Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; (31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw the First and the Second World Wars, as well as the Dutch economic crisis of 1933.
The only child of King William III of the Netherlands and Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Wilhelmina ascended to the throne on 23 November 1890 at the age of 10 after her father's death , under her mother's regency. After taking charge of government, Wilhelmina was generally popular for maintaining Dutch neutrality during the First World War and solving many of her country's industrial problems. By that time, her business ventures made her the world's first female billionaire in dollars. She ensured that her family was one of seven European royal houses remaining in existence.
Following the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940, Wilhelmina fled to Britain and took charge of the Dutch government-in-exile. She frequently spoke to the nation over radio and came to be regarded as a symbol of the resistance.By 1948, she had already returned to the liberated Netherlands and was the only survivor of the 16 monarchs who were sitting on their thrones at the time of her coronation.Increasingly beset by poor health, Wilhelmina abdicated in favour of her daughter Juliana in September 1948 and retired to Het Loo Palace, where she died in 1962.
