Bernhard's health worsens as tumour spreads
29 November 2004
AMSTERDAM — Prince Bernhard's health is gradually worsening due to the spread of a malignant tumour, the Government Information Service RVD announced on Monday. But the RVD also said the 93-year-old Dutch prince is not terminally ill.
The RVD said Bernhard is suffering from shortness of breath. He has fluid in his chest cavity due to the spread of an inoperable tumour and has also been diagnosed with an intestinal tumour, which is causing serious complaints.
Besides family, Prince Bernhard — the husband of the late Queen Juliana who died on 20 March 2004 — is receiving few other visitors at his home in Soestdijk Palace. The prince's condition is said to be serious and he if(flashinstalled == 2){document.write(" ");}else{document.write("
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received a large number of family visitors over the weekend.
It was revealed in October that Prince Bernhard was experiencing breathing difficulties and was undergoing regular observation at the UMC hospital in Utrecht. Doctors later removed the fluid, but this only gave temporary relief.
Bernhard — who underwent an operation in 1994 for an intestinal tumour and again in 2000 for a chest cavity growth — decided in November to restrict his official activities as a result of his current health problems.
The German-born Bernhard met the then Princess Juliana in 1936 during the Winter Olympics in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany, and their engagement was announced seven months later. They were married on 7 January 1937.
The couple's first daughter, Queen Beatrix, took the Dutch throne when her mother abdicated in 1980. The royal couple also had three other daughters: Irene, Margriet and Christina.
Upon her death in March of this year, Queen Juliana, 94, was interred in the royal family tomb in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft. Despite initial concerns about his health, Prince Bernhard was fit enough to attend the funeral.
[Copyright Expatica News 2004]