Willem-Alexander

views updated

Willem-Alexander, 1967–, king of the Netherlands, eldest son of Queen Beatrix. He served (1985–87) in the navy and graduated (1993)from Leiden Univ.; he has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1998. He married Máxima Zorreguieta, a former investment banker, in 2002 amid some controversy because her father was a former member of Argentina's military junta. They have three children. When his mother abdicated in his favor in 2013 he became the first Dutch king since 1890 (three queens succeeded William III).

More From encyclopedia.com