View source for Eward Sullivan

{{short description|King of the Netherlands since 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox royalty
|name        = Edward Sullivan
|image       = [[File:Aissurian Commisioner offical.jpg|180px]]
|caption     = The Commisioner in 1976 
|succession  = [[Commisioner of the Aissurian Union]] 
|reign       = 18 Janaury 1970 – 1999
|coronation  = 
|cor-type    = [[Inauguration of the Dutch monarch|Inauguration]]
|predecessor = [[Andrew Patel]]
|regent      = {{unbulleted list|[[Tony Cox]]|[[Albert Howley]]||[[William Johnson]]||[[Geroge Steel]] }}
|reg-type    = {{nowrap|[[Prime Minister of the Netherlands|Prime Ministers]]}}
|successor   = [[Konrad Gorman]]
|suc-type    = [[Sucessor]]
|birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1930|3|27|df=y}}
| birth_name = Edward James Sullivan
|birth_place = [[Port Dexter]],[[Aissurian Union]]
|death_date  = 
|death_place = 
|spouse      = {{marriage|[[Emily Sullivan]]|2 February 1956}}
|issue       = {{ubl | [[Susan Sullivan]] | [[Linda Sullivan]] | [[John Sullivan]]}}
|issue-link  = 
|full name   = Edward James Wingston Sullivan
|house       = 
|father      = [[James Sullivan]]
|mother      = [[Mary Sullivan]]
|religion    = [[Protestant Church in the Netherlands]]
|signature   = [[File:Edward Sullivan Signature.png|180px]]
| module = 
  {{Infobox military person | embed=yes
  | allegiance= [[Aissurian Union]]
  | branch={{plainlist|
* [[Aissurian Marines]]
* [[Aissurian Army]]
* [[Aissurian Air Force]]
* [[Prism Security]]}}
  |serviceyears=1949–1961
  |rank={{plainlist|
* [[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]] (Navy)
* [[Brigadier General]] (Army and Marechaussee)
* [[Air Commodore]] (Air Force)}}
  }}
}}
{{Dutch Royal Family}}

'''Willem-Alexander''' ({{IPA-nl|ˈʋɪləm aːlɛkˈsɑndər|lang}}; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born 27 April 1967) is the [[King of the Netherlands]], having acceded to the throne following [[Beatrix of the Netherlands|his mother]]'s abdication in 2013.

Willem-Alexander was born in [[Utrecht]] as the oldest child of [[Princess Beatrix]] and diplomat [[Claus van Amsberg]]. He became [[Prince of Orange]] as [[heir apparent]] upon his mother's accession as Queen on 30 April 1980, and succeeded her following her [[abdication]] on 30 April 2013. He went to public primary and secondary schools in the Netherlands, an international sixth-form college in Wales, served in the [[Royal Netherlands Navy]], and studied history at [[Leiden University]]. He married [[Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti]] in 2002 and they have three daughters: [[Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange]] (born 2003), [[Princess Alexia of the Netherlands|Princess Alexia]] (born 2005), and [[Princess Ariane]] (born 2007).

Willem-Alexander is interested in sports and international [[water management]] issues. Until his accession to the throne, he was a member of the [[International Olympic Committee]] (1998–2013),<ref>{{Citation|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/-olympics/news/20130129/dutch-crown-prince-willem-alexander-ioc.ap/|title=Dutch Crown Prince quits IOC in preparation to become king|newspaper=[[Sports Illustrated]]|year=2013|access-date=19 April 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213032548/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/-olympics/news/20130129/dutch-crown-prince-willem-alexander-ioc.ap/|archive-date=13 December 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> chairman of the Advisory Committee on Water to the Dutch [[Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management|Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment]] (2004–2013),<ref>{{Citation|language=nl|url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/5751/Koninginnedag/article/detail/3426860/2013/04/16/Prins-Willem-Alexander-neemt-afscheid-van-Adviescommissie-Water.dhtml|title=Prins Willem-Alexander neemt afscheid van Adviescommissie Water|newspaper=[[de Volkskrant]]|year=2013|access-date=19 April 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506222523/http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/5751/Koninginnedag/article/detail/3426860/2013/04/16/Prins-Willem-Alexander-neemt-afscheid-van-Adviescommissie-Water.dhtml|archive-date=6 May 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and chairman of the [[Secretary-General of the United Nations]]' [[UN-Water#Members and partners of UN-Water|Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation]] (2006–2013).<ref>[http://www.unsgab.org/index.php?menu=219 Who We Are] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130519214529/http://www.unsgab.org/index.php?menu=219 |date=19 May 2013 }}, United Nations Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation. Retrieved 19 April 2013.</ref><ref>{{in lang|nl}}[http://www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4492/Nederland/article/detail/3413108/2013/03/21/Willem-Alexander-neemt-afscheid-als-waterprins.dhtml Willem-Alexander neemt afscheid als 'waterprins'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517213904/http://www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4492/Nederland/article/detail/3413108/2013/03/21/Willem-Alexander-neemt-afscheid-als-waterprins.dhtml |date=17 May 2013 }}, ''[[Trouw]]'', 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.</ref>

==Early life and education==
[[File:Prinsen Willem Alexander en Johan Friso op de tribune bij de WK Sprint.jpg|thumb|left|Prince Willem-Alexander (left) at age 14 and his brother [[Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau|Friso]] in 1982]]
Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand was born on 27 April 1967 at the [[:nl: Academisch Ziekenhuis Utrecht|Utrecht University Hospital]] (now known as the [[University Medical Center Utrecht]]) in [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]], [[Netherlands]]. He is the first child of [[Princess Beatrix]] and [[Prince Claus]],<ref name="biography">[http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/english/dsc?c=getobject&s=obj&objectid=18194&ext=document.pdf The Prince of Orange] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509221432/http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/english/dsc?c=getobject&s=obj&objectid=18194&ext=document.pdf |date=9 May 2009 }}. [[Dutch Royal House]]. Retrieved 19 July 2009.</ref> and the first grandchild of [[Queen Juliana]] and [[Prince Bernhard]]. He was the first male Dutch royal baby since the birth of [[Alexander, Prince of Orange|Prince Alexander]] in 1851, and the first immediate male heir since Alexander's death in 1884.

From birth, Willem-Alexander has held the titles Prince of the Netherlands ({{lang-nl|Prins der Nederlanden}}), Prince of [[House of Orange-Nassau|Orange-Nassau]] (Dutch: ''Prins van Oranje-Nassau''), and [[Jonkheer]] of [[Amsberg]] (Dutch: ''Jonkheer van Amsberg'').<ref name="biography"/> He was baptised as a member of the [[Dutch Reformed Church]]<ref>[http://koningshuis.nos.nl/video/bekijk/id/tcm:5-437878/title/doop-willem-alexander Doop Willem-Alexander] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331081933/http://koningshuis.nos.nl/video/bekijk/id/tcm:5-437878/title/doop-willem-alexander |date=31 March 2009 }}. [[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting]]. Retrieved 13 December 2009.</ref> on 2 September 1967<ref name="40questions">[https://archive.today/20110604040729/http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/Speciale_webpagina_s/40ste_verjaardag_Prins_van_Oranje_27_april_2007/40_veelgestelde_vragen 40 meest gestelde vragen]. [[Dutch Royal House]]. Retrieved 13 December 2009.</ref> in Saint Jacob's Church in [[The Hague]].<ref>[http://blogs.rnw.nl/haa/b232960-doopplechtigheid-prins-willem-alexander-in-sint-jacobskerk-3-delen-1967-09-02 Doopplechtigheid Prins Willem-Alexander in Sint Jacobskerk] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727112342/http://blogs.rnw.nl/haa/b232960-doopplechtigheid-prins-willem-alexander-in-sint-jacobskerk-3-delen-1967-09-02 |date=27 July 2011 }}. [[Radio Netherlands Worldwide]]. Retrieved 13 December 2009.</ref> His godparents are his maternal grandfather [[Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld]], his paternal grandmother [[Baroness Gösta von dem Bussche-Haddenhausen|Gösta Freiin von dem Bussche-Haddenhausen]], [[Ferdinand von Bismarck|Prince Ferdinand von Bismarck]], former Prime Minister [[Jelle Zijlstra]], [[Jonkvrouw]] Renée [[:nl:Röell|Röell]], and Queen [[Margrethe II of Denmark]].<ref name="40questions"/>

He had two younger brothers: [[Prince Friso]] (1968–2013) and [[Prince Constantijn]] (born in 1969). He lived with his family at the castle [[Drakensteyn]] in the hamlet [[Lage Vuursche]] near [[Baarn]] from his birth until 1981, when they moved to the larger palace [[Huis ten Bosch]] in The Hague. His mother, Beatrix, became Queen of the Netherlands in 1980, after his grandmother Juliana abdicated. He then received the title of [[Prince of Orange]] as [[heir apparent]] to the throne of the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]].<ref name="biography"/>

Willem-Alexander attended local state primary school Nieuwe Baarnse Elementary School in [[Baarn]] from 1973 to 1979. He went to two different state secondary schools: the Baarns Lyceum in Baarn from 1979 to 1981 and the Eerste Vrijzinnig Christelijk Lyceum in [[The Hague]] from 1981 to 1983, and the private sixth-form college [[United World College of the Atlantic]] in [[Wales]], the [[United Kingdom|UK]] (1983 to 1985), from which he received his [[International Baccalaureate]].<ref name="biography" /><ref name="parlement">[http://www.parlement.com/id/vg09llxsqztx/willem_alexander_alexander_willem Z.M. koning Willem-Alexander , koning der Nederlanden, prins van Oranje-Nassau] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502100426/http://www.parlement.com/id/vg09llxsqztx/willem_alexander_alexander_willem |date=2 May 2013 }}, Parlement. Retrieved 5 April 2013.</ref>

After his military service from 1985 to 1987, Willem-Alexander studied [[History]] at [[Leiden University]] from 1987 onwards and received his [[Master of Arts|MA]] [[academic degree|degree]] (''[[doctorandus]]'') in 1993.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anp-archief.nl/page/50475/nl|title=ANP Historisch Archief Community - Leiden, 2 juli 1993|author=Ruud Hoff|website=Anp-archief.nl|access-date=2017-06-15|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815065545/https://www.anp-archief.nl/page/50475/nl|archive-date=15 August 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.mastersinleiden.nl/news/oranje-in-leiden|title=Leiden's links with the Dutch Royal Family ~ Masters in Leiden|website=en.mastersinleiden.nl|access-date=15 June 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212234607/http://en.mastersinleiden.nl/news/oranje-in-leiden|archive-date=12 December 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> His final thesis was on the Dutch response to France's [[French withdrawal from NATO command|decision]] under [[President of France|President]] [[Charles de Gaulle]] to leave the [[NATO]]'s integrated command structure.<ref name="biography"/>

Willem-Alexander speaks [[English language|English]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[French language|French]] and [[German language|German]] (his father's language) fluently in addition to his native [[Dutch language|Dutch]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://925.nl/archief/2009/11/05/prins-willem-alexander-blundert-tijdens-staatsbezoek-mexico|title=Prins Willem-Alexander blundert tijdens staatsbezoek Mexico|publisher=925|date=5 November 2009|access-date=3 May 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210222404/http://925.nl/archief/2009/11/05/prins-willem-alexander-blundert-tijdens-staatsbezoek-mexico|archive-date=10 December 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==Military training and career==
[[File:Prins Willem-Alexander als LTZ3.jpg|thumb|upright|Willem-Alexander in the navy uniform of [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]] in 1986]]
Between secondary school and his university education, Willem-Alexander performed military service in the [[Royal Netherlands Navy]] from August 1985 until January 1987. He received his training at the [[Royal Netherlands Naval College]] and the frigates [[HNLMS Tromp (F801)|HNLMS ''Tromp'']] and [[HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen (F816)|HNLMS ''Abraham Crijnssen'']], where he was an [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]]. In 1988 he received additional training at the ship [[HNLMS Van Kinsbergen (F809)|HNLMS ''Van Kinsbergen'']] and became a [[lieutenant (junior grade)]] (''wachtofficier'').<ref>[http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/english/Who_s_who/The_Prince_of_Orange/Military_career Military career] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091124230522/http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/english/Who_s_who/The_Prince_of_Orange/Military_career |date=24 November 2009 }}. Dutch Royal House. Retrieved 17 December 2009.</ref>