Survey gives Queen Beatrix a 7.5 for her birthday

HILVERSUM – Queen Beatrix who recently turned 71, scored 7.5 out of a maximum of 10 in a survey on the royalty in the Netherlands. The market research firm also reconfirmed that daughter-in-law Màxima continues to outscore the Queen by a wide margin. The Argentina-born wife of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander is with 32 percent the most popular member of the Royal House, followed by her husband at 15 percent and Queen Beatrix at 12 percent. Those surveyed agreed that the Crown Prince is ready to assume the throne (81 percent) but no one is forcing the issue. Almost four out of ten support the idea that the queen should abdicate when she is ready for it, nearly one in three thinks she should to so within two years. One out of two support the idea of a Queen Màxima, if she surrenders her Argentine passport. The firm interviewed 26,000 people for the survey.