Under the Dutch Constitution the king or queen is head of state but politically neutral.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

The Dutch media has speculated that the queen was abdicating to spend more time with her second son Friso, who was injured in an avalanche at an Austrian ski resort last year.

CNN: Dutch queen prepares to hand throne to son

Worn by Marie de Medici during her 1610 coronation as the queen of France, it later passed on to the House of Orange-Nassau, now the Dutch royal family, and then to the collection of the queen of England before arriving in Prussia in 1702.

WSJ: The Beau Sancy Diamond at Sotheby's: From Prussia, With Love

He has also been a member of the Dutch central bank supervisory board and regularly has represented the queen at international events.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

The five-minute song - Koningslied in Dutch - was due to be performed in the presence of the new king and queen on the day of Willem-Alexander's swearing-in at 19:30 (17:30 GMT).

BBC: Willem-Alexander Dutch investiture: King's Song outcry

In 1976, Prince Bernhard, husband of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, agreed to resign his positions with the Dutch armed forces and industry following severe criticism of his behavior by a commission of inquiry into a Lockheed bribery scandal.

CNN: Wednesday,

The queen's departure is sure to bring about an outpouring of sentimental and patriotic feelings among the Dutch, most of whom adore Beatrix.

NPR: Dutch Queen Beatrix Abdicating, Son Will Be King