Princess Margarita embarasses Dutch royal family with tell-all
Wed Feb 19, 2:45 PM ET
By TOBY STERLING, Associated Press Writer
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - A disgruntled member of the Dutch royal family says Queen Beatrix bitterly opposed the romance of her son, the crown prince, with an Argentine commoner.
In a second round of embarrassing revelations published Wednesday, Beatrix's niece, Princess Margarita, said the queen and Crown Prince Willem Alexander avoided each other for months because of their argument over his love for Maxima Zorreguieta.
In public, the queen was highly supportive of the couple when she announced their engagement in 2001. They had a fairy tale wedding a year ago, attended by royalty from around the world.
In her interview with the respected weekly HP/de Tijd, Margarita broke with family tradition by publicly airing the dirty laundry in the House of Orange. The first installment of the series, called "Orange Bitters," was published last week, and created a sensation in the Netherlands.
While most of the material is tamer than the scandalous tabloid headlines and paparazzi photos that have haunted other European royal houses, it's hot stuff by Dutch standards.
Margarita said her own father had an illegitimate child with a Dominican nanny and alleged that it is an open "family secret" that Prince Bernhard — her grandfather and the Queen's father — has kept a mistress for 20 years.
The royal family responded in three terse sentences, distributed through the government's official press office, that it "doesn't recognize itself as portrayed" in the articles, and "regrets" their publication. "Out of love for Princess Margarita, the family restricts itself to this reaction," it said.
Margarita said she decided to go public after the queen and other members of the royal family conspired to snub her husband, blacken his name, and exclude the couple from royal functions.
She married commoner Edwin de Roy van Zuydewijn in September 2001 in a relatively low-key ceremony in Amsterdam. The couple lives in a castle in the Gascogne region of southwestern France.
Margarita said Maxima initially experienced the same opposition and smear campaign from the royal family that she says de Roy van Zuydewijn continues to face. She said Maxima was once confronted by courtiers with questions about her "wild life" while working in New York.
"My aunt (the queen) told me that she thought Maxima wasn't strong enough," Margarita told the magazine. "If my aunt doesn't get her way, she stamps her foot literally and figuratively."
Article From: Yahoo News