Queen Elizabeth, so typically British, to Son Prince Charles "I'll give you my crown only when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.”

Retiring Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and Liz the Brit for Life Queen

A good article on the selfless act of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands to the next generation.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/29/queen-beatrix-abdication

Or perhaps the rest of her life. There was an interesting line in Queen Beatrix's abdication speech that may very well have been a subtle snub to Elizabeth's remark. In the three minutes she spoke, Queen Beatrix found the time to say that "the reason for me to step back now is not because the office is too much of a strain [it is not]. I am abdicating because I am convinced that the responsibility for our country should now move to the next generation". Compare that to the drawn-out public castration to which Queen Elizabeth is subjecting her son Charles. You can't help being born an heir apparent, but those who love you can help make it easier for you. Queen Elizabeth is not doing that, or so it looks to a Dutch eye.