Yes it is quite soon isnt it?
I just want to check that I am understanding this correctly: They say that it nearly destroyed the marriage because Greet Hofmans & Prince Bernhard disagreed/advised the Queen differently?
Its an interesting topic, thanks for bringing it to attention Marengo.
It was Bernhard who introduced Greet Hofmans at Court in the first place.
She was introduced to him by some dutch aristocrat who had way too much time on his hands
and was a little gaga in the spiritual/esoterial field.
It has always been assumed,never proven,assumed,that it was Greet who had such influence over Juliana,
she was even called the dutch Rasputin....
I wonder,it was Juliana herself who had the ideas she had,and she found sort of a soulmate in Greet Hofmans,that is the clue in this relationship I believe.But as matters got out of hand,ie,Bernhard and Juliana both had their camps in the Palace,pro Juliana or pro Bernhard,and,especially the latter,came up with the most farsought nonsens in regards to The Queen possible.
The spoilt rotten german boy and his wife,The Queen of The Netherlands.It was the spoilt rotten german boy who got away with the conniving in the end.
But not before he leaked the marriage difficulties,and blaming Greet Hofmans in the process,to the british press which in turn triggered some
action both in Juliana´s camp as well as with the government.At the hight of the crisis,in the mid fifties (1955-1956),a commission was
installed on behalve of the Government to clean this mess up.They did,Greet was banned from Court,and as Juliana felt betrayed by her husband,she demanded a divorce.The Commission `of wise man` as it was called,prevented that from happening,and the government
simply didn´t allow it.
The rift was huge,and it would take decades to heal.As Bernhard told himself....at the end of his life....when he obviously missed
dear Juliana more then he had ever thought himself possible.She never stopped loving him,and he never stopped loving himself.
It must have been enormously difficult for dear Juliana,must have been very very lonely for her.Allthough,Greet Hofmans was banned from Court,yes,but the two always remained in contact,mostly so in the spiritual gatherings at Het Oude Loo Castle near Het Loo Palace,that also saw the Lady of Het Loo,then Princess Wilhelmina,amongst them.
But,as there is always one that catches the cat,Greet became the scapegoat in the "Bernhard Field".The latter being a reference to the two "powers" at Soestdijk Palace,Juliana's,housed in one wing,Bernhard in the other and he did a lot to have his wife,The Queen,regarded as gaga.His eldest daughter,our present Queen,as always,took the side of her father.....Girls often do that don´t they,take their dads side in matters...
Bernhard has strongly denied,later in life,he wished the Queen to be labelled a lunatic and subsequent abdication in favour of his eldest daughter,as was signalled by the Juliana camp at Soestdijk Palace....but then he was of the denying kind........It,the facts,must be somewhere deep deep down in the Royal Archives.
Wonder if the new book on Greet Hofmans will reveal more then we already know.
