'Rebel princess' risks jail time
5 March 2003
AMSTERDAM — The state information service RVD is considering taking court action against royal black sheep Princess Margarita after she claimed the head of the RVD bugged a conversation she had with him.
National news service NOS reported on Wednesday that the RVD may take the drastic step as a result of the latest damning interview with the princess screened on current affairs television programme NOVA.
Anyone found guilty of insulting the Monarch faces 5 years in jail or a EUR 11,250 fine but generally offenders escape with a telling off or token fine.
The row between the royals seemed at first glance to be trivial but now threatens the Dutch monarchy with the sort of public humiliation suffered by their British counterparts following the late Princess Diana's television revelations about extramarital affairs and rows in the House of Winsor.
Princess Margarita — a niece of Queen Beatrix — had previously accused the Dutch royals of running a smear campaign against Margarita's husband, businessman Edwin de Roy van Zuydewijn.
The couple claimed during a 60-hour interview with magazine HP/De Tijd that his business interests have been badly damaged by a whispering campaign mounted against him by the royal family.
Margarita and Edwin are reportedly planning to sue the royals for EUR 35 million for lost business and defamation.
In the latest twist in the royal squabble, Princess Margarita repeated an allegation that RVD chief Eef Brouwers secretly recorded a conversation she had with him.
Princess Margarita said she went to Brouwers in his office to seek his help with her dispute with the rest of the royal family.
"As we sat down, I looked at the wall and saw a microphone sticking out between two lovely wooden panels. It was very small but clearly a microphone," the princess told NOVA.
Princess Margarita said it was "scandalous that an official of the RVD would record the conversation of a person who came seeking help".
The RVD rushed to dismiss the accusation out of hand, saying that the "microphone" she claimed to have seen was actually a screw used to secure a painting to the wall.
Princess Margarita's outrage at being bugged is slightly bizarre given that she told NOVA that she had also secretly recorded her conversation with Brouwers. She has already said she has recordings for other incriminating arguments she had with family members.
The princess, nevertheless, for the first time directly accused Queen Beatrix of having bugged her during private discussions. The Queen, was also guilty of abusing her power, Princess Margarita alleged.
Article From: Expatica.com