Retrospective of the Dutch Royal Family

[Tina]

1973 - Porte Ercole - vakantie - Willem Alexander

 

[Tina]

1973 - Beatrix & Constantijn, eerste schooldag, school

 

[Tina]

1973 - Lech - Willem Alexander

 

[Tina]

1975, willem alexander, zeilen

 

[Tina]

1988 - Leiden - Constantijn - universiteit

 

[Tina]

Willem Alexander

 

[Tina]

Drakensteyn - Willem Alexander

 

[Mandy]

Very nice pics Tina! I especially like the 1968 baby pic of WA.

 

[Tina]

1980 - Lech

Johan Friso

 

[Tina]

Porte Ercole - Willem-Alexander

 

[Tina]

Willem-Alexander

 

[Tina]

christening Constantijn

 

[Tina]

England - Claus & Willem-Alexander

 

[Tina]

1992

 

[Alexandria]

These pictures were split when I did a clean up of some other threads.

It would be great to add to this thread of older pictures of the entire Dutch royal family.

 

[Squidgy]

... various members of the family on holiday in Porto Ercole, Italy over the years ...

Photos: ANP

 

[Squidgy]

... more from Porto Ercole ...

ANP

 

[Squidgy]

Lovely pictures Marengo! And a special thank you for the picture of Margriet's baptism in St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Ottawa. It's kind of sad - I walk by that church everyday on my way to work & all day I look out at it from my office window ... but I have never been inside of it. One of these days I will visit it. I read that Juliana, as a thank you gift, donated an oak lectern to the church, bearing the royal coat-of-arms as well as carvings of marguerites. It would be neat to see.

 

[BeatrixFan]

Re:

That last pic of Juliana and Bernhard is really special. Quite moving really

 

[Marengo]

A picture of the two of them together in older age always moves me as well, they went through so much with/ because of each other! I believe the picture was taken in the gardens of Palace Soestdijk when warveterans were passing there, after the defile the old Queen and Bernhard chatted wth them and had a look a the old jeeps etc.

BTW on the picture of the baptism of Margriet one can also see the earl and countess of Athlone. I recently discovered a biography by Theo Aronson on the countess, here in the public library of Amsterdam so I hope to read it very soon!

 

[SpiffyBallerina]

Question: On the benelux message board, there have been many comments about Queen Beatrix wearing a white flower on Queen's Day in 1976. They say how she was making a big statement. Someone on that board said, "Indeed, she had (see pic !) but that wasn't enough and she wore another one on her dress, inside. Bit overdone, IMHO....and I'm still convinced she was determined to make a huge statement on that day... Pity that, since it was her mother's birthday and Juliana's special celebration at Soestdijk!"

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/Simone23/BordesSoestdijk1976.jpg

 

[Squidgy]

BTW on the picture of the baptism of Margriet one can also see the earl and countess of Athlone. I recently discovered a biography by Theo Aronson on the countess, here in the public library of Amsterdam so I hope to read it very soon!

I'm sure it will be an interesting read Marengo.

The Earl, as you probably know, was one of Margriet's godfathers. At the time that Juliana & her daughters were living in Ottawa, the Earl of Athlone was our Governor General. I think he & his wife, Princess Alice had pretty strong ties to the Dutch RF (Alice was an aunt of Juliana's, was she not?), and while Juliana was looking for a house to rent in Ottawa, they stayed with the Earl & Countess.

 

[Squidgy]

Question: On the benelux message board, there have been many comments about Queen Beatrix wearing a white flower on Queen's Day in 1976. They say how she was making a big statement. Someone on that board said, "Indeed, she had (see pic !) but that wasn't enough and she wore another one on her dress, inside. Bit overdone, IMHO....and I'm still convinced she was determined to make a huge statement on that day... Pity that, since it was her mother's birthday and Juliana's special celebration at Soestdijk!"

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/Simone23/BordesSoestdijk1976.jpg

That's interesting SpiffyBallerina. I don't know what is going on - but I did notice that Pieter & Bernhard also seem to be wearing a white flower on their lapels.

I found a picture of the Queen with her coat off & as they say on the BRMB, she is wearing a big flower on her dress (though it is not white).

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=187096

A mystery ...

 

[SpiffyBallerina]

Apparently Beatrix was the only one wearing a WHITE flower and that's what all the fuss is about. Was there something going on at the time in The Netherlands that would make a white flower such a huge statement? Also, why does it sound like it was such a personal thing with Queen Juliana's birthday?

 

[Maxie]

I think it has something to do with the so-called 'Lockheed-affaire' Prince Bernhard was involved in in 1976. It's difficult for me to explain this all in English. But to go short: I think Beatrix wanted to make a statement about the whole matter. Since the white flower always has been a symbol for Prince Bernhard in my country, Beatrix wanted to point out how she felt about the whole situation and that she supported her father.

I thought I heard something about this defile and the flower in all the documentaries that have been on television when Prince Bernhard died. But I'm not sure about it. So, if anyone knows, feel free to correct me or give some more specific details on the matter. Because it's an interesting one in my opinion...

 

[SpiffyBallerina]

That's so strange though because the posters on the benelux board just finished discussing how Beatrix and her father weren't on speaking terms because of the whole affair. Beatrix was really mad that her father did such a thing and that it tarnished the royal family the way it did. Apparently, many insiders said that the relationship between Beatrix and her father were very strained at this time. So I guess I just don't I know why she'd be wearing a symbol of support.

 

[Maxie]

Spiffyballerina: Well, that's possible. It's just my interpretation and I thought I heard something about it in the past. But as I said, I could be wrong, of course. But that's why I want to know it too! Interesting matter.

 

[Marengo]

I do not know if this was in the middle of the Lockheed investigation or after, when Bernhard was already found guilty by the commission. As I said, maybe the investigation was still going on, and Beatrix decided to support her father as she did not believe he was bribed by Lockheed (which he was, according to his own words he gave the money to his illegitemate daughters).

After the discovery it was Queen Juliana who stuck to her husband loyally, which is quite a noble thing to do, considering what and WHY he did these things. It was said that Beatrix was so shocked by her fathers lies that they did not have contact for I while, I do not know if it is true but it is said in most biographies and articles I read about it (which doesn't mean anything as they can be quoting each other all the time).

The flower is a carnation btw, Bernhard always wore them and the Prince Benrhard Culture fund (which I coordinate for 4 years already in Katwijk, Rijnsburg and Valkenburg) are also known as the carnation fund.

 

[SpiffyBallerina]

That just seems SO weird that she would not be on speaking terms with him and yet wear such a huge symbol of support. It doesn't make any sense. When did the whole bribery scandal happen? Was the white flower symbolizing something else and we're just missing it?

 

[Marengo]

I'm sure it will be an interesting read Marengo.

The Earl, as you probably know, was one of Margriet's godfathers. At the time that Juliana & her daughters were living in Ottawa, the Earl of Athlone was our Governor General. I think he & his wife, Princess Alice had pretty strong ties to the Dutch RF (Alice was an aunt of Juliana's, was she not?), and while Juliana was looking for a house to rent in Ottawa, they stayed with the Earl & Countess.

Alice was a 1st cousin of Queen Wilhelmina, the Duchess of Albany was Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Wilhelmina's mother was of course one of Helena's older sisters: Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont. The Furstin did quite well for her daughters I would say, the eldest became Queen of Wurttemberg.

Alice was quite indiscrete and was boasting now and then how rich her dutch cousin was. However in her memoirs she used not to flattering words about Wilhelmina (according to her Wilhelmina was not able to find a decent dress in London as she was to fat). I believe Queen Juliana tried to stop these memoirs from being sold in The Netherlands. According to the dutch press Alic's spite might have been that Wilhelmina, when younger did not approve of the Earl of Athlone as a husband for herself.

Alice visited The Netherlands quite often, especially when Queen Emma was still alive. After WWI she and her brother, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (grandfather of the present King of Sweden) usually met in The Hague or Scheveningen as going to Germany was a bridge to far for british royals, so soon after the war.

I believe in her last years, when she was a widow she became a close companion of King Gustaf VI-Adolf of Sweden and some say he even proposed to her.

Alice was at the bapism of Beatrix, she was her godmother (Beatrix is the godmother to one or two of the Abel-Smith grandchildren as well I believe). Others who attended: the Countess de Kotzebue, King Leopold III of the Belgians, Princess Armgard (Bernhard's mother), Crown Princess Juliana with baby Beatrix, Prince Bernhard, Queen Wilhelmina I, Duke Adolf of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (paternal uncle of Juliana), Fuerstin Elisabeth of Erbach-Schonberg (sister of Queen Emma, aunt of Wilhelmina and Alice).

The choice of Adolf as a godfather was unfortunate, the man became a nazi in the war. During the war Bernhard (and I believe Princess Armgard as well) wrote him letters as one of his best friends, Jhr. Roell was captured and would be shot dead (as he was in the resistance). He asked Adolf to intervene ut he did nothing for the squire, who was shot dead. Afterwards the family saw him only once at the Olympic Games of Helsinki and they all turned their back at him. (The wife of jhr Roell lives in Canada, and is now Mrs Martine Feaver, one of the closest friends of Queen Juliana who accompanied her in the war to Canada. The couples daughter Jvr. Renee Roell is the closest friend of Queen Beatrix and godmother of the Prince of Orange)