CrownPrincess Juliana of The Netherlands & Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld -1937

[Marengo]

I did some searching in the old newspapers of the royal library, and this is what I was able to dig up:

The bridesmaids:

Duchess Woislawa of Mecklenburg, Duchess Thyra of Mecklenburg, Princess Kira Kirilowna of Russia, Princess Elisabeth zur Lippe, Princess Sieglinde zur Lippe, baroness Marianne Jacqueline van Heemstra (aunt of Audrey Hepburn and lady-in-waiting of princess Juliana), Maria Rooseboom (study friend), Margarithe Michelin (study friend), jonkvrouwe Ariane Margaretha de Brauw (lady-in-waiting of Princess Juliana, later married Jhr.Constant de Ranitz, mayor of Utrecht), jonkvrouwe Elisabeth Roëll (who in the 90-ties became 'news' as she was supposed to have been murdered at her house in The Hague, sister-in-law of ->), Martine del Court van Krimpen (married Jhr. Willem Roëll -see below- and became mother of Jkvr. Renée Roëll, godmother of HM the King) and baroness Albertine Renira van Heeckeren van Kell. The latter was a lady-in-waiting honoraire of Queen Wilhelmina and a replacement for Princess Sophie of Saxe-Weimar, who cancelled her attendance. The baroness wrote a letter of introduction for prince Bernhard, so she was a fitting choice. In 1940 she married baron Willem van den Bogaerde van Terbrugge.

The groomsmen:

baron A. von Cramm, baron B. von Cramm, baron C. von Viltinghoft- Scheel, count H. Weltzeck, count F. zu Dohna Schlodien, Commander E. de Souzie of the 18th chasseurs à cheval, prince Vincenz von Windisch Grätz, count G. Ahlefeldt, mr. G. D. C. baron van Hardenbroek, jonkheer. dr. Gerard Beelaerts van Blokland, (son of Jhr. Frans BvB -see below), jonkheer. ir. Willem Roëll (private secretary of P. Bernhard) and F. Moran.

The bridalchildren:

count Kasper and countess Svea von Oeynhausen, prince Armin zur Lippe and Duchess Eilika of Oldenburg (eldest godchild of Juliana).

The witnesses:

Prince Aschwin zur Lippe-Biesterfeld, Duke Adolf of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Prince Julius zur Lippe, Count Rabe von Oeynhausen, Jonkvrouwe Louise Pauline van de Poll (Dame du Palais), jonkheer Frans Beelaerts van Blokland (chamberlain of Queen Wilhelmina, minister of State, former mininster of Foreign Affairs ánd the man who led the search for a husband for Pss Juliana), Col. Alexis von Pantschulidzew (who according to some was the partner of Pss Armgard) and Prof. Huizinga. The latter replaced Prince Friedrich von Wied who also cancelled his attendance.

main source: Soerabajasch Handelsblad: http://kranten.kb.nl/view/article/id/ddd:011108042:mpeg21:p009:a0154

 

[An Ard Ri]

And the engagement:

YouTube - Verloving Prinses Juliana en Prins Bernhard

The announcement led to spontanious celebrations i The Hague and all over the country, as can be seen in the clip too. Afterwards the clip also shows the couple in the garden of a palace, the carriage ride through The Hague, going to church, and fireworks

Are those nuns parading past at 0.32 in the above video?

 

[Marengo]

Princess Sophie of Saxe-Weimar was not a bridesmaid for Princess Juliana. Why did Princess Sophie cancel her attendance?

Queen Wilhelmina thought that the wedding was a private event and used this as a convenient excuse not to use the Swastika flag or the German/ Nazi anthems. Instead the flag and anthem of Lippe-Detmold were used as much as possible. The few times that the official German symbols were used caused incidents and protests by the Dutch public: the Dutch ambassador had to apologise in Berlin for a school in The Hague where the German flag was taken down. The anti-german mood annoyed the German press and authorities. Prince Bernhard's secretary Willem Roëll (also one of the groomsmen) issued a clumsy statement which annoyed the Germans further: they blamed the prince for not defending his country of birth. Due to the hurt 'Nationalstolz' (pride) the German authorities withdrew the passports of some guests, among them of princesses Elisabeth and Siegerlinde zur Lippe. The passports were only released after a personal letter of Prince Bernhard to Adolf Hitler. Other guests refused to come, among them was Princess Sophie of Saxe-Weimar. Queen Wilhelmina was furious and withdrew the invitation to her 2nd cousin: 'Deine Gesinnung Bernhard gegenüber schliesst auch für mich Dein Kommen aus' (your attitude towards Bernhard also makes your visit impossible to me).

Prince Friedrich von Wied, who was supposed to be one of the witnesses, also stayed away. He was replaced by prof. Huizinga, who was one of the teachers of Juliana during her university years in Leiden.

source: C. Fasseur, Wilhelmina, krijgshaftig in een vormeloze jas.

About the Roëlls:
Note that Jhr. Willem Roëll, the private secretary of P. Bernhard & groomsman later married Martine del Court van Krimpen (bridesmaid). They became parents of Renée Roëll, the oldest friend of P. Beatrix and godmother to the king. Martine and Renée went with Juliana to the UK and Canada in the war. Willem Roëll stayed behind and was shot by the Germans in 1942. He had radio contact with London/ P. Bernhard and financed the resistance with secret funds of the prince. Bernhard contacted Juliana's uncle Duke Adolf of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (a witness during the wedding ánd godfather of P. Beatrix) to prevent the execution. The duke, a fanatical member of the Nazi party, did not intervene. The Dutch RF never forgave him.
BTW According to some authors Juliana fell in love with Jhr. Willem Roëll at a younger age but a marriage to a Dutch nobleman was out of the question in those days.

Another Roëll sibling, Jhr. Ir. Joan Roëll, married Jkvr. Sophie Feith after the war. The jonkvrouwe was a nanny of the princesses in Canada. Bridesmaid Elisabeth Roëll (sister of Willem and Joan) also went along with Juliana to Canada. In the 90-ties she was believed to be one of the victims of two nurses who killed several rich elderly ladies in The Hague. A 3rd brother Jhr. Roëll later became chamberlain and treasurer of Q. Juliana. Their mother barones Elisabeth Sloet van Marxveld previously had been a lady-in-waiting.

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Are those nuns parading past at 0.32 in the above video?

It seems so. During the pillarisation (political/religious segregation) years every group needed/wanted to be represented. Each pillar had their own social institutions, radio networks, newspapers, clubs, schools etc. The most famous example is the existance of a seperate protestant - and a roman catholic goat breeding association in a village in Noord-Holland. But also the socialists and the liberals had their own institutions.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Was the Princess Sieglinde a first cousin of Prince Bernhard? Who was Princess Elisabeth zur Lippe? Was she a sister of Sieglinde? Or was she a sister of Prince Bernhard? How was Princess Sophie of Saxe-Weimar a second cousin to Queen Wilhelmina?

 

[Lee-Z]

Was the Princess Sieglinde a first cousin of Prince Bernhard? Who was Princess Elisabeth zur Lippe? Was she a sister of Sieglinde? Or was she a sister of Prince Bernhard? How was Princess Sophie of Saxe-Weimar a second cousin to Queen Wilhelmina?

Elisabeth and Sieglinde both were cousins of Bernhard (he had no sisters), Elisabeth daughter of his uncle Julius Ernst, Sieglinde daughter of his uncle Leopold IV

Sophie, not sure, maybe someone can confirm, but I expect she would be a descendant of Wilhelmina's aunt Sophie (sister of her father Willem III), this aunt married Carl-Alexander von Sachsen-Weimar and her descendents were for a long time direct in line to the dutch throne because the DRF was quite small in the first half of the 20th century...possibly the absent Sophie was her great-granddaughter (child of her grandson Wilhelm Ernst, his father was Karl August)... age-wise that would fit

 

[Jacknch]

I've got a cousin called Sieglinde - never met her as my father and aunt fell out years before I was born. My aunt had 12 children and the none girls were all named after characters from operas. I believe Sieglinde was the name of a character from Wagner's Die Walkure.

 

[maria-olivia]

Which tiara was Princess Juliana wearing on her wedding day ?

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Princess Juliana's veil hung from a diadem of diamonds in the shape of a rose in honor of the House of Lippe. The diadem was a gift to Juliana from Bernhard's mother Armgard.
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Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard married on January 7th, 1937. Juliana's grandparents, King William III and Queen Emma of The Netherlands, had married on January 7th, 1879.
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[maria-olivia]

Grateful Thanks !

 

[Marengo]

It was/is not an existing tiara though. It seems they mounted the diamond roses on a silk bandeau and addes some pearls and orange blossom.

Diamond Rose Brooches

During the pre wedding concert she wore the old version of the emerald tiara btw.

 

[Blog Real]

Vídeo:

 

[Blog Real]

Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard 1937 wedding
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/JulianaBernhard1937.jpg