Message of Appreciation and Congratulations on the Occasion of the Abdication by Queen Beatrix & Inauguration of King Willem Alexander by H.E. Governor Eugene B. Holiday
Today April 30, 2013, we celebrate the dawning of a new day as Her Majesty Queen Beatrix abdicates the throne in favor of her son His Majesty King Willem-Alexander.
This momentous day gives rise to a new era and comes as the people of the Kingdom of the Netherlands prepare to commemorate its bicentennial at the end of this year. During the last thirty three of those 200 years we have been privileged to have Her Majesty Beatrix as our Queen offering continuity and stability thanks to her strength, her wisdom and her dedication to the people throughout the Kingdom.
Reflecting on the three plus decades of her reign I draw from the fond collective memories of the people of Sint Maarten in recalling the memorable visits of Queen Beatrix to our island. From her first official visit in 1980 directly after becoming Queen to her last three visits immediately after the passing of hurricane Lenny in 1999, her official inauguration of the new terminal building of the Princess Juliana International Airport in 2006 and her first visit to Sint Maarten as a country within the Kingdom in 2011, Queen Beatrix through her sharing and caring nature, has nurtured and embodied a special and warm bond with the people of Sint Maarten.
Today the people of Sint Maarten therefore join with our brothers and sisters in the Kingdom to pay homage to Queen Beatrix as we reflect on her reign. In Sint Maarten’s rich linguistic tradition I, in paying tribute, take this opportunity to say: Terugblikkend op deze periode is het mij een bijzonder genoegen, mede namens de bevolking van Sint Maarten en mijn vrouw, mijn diepe dank en bewondering te betuigen voor de manier waarop u zich steeds ten behoeve van onze bevolking met toewijding heeft ingezet. Yes as we take leave from you as our Queen I am on behalf of the people of Sint Maarten pleased and honored to express sincerest appreciation to you for your thirty three years of exceptional service as our Queen. Additionally I hereby express my deepest gratitude to Queen Beatrix for the opportunity and privilege to represent her as Governor of Sint Maarten.
Voorts is het mij, mede namens de bevolking van Sint Maarten en mijn vrouw, een groot genoegen om onze nieuwe Koning, Zijne Majesteit Koning Willem Alexander en zijn vrouw Hare Majesteit Koningin Maxima hartelijk te mogen begroeten en feliciteren met de inhuldiging op deze voor hen en ons Koninkrijk bijzondere dag. On this historic day as I welcome and congratulate our new King we join His Majesty King Willem Alexander in celebrating his inauguration and the dawn of a new era for our Kingdom under his reign as King. We therefore wish him strength and wisdom as he leads our Kingdom into the start of its third centennial.
Thank you,
God Bless Sint Maarten, and
God Bless the King