BAZEL, KARELPETRUS CORNELIS DE

(1869–1923)

   Architect. Following his studies at the Academy of Arts in The Hague, De Bazel became a designer with architects Petrus Cuypers and Jo hannes Lauweriks in Amsterdam. As a decorative artist, he grew more and more interested in architecture. After joining the Theo sophic Society, De Bazel and Lauweriks both left the bureau of the Roman Catholic Cuypers. De Bazel became a teacher at Haarlem. Besides designing interiors and furniture, he executed several monu mental buildings in Amsterdam and The Hague. His design for an in ternational metropolis in the dunes near The Hague—although never carried out—attracted international attention. BEATRIX (1938– ). Queen of the Netherlands. Beatrix succeeded her mother Juliana in 1980. In 1966, she married Claus von Amsberg. They have three sons, of whom the eldest is Willem-Alexander. The morganatic marriage of the crown princess met resistance and pro voked a minor constitutional crisis, which, however, had no lasting effect. Dutch republicanism remains weak. The queen lives in a small palace near The Hague. Although the constitutional role of the monarchy is at present limited, the queen—who is very popular has an important influence during the preliminary consultations with the political party leaders that precede the formation of a new gov ernment after the parliamentary elections. In 1996, Beatrix was awarded the prestigious International Charlemagne Prize (Karl spreis) of the city of Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen, Germany), for stim ulating European peace and integration.