WILHELMINA

born Aug. 31, 1880, The Hague, Neth. died Nov. 28, 1962, Het Loo, near Apeldoorn in full Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria queen of The Netherlands from 1890 to 1948, who, through her radio broadcasts from London during World War II, made herself the symbol of Dutch resistance to German occupation. The daughter of King William III and his second wife, Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Wilhelmina became queen on her father's death (Nov. 23, 1890) under her mother's regency. She was inaugurated Sept. 6, 1898, at Amsterdam's Nieuwe Kerk and soon gained widespread popular approval. On Feb. 7, 1901, she married Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and gave birth to a daughter, Princess Juliana, on April 30, 1909. During World War I, Wilhelmina was influential in maintaining The Netherlands' neutrality. When Germany invaded The Netherlands on May 10, 1940, Wilhelmina issued a proclamation to her nation of flaming protest and a few days later left for England with her family and members of the Cabinet. Throughout the war, she exhorted her people over Radio Orange to maintain their spirit until the nation's liberation, and she was welcomed back with enthusiasm when the German occupation was ended in 1945. After abdicating the throne to Juliana on Sept. 4, 1948, because of poor health, Wilhelmina retired to her palace, Het Loo, near Apeldoorn. Her memoirs, Eenzaam maar niet alleen (1959; Lonely but Not Alone, 1960), reveal the deep religious feeling that dominated her life. born July 3, 1709, Berlin died Oct. 14, 1758, Bayreuth, Upper Franconia German in full Wilhelmine Friederike Sophie sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia and margravine of Bayreuth (from 1735). She shared the unhappy childhood of her brother, whose friend and confidante she remained most of her life. She married Frederick, hereditary prince of Bayreuth, in 1731; when he became margrave in 1735, the pair set about making Bayreuth a miniature Versailles. They rebuilt the Bayreuth palace and the Bayreuth opera house, as well as other structures, and founded the University of Erlangen. The Margravine made Bayreuth one of the intellectual centres of Germany, surrounding herself with a little court of wits and artists which gained added prestige from the occasional visits of Voltaire and Frederick the Great. With the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, Wilhelmina's interests shifted from dilettantism to diplomacy. She acted as eyes and ears for her brother in southern Germany until her death.