Prince Bernard abused his position for compensation
By Sebastiaan Gottlieb*
08-06-2008
Research by a historian working for the Dutch Institute for War Documentation has revealed that the late Prince Bernard, husband of the late Queen mother Juliana, managed to get a million marks in compensation from Germany, even though he had no right to the money. Historian Gerard Aalders, who extensively researched Dutch and German archives, says the incident was typical of the late prince's passion for money. However much he had, it was never enough.
In 1905, Bernard's uncle Leopold inherited a castle and land from the Lippe family. Bernard is entitled to 87,000 German marks in compensation, but after the Second World War the money was confiscated by Germany. Bernard demanded it back, claiming its value has increased to a million marks. Mr Aalders puts this amount down to a bit of creative bookkeeping fed by Bernard's greed.