Queen Wilhelmina
Oranjestad, Aruba
N 12° 30.956 W 070° 02.123
Short Description:
A statue of the Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands is located in Queen Wilhelmina Park along L. G. Smith Boulevard in Oranjestad, Aruba.
Long Description:
A life size statue of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands is the centerpiece of Queen Wilhelmina Park. The statue depicts the former Queen standing wearing a long formal gown that extends well beyond her feet and covers the step she is standing on. The gown has a sash around her waist. She also wears a second sash diagonally from her right shoulder to her left hip with a flower pin on the sash at her hip. On her head is a tiara and she is holding a fan with both hands at waist level. A medal on her chest is hanging is from a necklace. She has a badge below her left shoulder.
The one half ton statue was sculpted of white Carrara marble by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Lualdi. It was financed by donations from the citizens of Aruba and transported from Europe for free by the Royal Netherlands Steamship Company.
The Queen is standing on a white marble step set of a rectangular green marble base. The base is place four steps up large stone platform with stairs on both front corners. The front of the platform is inscribed:
WILHELMINA
Nos Reina Stima
1890 - 1948
WILHELMINA
Our Beloved Queen
1890 - 1948
Wilhelmina Helena Paulina Maria, Princess of Orange-Nassau, was 10 years old when she inherited the throne in 1890 upon the death of her father, Willem III. Her mother, Queen Emma, ruled as Regent until Wilhelmina was formally crowned as Queen in 1898 after her 18th birthday. She reigned for 58 years, serving during both World War I and World War II. After Germany attacked the Netherlands in May 1940, Queen Wilhelmina and her ministers fled to England where they set up a government in exile. In 1948 Queen Wilhelmina abdicated the throne in favor of her daughter Princess Juliana. Wilhelmina died in Het Loo Palace at the age of 82 on 28 November 28, 1962 and is buried in the Dutch Royal Family crypt in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft on December 8, 1962.
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