Juliana of the Netherlands

Juliana (Juliana Emma Louise Marie Wilhelmina van Oranje-Nassau; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from her mother's abdication in 1948 to her own abdication in 1980. After her abdication she reverted to the style she used before coming to the throne.

Born in The Hague, the daughter of Prince Hendrik, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Juliana spent her childhood at Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn, and at Noordeinde Palace and Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague. A small school class was formed at Noordeinde Palace on the advice of the educator Jan Ligthart so that, from the age of six, the Princess could receive her primary education with children of her own age. These children were Baroness Elise Bentinck, Baroness Elisabeth van Hardenbroek and Jonkvrouw Miek de Jonge.

On 30 April 1927, Princess Juliana celebrated her eighteenth birthday. Under the constitution, she had officially come of age and was entitled to assume the royal prerogative, if necessary. Two days later her mother installed her in the "Raad van State" ("Council of State"). A young, shy and introverted woman of plain features whose religious mother would not allow her to wear makeup, Juliana did not fit the image of a Royal Princess. She would, nonetheless, become much loved and respected by most of the Dutch people.