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We hope the future King and Queen and the future First Pensioner find this post somehow and use your royal reading recommendations. 
The questions to be answered were: What should Willem Alexander and Máxima read to prepare themselves for their new responsibilities? Or, what book do you hope Beatrix will finally have time to read now she is retiring?
Your answers and reasons for reading were:
Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
[Beatrix] never had to manage her life, as her life is more or less dictated by her royal duties. I think this will help her to find her direction in life as a “commoner”.
The Lord of the Rings – J. R. R. Tolkien (the entire collection)
Everyone is so busy watching the films that they forget how magical and majestic these books really are. And to appreciate them fully, you need time 
Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
Because it is my personal favourite book.
The Winds of War & War and Remembrance – Herman Wouk
Fantastic piece of fiction. Absolutely fantastic read.
A Game of Thrones – George R. R. Martin
Title and contents speak for themselves.
King and King – Linda de Haan & Stern Nijland
Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn
In preparation for their future responsibilities, I’d like the royal couple to read a book to their lovely Princesses: Catharina-Amalia, Alexia & Ariane. One excellent choice would be Koning en Koning by Linda De Haan & Stern Nijland. They could later tell them how this wonderful Dutch story was translated into English (King & King), but how some American children weren’t allowed to read the book because it was banned from their libraries. There’s much to be learned from this delightful tale. Maybe with Mom being such a supporter of gay rights, they’ve already read it.
As for Queen Beatrix, it’s time for her to relax! Perhaps Gone Girl?
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
Because SURVIVE SURVIVE SURVIVE. It really is a tough job.
Quicksilver, The Confusion & The System of the World – Neal Stephenson
Once Beatrix retires she should have time for Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle, which is incredibly interesting, informative and funny. Some of the action also features William of Orange and the Netherlands, and it must be nice to read about a family member!
Undocumented Lives – Katja Tähjä and Kaisa Viitanen
I think Beatrix, Willem Alexander and Maxima should all read Undocumented Lives by Katja Tähjä and Kaisa Viitanen. With both words and photos this documentary book reveals tells the stories of several paperless people living in today’s Europe.
The book also features paperless children, women and men living in the Netherlands, in the outskirts of the Dutch society. Their stories should remind all Dutch readers that there is injustice like this everywhere, also here in in these picturesque canal streets, in this land of cheese and stroopwafels. And the royal family especially could take this opportunity to see the world through different eyes – those of people who, instead of living in the lap of luxury, spend their days in basements and tent camps, in constant fear.
Undocumented Lives is a much-needed wake-up call for everyone, really. Some people have palaces and golden carriages, coronations that come with the price tag of several millions. And at the same time, in the very same city, others live almost like ghosts, officially not existing.
It does make you think, doesn’t it?
A Walk in the Park – Jill Mansell
Death on the Nile – Agatha Christie
The Woman Who Died a Lot – Jasper Fforde
I hope Beatrix goes all-out and reads everything fluffy and silly and funny and escapist that she can get her hands on, now that she doesn’t have to read all those official pieces anymore. Personal favorites are Jill Mansell, Agatha Christie and Jasper Fforde.
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain – Betty Edwards
Because Beatrix loves art and she should get back into it.
