Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands abdicated on Tuesday in favor of her eldest son, the new King Willem-Alexander.

Beatrix is the eldest daughter of late Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She was born as Princess Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld, on Jan. 31, 1938 in Baarn, the Netherlands.

She has three younger sisters, Princess Irene, Princess Margriet and Princess Christina.

Beatrix spent part of her youth outside the Netherlands. When World War II broke out in the Netherlands in May 1940, the Royal Family fled to the United Kingdom.

Throughout the war, Prince Bernhard stayed in London with Queen Wilhelmina. In June 1940, Princess Juliana and her first two daughters went to Ottawa in Canada, where they would be safer. In August 1945 the whole family returned to the Netherlands.

Her mother Juliana succeeded Wilhelmina as Queen of the Netherlands on Sept. 6, 1948 and Beatrix was inaugurated as Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on April 30, 1980. During that day she decided that her mother's birthday would remain the traditional Queen's Day during her reign.

Her marriage with Claus von Amsberg caused a massive protest during the wedding day in Amsterdam on March 10, 1966, because her German husband was associated by a part of the Dutch population with German Nazism. With Prince Claus, who died in 2002, she had three sons, Prince Willem-Alexander (born in 1967), Prince Friso (born in 1968) and Prince Constantijn (born in 1969).

Her first day at the throne in 1980 was surrounded by violence. During the investiture, some people used the occasion to protest against poor housing conditions in the Netherlands and against the monarchy in general. The rioters clashed violently with the police.

On April 30, 2009, the Queen and many senior members of the royal family were targeted in a car attack during Queen's Day in Apeldoorn. The car narrowly missed the bus, but five people were killed instantly and two other victims and the attacker died later.

The latest tragedy she experienced was an accident with her son Prince Friso. The latter was buried under an avalanche in Lech, Austria, while skiing in February 2012 and has been in a coma since. He is currently treated in a rehabilitation center in London.

When she announced her abdication on Jan. 28 this year, Beatrix gave two reasons for her decision. The first was that she wanted to end in good health now at the age of 75 and the second was that the Netherlands celebrates two hundred years as Kingdom this year. She was convinced she had to hand over the throne to a new generation.

During her reign Beatrix was characterized as a cold perfectionist, but also someone who showed her humane face during disasters. After 33 years as a Queen, she will wake up tomorrow as her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands.