Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has announced that she will abdicate the throne on April 30, after 33 years as queen. The announcement will clear the way for her son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, to become the country's first king in more than a century. The 75-year-old monarch made the announcement during a nationally televised speech. Beatrix is immensely popular in the Netherlands, and many of her subjects refer to her by the nickname "Bea."
