Dutch Queen Beatrix to abdicate in favour of son The announcement was "totally unexpected," royal expert Reinildis van Ditzhuyzen told the NOS public broadcaster. "An abdication takes a lot of organisation," Van Ditzhuyzen said. Beatrix chose to turn her palace into a "palace of work" in The Hague, the seat of government of the country with a strong work ethic. But when renovations were announced at Beatrix's distinctive octagonal-shaped Drankensteyn castle southeast of Amsterdam in 2006, some saw a herald of her abdication. Beatrix's German-born husband prince Klaus died in 2002 aged 76. Dutch festivities during an eventual coronation will be tinged by concerns for the health of Willem-Alexander's younger brother Prince Friso, who has been in a coma since being hit by an avalanche in February 2012. Contrary to her mother's unobtrusive style of rule, Beatrix refused to be relegated to ribbon-cutting; changing the mode of address from "madam" to "majesty," and transforming one of the royal palaces in The Hague, the seat of government, into a working palace. She received heads of state in her affable though formal manner and met weekly with successive prime ministers to discuss matters of government, earning the nickname "chief executive officer of the Netherlands." She also signed laws and played an important role in Dutch politics by appointing the so-called "formateur" who explores possibilities for coalition government after general elections. Last year's elections in which Prime Minister Rutte was elected to head government for a second time, marked the first time she was not actively involved in the formateur's appointment, marking a step back from active politics.