Royals with Disabilities or Special Needs

[scooter]

Originally Posted by flora

Wasn't Prince Philip's mother Princess Andrew of Greece deaf ?

Yes, and IIRC she was also mentally unstable later in life. Thank goodness, neither problem seems to be passed on in the family.

[Elspeth]

Prince Katsura of Japan has been confined to a wheelchair after a series of strokes in the late 1980s.

[Henri M.]

Originally Posted by ZandraRae

Correct BeatrixFan, Juliana suffered some kind of illness (I can't remember what exactly) during her pregnancy and so Christina was born blind. But even due to her blindness, she led a very normal life.

In 1946 Princess Juliana visited a troop ship returning in the homeland after a long journey from Netherlands East Indies (now Indonesia). On that ship the pregnant Princess became infected with Rubella. This affected the unborn child to lose her eyesight and Princess Juliana has never forgiven herself for that.

In the 1950's the parents (Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard) searched for the best treatments but all was in vain. Prince Bernhard via-via heard about a faith healer named Margaretha ('Greet') Hofmans and brought her in contact with his wife.

An action he would regret for the rest of his life. Soon it seemed that Queen Juliana has totally become under the spell of this faith healer, much to the concern of Prince Bernhard, who more and more felt like an 'unwanted person' under his own roof. According to the Prince the faith healer turned out to be a female Rasputin, influencing the head of state.

The Cabinet shared his views and apparently the (then 17 and 16 years old) Princesses Beatrix and Irene shared their father's vision. An intense war started at the Court, between the one camp under Bernhard and the other under Juliana. The Cabinet was deadly worried for the Queen and the situation of the monarchy. There even was room reserved in the Ursula Clinic in Wassenaar, a psychiatric clinic, to force the Queen into it! (No joke!)

All by all the royal couple asked three wise men to do investigations and come with proposals to solve the poisoned situation at the Court. The result was victorious for the Prince and bitter for the Queen: mrs. Hofmans had to go and the Queen should never seek contact with her again. Also many courtiers who were in 'Camp Juliana' had to leave the Royal Household. More or less a cleansing, very much against the wishes of the Queen who fiercely defended the royal prerogative which says that the King, and the King only, organizes his own Household. That report by the three wise men is still top secret and has never revealed, despite numerous requests to Queen Beatrix by historians.

The marriage of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard suffered heavily. They remained married until their death (Juliana March 2004 and Bernhard December 2004) but lived each in their own wing of Soestdijk Palace. It became a marriage 'for the Firm' but the love was gone.

Princess Christina became a sort of a spoiled little brat, due to her overprotective mother with her feeling of guilty. In the course of the decades the Princess found her own path, living in the United States and the United Kingdom, escaping the media and the public for 'poor blind Princess Christina'.

[Marengo]

Thanks Henri, but this is of course Bernhards side of the story. I believe a recent study claims that the influence of Greet Hofmans wasn't that large at all and that the pascifist sympathies of Juliana were mainly her own and not forced upon her by some kind of female rasputin.

[Henri M.]

Originally Posted by Marengo

Thanks Henri, but this is of course Bernhards side of the story. I believe a recent study claims that the influence of Greet Hofmans wasn't that large at all and that the pascifist sympathies of Juliana were mainly her own and not forced upon her by some kind of female rasputin.

Indeed, we have to wait for the official biography by prof. dr. C. Fasseur, who also wrote 'Wilhelmina / The Young Queen' and 'Wilhelmina / Warlike In A Formless Coat'.

As only outsider the Queen has exclusively granted an insight in the report of the three wise men on the Hofmans Crisis.

But some facts of Prince Bernhard's revelations have proved to be true, like the removal of Margaretha Hofmans, the dismission of many courtiers belonging to the 'Juliana Camp' and the reservation of a ward in the Ursula Clinic to hospitalize the Queen (hard to believe, but apparently true).

[Charlotte1]

Originally Posted by scooter

Yes, and IIRC she was also mentally unstable later in life. Thank goodness, neither problem seems to be passed on in the family.

Princess Alice ( Philip's mother) wasn't mentally unstable later in life. ( Hugo Vickers book Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece is worth reading)

Alice had a mental breakdown in the late 1920's and was admited to a sanatorium in Switzerland, she eventually left but had no contact with her family for 10 years. It was the death in a plane crash of her daughter Cecilie in 1937 that brought her back to the family fold ( Philip didn't see or have contact with his mother for 10 years) Alice went back to live in Greece, stayed during the war, hid a Jewish family, continued to live in Greece until the royals were expelled in 1967 and then lived in Buckingham Palace until she died in 1969.

[Verde Esmeralda]

Originally Posted by Henri M.

An action he would regret for the rest of his life. Soon it seemed that Queen Juliana has totally become under the spell of this faith healer, much to the concern of Prince Bernhard, who more and more felt like an 'unwanted person' under his own roof. According to the Prince the faith healer turned out to be a female Rasputin, influencing the head of state.

The same thought crossed my mind...Rasputin and how much Alix (Alexandra Feodorovna, wife to Zar Nicholas II) suffered to keep him near his ill son Nikolai...

[lyndaW]

Princess Eugenie had scoliosis and was operated on.
Lady Louise Wessex had exotropia=eye tuning outward
Many Royals have poor vision
Many Royals have poor teeth
Poor Prince William is going bald

[Henri M.]

Originally Posted by lyndaW

Princess Eugenie had scoliosis and was operated on.
Lady Louise Wessex had exotropia=eye tuning outward
Many Royals have poor vision
Many Royals have poor teeth
Poor Prince William is going bald

Do you file all this under disability?

[BeatrixFan]

Indeed. Baldness is unattractive but it isn't really a disability.

[FarahJoy]

Hello, Emmy,

Though I don't know if you are still on this site since 2006 I find your question interesting.

I personally think that many Royals have grown up with religious believes and traditions that do not allow them to interrupt a pregnancy. However, we don't know what their very private choices are neither within their private circle nor in the gynecologist office.

So I suspect that there might have been some "Royal abortions", in fact, considering the future of a child exposed to power and to the eyes of the public. But this is only a supposition.

[rebbevb]

I think i read that the current Duchess of Kent suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Depression, & Coeliac Disease.

[Jason R Maier esq]

I also read that several of the children from Duke Robert I of Parma's first marriage were mentally retarted . . . along with one of his children from his second marriage

[COUNTESS]

[quote=LadyK;555810]You have to remember, that not all that long ago, disabilities, especcially mental disabilities were not understood nor treated as well as they are. Even here in the U.S., there are some presidential examples of that. President Franklin Delano Rosevelt spent his presidency hiding his lameness, which resulted from a bout with adult polio, for fear that it would be construed as weakness. And President John F. Kennedy's sister Rosalyn Kennedy was born with mental disabilities, then her family had her undergo a lobotomy as they thought it would 'cure' her. It didn't, of course, and actually made her worse. She was sent away, and lived in a special nursing facility (in Michigan, I think?) where she spent the rest of her life, until she died a few years ago. Even recently, I had a family friend when I was younger who's son was mentally handicapped, and the people at the school he went to assumed that he came from an unhappy and unhealthy home.

Royals who were handicapped, particularly mentally handicapped, if they were in position to inherit, were often forced to abdicate. I remember a British prince who was forced to abdicate (this was a long time ago, a very long time ago, and I don't remember who)

Several other royals, some hundreds of years ago, had gout. Henry VIII had gout, and so did many others, to the point where they often had difficulty walking, due to their bad diets.[/quote

First of all, Jack Kennedy's sister's name was Rosemary. Secondly, the lobotomy was performed, because her father, Joseph Kennedy, thought that this would keep her from becoming sexually active. He did this without his wife's or other children knowledge. They never forgave him. Crown Princess Victoria suffers from prosopagnosia, "face blindess". She can see perfectly well, but, she cannot recognize faces. This, especially, in her position is a great disability.

[pamk]

Originally Posted by Benjamin

You're probably very correct about the impact on the family. I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't contribute somewhat to the breakdown of Henri and Marie-Therese's marriage.

It seems that alot of the time that those children/adults who have special challenges are the most friendly and kind people that you can ever meet.

Henri and Marie Therese - can you explain?

[Austria]

Under the category of "Royals with Disabilities":

Did dyslexia affect the Braganza family line? If so, do you know which line or which person(s)?

Thank you in advance.

[Iluvbertie]

Originally Posted by COUNTESS

Royals who were handicapped, particularly mentally handicapped, if they were in position to inherit, were often forced to abdicate. I remember a British prince who was forced to abdicate (this was a long time ago, a very long time ago, and I don't remember who)

England has only a few abdications - Richard II who was deposed and thus forcibly abdicated, Henry VI and Edward IV kept overthrowing each other and forcing the other to 'abdicate' and although Henry seems to have some mental disability he regained the throne a couple of times as well. James II and VII also 'abdicated' but really was deposed by parliament.

The only true abdication in English/British history I can find (and I know virtually nothing about Scottish kings pre 1603 as they have no interest for me - lovely country to visit but its history has never interested me) is Edward VIII. The others were because they were deposed by a stronger king who usually killed them on taking the throne (except Edward IV who didn't do so and had to then fight to keep his throne and then to regain it).

[Lalla Meriem]

Originally Posted by Benjamin

You're probably very correct about the impact on the family. I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't contribute somewhat to the breakdown of Henri and Marie-Therese's marriage.

Henri and Maria Theresa of Luxembourg? None of their children are disabled. I suppose it's possible that Prince Sébastian's Poliosis (his blond patch) is caused by a disorder but he appears fine and is not mentally or physically disabled. And, unless you consider being exceptionally attractive a disability none of the other members of the family are disabled, either.

[espejor]

Originally Posted by Little_star

I'm not sure if people would count it as a disability per se, although I know it's classed as a learning disaility, but doesn't Princess Beatrice suffer from dyslexia?

King Carlos Gustavo of Sweden suffers too dyslexia.

Regards!

[PrincessElena]

Originally Posted by Lalla Meriem

Henri and Maria Theresa of Luxembourg?

No. Henri and Marie Therese d'Orleans. Their eldest son, Francois and youngest daughter, Blanche are severely disabled.