Editing Juliana of the Netherlands (section)

=== Regency and early reign===
[[File:Inhuldiging koningin Juliana. Officieel slot van de feestweek. Gala-concert in h, Bestanddeelnr 900-0244.jpg|thumb|left|Celebration of Queen Juliana's inauguration, 1948]]
Wilhelmina's increasingly precarious health made it increasingly difficult for her to perform her duties. Juliana was forced to take over as [[regent]] from 14 October to 1 December 1947. Wilhelmina seriously considered abdicating in favour of Juliana at the end of 1947, but Juliana urged her mother to stay on the throne so she could celebrate her [[golden jubilee]] in 1948. However, Wilhelmina was forced by further health problems to relinquish her royal duties to Juliana once again on 4 May 1948.

[[File:Inhuldiging van koningin Juliana. De eed of belofte op de grondwet, Bestanddeelnr 014-1153.jpg|thumb|Juliana swearing the royal oath during her [[Inauguration of the Dutch monarch|Inauguration]]]]

The independence of [[Indonesia]], which saw more than 150,000 Dutch troops stationed there as [[decolonization]] force, was regarded as an economic disaster for the Netherlands. With the certain loss of the prized colony, the queen announced her intention to abdicate, doing so on 4 September 1948. Two days later, with the eyes of the world upon her, Juliana was [[Inauguration of the Dutch monarch|sworn in and inaugurated]] as monarch during a joint session of the States General at a ceremony held in the [[Nieuwe Kerk (Amsterdam)|Nieuwe Kerk]] in [[Amsterdam]], becoming the 12th member of the House of Orange to rule the Netherlands.
[[File:RI Transfer Signing.jpg|thumb|Queen Juliana signing Indonesian sovereignty papers, 1949]]
On 27 December 1949 at [[Dam Palace]] in Amsterdam, Queen Juliana signed the papers that recognised Indonesian sovereignty over the former [[Dutch East Indies|Dutch colony]]. She became ''Hoofd der Unie'' (Head of the Union) of the [[Netherlands-Indonesian Union]] (1949–1956). On 15 December 1954, the Queen announced that the nation's [[Caribbean]] possessions of the [[Netherlands Antilles]] and [[Suriname]] were to be reconstituted as constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, making them equal partners with the mainland.

The near-blindness of her daughter Christina and the increasing influence of Hofmans, who had moved into a royal palace, severely affected the queen's marital relationship. Over the next few years, the controversy surrounding the faith healer, at first kept out of the Dutch media, erupted into a national debate over the competency of the queen. However, the debate subsided in part due to Juliana's efforts to connect with her people. She often appeared in public dressed like any ordinary Dutch woman, and preferred to be addressed as "[[Mevrouw]]" (Dutch for "Mrs.") rather than her formal title of "majesty". She also began riding a bicycle for exercise and fresh air.

Although the bicycle and the down-to-earth manners suggest a simple life style, the Dutch royal court of the 1950s and 1960s was still an opulent affair with chamberlains in magnificent uniforms, gilded state coaches, visits to towns in open carriages and lavish entertaining in the huge palaces. At the same time the queen began visiting the citizens of the nearby towns and, unannounced, would drop in on social institutions and schools like her mother before her insisting on seeing reality rather than a prepared show. On the international stage, Queen Juliana was interested in the problems of developing countries, the refugee problem,{{which|date=November 2017}} and particularly child welfare in developing countries. Together with her daughters Beatrix and Irene, she took part in the ship tour organized by [[Frederica of Hanover|Queen Frederica]] and her husband King [[Paul of Greece]] in 1954, which became known as the “[[Cruise of the Kings]]” and was attended by over 100 royals from all over Europe. [[Franz von Bayern|Francis of Bavaria]], a participant, reports in his memoirs the anecdote that the queens of Greece, the Netherlands and Italy went ashore in a harbor in the middle of a crowd of nephews and nieces, and a waiting journalist called out to them: "What is the purpose of this trip?", whereupon Queen Juliana replied with a friendly smile: "Oh, you know, this is our [[Labor union|union’s]] company outing."<ref>[[Franz von Bayern]]: ''Zuschauer in der ersten Reihe: Erinnerungen'' publisher C. H. Beck, 2023, pp. 128–132</ref>