Word: wilhelmina
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Just 50 years ago, while cannon boomed and church bells rang, an 18-year-old girl with a sweet and melancholy face walked across the ancient square to Amsterdam's Nieuwe Kerk.* A purple mantle was on her shoulders, a diadem in her hair. She was Wilhelmina, Princess of Orange, about to become Queen of The Netherlands...
...happened, Wilhelmina's reign was to see the world shaken by war, poverty, and floods of doubt and confusion. In World War II she was forced to flee her country, and with all the warmth she had suppressed in her younger years, she worked for liberation. War brought her a sense of comradeship with her people that she had never known. When she returned to her country, she was humble. "I should come hat in hand," she said, "asking if someone can put me up for the night...
...anyone). One of her young advisers said recently: "She hoped too much. She has been disappointed too much." This week, at 68, after half a century of rule, she leaves the throne in favor of her sturdy daughter, 39-year-old Juliana. Schoolchildren were singing a new song in Wilhelmina's honor...
...Hail V.V.S.L!" Almost since anyone can remember, Juliana's sturdy hands have been encased in spotless white gloves; yet they have never lost what only few royal hands dare possess-the common touch. Wilhelmina grew up in solitude, and did her best to spare her daughter that chilling ordeal. Instead of skating by herself on a guarded rink, Juliana did her skating with other kids. At 18, she entered Leiden University. She was a popular and adequate student, if not brilliant. Her judgment showed a Dutch caution that sometimes bordered on ludicrous understatement. Once she read a book...
...year. How I would like to lunch with her! When I met her I would like her to say, 'Hello, Miss Cohen,' and I would say, 'Hello, Queen.' " Said a Negro waiter from Dutch Guiana: "People come and go, but it will seem strange without Wilhelmina...