Going Dutch? For the British monarchy, not a chance A new king for the Netherlands From a boozing Casanova to the first king of the Netherlands in a century - Prince Willem-Alexander will take to the throne alongside his Argentine-born wife Princess Maxima after his mother's abdication. Is there something unhealthily martyrish about the British "Queen for Life" system? I can't be the only foreigner who wasn't even aware that the British queen is like the Catholic Pope; only death gets you a new one. But then on Monday, Queen Beatrix of my native Netherlands announced her abdication, and now British people are asking me if the Dutch will consider this a dereliction of duty. Will this damage the monarchy? This is a woman who has spent 33 years under the most intense public gaze imaginable, sitting through endless state functions, avoiding paparazzi and braving a never-ending barrage of provocation from columnists and comedians on prime time television. I am abdicating because I am convinced that the responsibility for our country should now move to the next generation. This abdication coincides with Beatrix's 75th birthday and, if anything, it will enhance her popularity - as many actors and pop stars discover too late, knowing when to stop is a true sign of wisdom. Putting her house in order ... Beatrix. There is an anecdote that early in 1980, Queen Elizabeth received word (possibly from Queen Juliana herself) that Juliana was going to make way for her daughter Beatrix soon. Allegedly, Queen Elizabeth slammed the phone down, angrily declaring that this was "typically Dutch" and staying in a foul mood for the rest of the day. Or perhaps the rest of her life. There was an interesting line in Queen Beatrix's abdication speech that may very well have been a subtle snub to Elizabeth's remark. In the three minutes she spoke, Queen Beatrix found the time to say that "the reason for me to step back now is not because the office is too much of a strain (it is not). Compare that to the drawn-out public castration to which Queen Elizabeth is subjecting her son Charles. You can't help being born an heir apparent, but those who love you can help make it easier for you. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. A few years ago I sat in on a dinner given by Queen Beatrix, and was able to overhear a conversation she was having with her British guest, a high-ranking diplomat, about the issue of abdication. It was striking how she talked about it entirely in terms of her eldest son William's needs. She said she had been intensely grateful to her mother for abdicating only by the time Queen Beatrix was in her early 40s, allowing her time with her three young sons. Beatrix was determined to give her son a few years of relative seclusion with his family of three daughters. And so she did. So should Britain allow its monarch to retire? That's up to the British, of course, but I'm quite sure that the House of Orange is more than happy with the status quo. With all its spectacular dysfunction, the British royal family makes for fantastic spectacle. Meanwhile, royals all over the world will be thinking: thank goodness for the House of Windsor, they make us look almost normal.