Dutch Princess Maxima Gives Birth to Daughter
The girl will be second-in-line to the Dutch throne.
A proud Willem-Alexander, the Prince of Orange, presented his daughter to the media at a brief news conference in the evening, broadcast live on television.
"Although many babies are born each day, we believe this is the most beautiful baby in the world," he said, holding his daughter wrapped in white blankets.
The couple have not yet decided on a name for the girl who is likely one day to be queen.
She was born late afternoon weighing 3.3kg (7.3 lb).
Queen Beatrix arrived for an hour at the Bronovo Hospital in The Hague in the early evening to loud applause from scores of royal fans waiting outside. She was accompanied by her son Prince Johan Friso and his fiancee Mabel Wisse Smit. ---------Cannon Salute---------
A regiment of mounted artillery troops, in black and yellow livery, fired 101 cannon shots to announce the birth.
Television programs were interrupted for the news of the birth. On one show the audience sang the national anthem.
Willem-Alexander, Beatrix's eldest son and heir-to-the-throne, married Argentine-born Maxima Zorreguieta in Amsterdam in February 2002.
The marriage attracted controversy because Maxima's father was agriculture minister during Argentina's 1976-83 military dictatorship when up to 30,000 people vanished or were killed. He was barred from the wedding.
The royal couple's easy-going manner has made them a big hit with fans of the royal family.
Tens of thousands thronged the center of Amsterdam for the wedding.