I’m happy to report that for the first time in months, the biggest monarchy news of the week had nothing to do with Princess Kate’s baby bump! It came from the Netherlands, where Queen Beatrix abdicated the throne, making room for her 46-year-old son, King Willem-Alexander. For us Americans who struggle to understand the British monarchy and the succession throes there, the Dutch might confuse us even more: Queen Beatrix makes the third consecutive royal leader in Holland to stand down. How are we supposed to understand this? Simon Kuper is a Financial Times columnist who grew up in Holland and has lived in London. Few would seem better qualified to help us make sense of it all. (Originally broadcast 5-5-13 on The John Batchelor Show)
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