the Shmoo.  If I were Queen Juliana, I would have sent the sculptor back to the drawing board. Wilhelmina deserved better.

[PeDe]

she was quite pretty as a young woman



Wilhelmina. Queen of the Netherlands. Wilhelmina 1898



 
Queen Emma with young Wilhelmina                                      Queen Wilhelmina with young Juliana (1914)


   














Portrait of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands wearing a headdress 1934





Queen mother Emma, Princess Juliana, Queen Wilhelmina. Netherlands






her mother, HM Queen Emma of the Netherlands nee Princess zu Waldeck und Pyrmont

[lellobeetle]

[Principessa]

Nice smile!



BTW this picture was made after the birth of princess Irene, the 2nd daughter of Juliana & Bernhard.
Standing on Wilhelmina's lap is princess Beatrix, who looks at Irene in the crib. On the other side of the crib, standing and also looking into the crib is  Armgard von Cramm (mother of prince Bernhard)

[Lurker]

We have a very good chocolate specialty shop here in Pittsburgh and they are the only ones to carry Wilhelmina mints, which I buy when I'm in the shop, but they're always out - apparently Pittsburghers like Wilhelmina mints!

I'm a BIG Wilhelmina fan and recently purchased a used hardcover edition of her autobiography. Going to get around to reading it soon.  She was very interesting, in my humble opinion. Even bred the fantastic Samoyed dogs



I just love her character

Do you know of any good English language biographies of Wilhelmina besides her autobiography?  My quick research shows a Dutch language biography by Cees Fasseur published in 1998, but I don't think there's an English translation available.