The Netherlands' Willem-Alexander became Europe's youngest monarch on Tuesday after his mother, queen Beatrix, abdicated and his country greeted their first king in more than 120 years with a massive orange-hued party. Beatrix, 75, shed a tear before signing the act of abdication at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, witnessed by Willem-Alexander, 46, his Argentine-born Queen Maxima, 41, and members of the government. A cry went up from the 25,000-strong crowd in the Dam, the main square opposite the palace where the signing was shown on giant screens.

Thousands of party-goers wearing orange suits, wigs and sunglasses, drunk, stoned or on a natural royal high flooded Amsterdam on Tuesday bent on catching a glimpse of their first king in over 120 years, Willem-Alexander. Over 25,000 people packed Amsterdam's central Dam Square in front of the royal palace where Queen Beatrix signed her abdication. "Today is a day in which we get together as the Dutch and celebrate and the monarchy is of course a part of it," Nick van Boor, 25, told AFP, pushing his way through thronged streets.

Madrid, Apr 30 (EFE).- Catharina-Amalia, Alexia and Ariane, daughters of the newly crowned king and queen of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander and Maxima, appeared on the balcony of the royal palace in Amsterdam Tuesday together with their parents and their grandmother, Princess Beatrix, to greet the Dutch crowd decked out in a Spanish kiddie fashion. Defying the cold temperatures of Amsterdam, the 9-year-old Princess of Orange, Catharina-Amalia, and her sisters Alexia, 7, and Ariane, 6, wore a spring design by the Spanish firm Pili Carrera.

Amsterdam, Apr 30 (EFE).- Willem-Alexander of Orange was sworn in Tuesday as the new king of the Netherlands at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam during a joint session of the Dutch Parliament. "I swear that I will always defend and protect with all my strength the independence and integrity of the Kingdom's territory," the 46-year-old Willem-Alexander told Parliament and the country's other officials. Prime Minister Mark Rutte and a host of high-level officials and foreign dignitaries attending the monarch's swearing-in ceremony.