Description

The Union of Utrecht (Dutch: Unie van Utrecht) was a treaty signed on 23 January 1579 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, unifying the northern provinces of the Netherlands, until then under the control of Habsburg Spain. The Union of Utrecht is regarded as the foundation of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, which was not recognized by the Spanish Empire until the Twelve Years' Truce in 1609.

Juliana (Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 1909–2004) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980.

Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry. From birth she was heir presumptive to the Dutch throne. In 1937, she married Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld with whom she had four children: Beatrix, Irene, Margriet, and Christina.

She reigned for nearly 32 years. Her reign saw the decolonization of Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and Suriname and their independence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Upon her death at the age of 94, she was the longest-lived former reigning monarch in the world.