Dutch King Willem-Alexander succeeds mother

Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander (R), his wife Crown Princess Maxima and Queen Beatrix (C) of the Netherlands arrive at a gala dinner organised on the eve of the abdication of the Queen and the inauguration of her successor King Willem-Alexander at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam April 29, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Rare trip by Japan's princess

Britain's Prince Charles and Japan's Crown Princess Masako, who is making her first foreign trip since falling ill a decade ago, will be among 2,000 visitors at the official investiture ceremony on Tuesday afternoon.    

The royal family will head from the palace to the 600-year-old Nieuwe Kerk, or New Church, next door in the afternoon where the king will swear an oath to uphold the Dutch constitution before lawmakers.

The Dutch monarch is never crowned, since, in the absence of a state church, there is no cleric available to carry out the coronation. But there is a crown, which will sit on a table next to him throughout the ceremony, along with other regalia that constitute the crown jewels.

Willem-Alexander will wear a royal mantle that has been used for investitures since 1815, although it has been repaired and altered at least twice over the past century, for the investitures of his mother and grandmother.

Celebrations are expected to continue through the evening with a water pageant along the IJ, Amsterdam's historic waterfront.

A man waits for Queen Beatrix's abdication ceremony outside the Royal Palace in Amsterdam April 30, 2013. The Netherlands is celebrating Queen's Day on Tuesday, which will also mark the abdication of Queen Beatrix and the investiture of her eldest son Willem-Alexander. [Photo/Agencies]