Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Marie of Orange-Nassau; (August 31, 1880 – November 28, 1962) was queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948 and Queen Mother (with the title of Princess) from 1948 to 1962. She ruled the Netherlands for fifty years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw many turning points in both Dutch and world history: World War I and World War II, the Great Crisis of 1933, as well as the decline of the Netherlands as a major colonial empire. Outside the Netherlands she is primarily remembered for her role in the Second World War, in which she proved to be a great inspiration to the Dutch resistance, as well as a prominent leader of the Dutch government in exile. She was the only child of King William III and his second wife, Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Her childhood was characterized by a close relationship with her parents, especially with her father, who was already 63 years of age when she was born.

Although the Netherlands remained neutral during World War I, sizable German investments in the Dutch economy combined with a large trading partnership in goods forced the United Kingdom to blockade the Dutch ports in an attempt to weaken the German Empire. The Dutch government traded with Germany in response. German soldiers were given Edam cheese for their rations before an assault. Wilhemina was a "soldier's queen"; being a woman, she could not be Supreme Commander, but she nevertheless used every opportunity she had to inspect her forces. On many occasions she appeared without prior notice, wishing to see the reality, not a prepared show. She loved her soldiers, but was very unhappy with most of her governments, which used the military as a constant source for budget-cutting. Civil unrest, spurred on by the Bolshevik revolt in Imperial Russia in 1917, gripped the Netherlands after the war. A socialist leader named Troelstra tried to overthrow the government and the Queen. However, the popularity of the young Queen helped restore confidence in the government. Wilhelmina brought about a mass show of support by riding with her daughter through the mobs in an open carriage. It was very clear that the revolution would not succeed.

The death of Wilhelmina's husband, Prince Hendrik, in 1934 brought an end to a difficult year that also saw the passing of her mother Queen Emma. The interbellum, and most notably the economic crisis of the '30s, was also the period in which Wilhelmina's personal power reached its zenith; under the successive governments of a staunch monarchist prime minister, Hendrik Colijn (ARP), Wilhelmina was deeply involved in most questions of state. In 1939 Colijn's fifth and last government was swept away by a vote of no confidence two days after its formation. It is widely accepted that Wilhelmina herself was behind the formation of this last government, which was designed to be an extra-parliamentary or 'royal' cabinet. The Queen was deeply skeptical of the parliamentary system and tried to bypass it covertly more than once.

Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands, and Queen Wilhelmina and her family fled to the United Kingdom three days later. Queen Wilhelmina had wanted to stay in the Netherlands: she had planned to go to the southern province of Zeeland with her troops in order to coordinate further resistance from the town of Breskens and remain there until help arrived, much as King Albert I of Belgium had done during World War I. She went aboard a British cruiser at The Hague, which was to take her there. However, when she was on board the captain stated that he was forbidden to make contact with the Dutch shore, as Zeeland was under heavy attack from the Luftwaffe and it was too dangerous to return. Wilhelmina then took the decision to go to Britain, planning to return as soon as possible. Wilhelmina also spent time in Canada during the war, staying at the Governor General's residence, Rideau Hall. It was said that while she was there she made a great impact on the household, notably for living relatively simply. The Queen insisted on doing her shopping personally, walking the streets of Ottawa unassisted (though simply raising her hand to stop traffic whenever she wished to cross the road), and travelling to the United States on a regular civilian train.

On September 4, 1948, after a reign of 58 years and 50 days, Wilhelmina abdicated in favour of her daughter Juliana. She was thenceforward styled "Her Royal Highness Princess Wilhelmina of the Netherlands". After her reign, the influence of the Dutch monarchy began to decline but the country's love for its royal family continued. Queen Wilhelmina died at the age of 82 on November 28, 1962 and was buried in the Dutch Royal Family crypt in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, on 8 December 1962. The funeral was, at her request and contrary to protocol, completely in white to give expression to her belief that earthly death was the beginning of eternal life.