"On this auspicious occasion in the history of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, on behalf of the people of St. Maarten I would like to express my gratitude to Her Majesty Queen Beatrix for having served as the reigning Monarch for more than thirty years. I look back fondly on the reign of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix through the years as she visited the Netherlands Antilles and subsequently also country St. Maarten in 2011.
I wish her Majesty well in the coming years and we hope to see her back on our island very soon. Queen Beatrix has always considered all the citizens of the Kingdom of the Netherlands her constituents and has shown this time and time again through her warm and sincere interest and concern for the people of the Dutch Caribbean. My sincere gratitude goes out to the Mother Queen Beatrix as I wish her many more years of good health and enjoyment.
Having said that I would like to congratulate His Royal Highness King Willem Alexander on his inauguration and I look forward to his reign as Monarch of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. King Willem Alexander is no stranger to our islands and I am sure he will, just as his mother did before him, have the best interest and a warm heart for the residents of the Kingdom in the Caribbean.
He has grown up accustomed to visiting this part of the Kingdom, sharing with us many moments of great joy as well as moments of tragedy and shown the same caring and compassion, his Queen mother has shown.
The people of St. Maarten are proud to be part of this historic event. The last inauguration of a monarch of the Kingdom was 33 years ago. Outside of the Kingdom this is also a historically significant event as it has been decades since the world has seen the inauguration of a new monarch.
The people of St. Maarten came out in force to celebrate as well as with all members of the Dutch Kingdom to celebrate this occasion that was marked with various activities in which our young people participated. We are excited for the Kingdom, for the new royal couple and look forward to visit our island St. Maarten. We hope that God will continue to bless the Royal Couple as they take on this important task as leading the Dutch Kingdom and all of the people within it. God bless the Royal Couple, the Dutch Kingdom and the Nation and People of St. Maarten."