Prince Bernhard's Illegitimate Children

Australian · #1 12-14-2004, 06:16 AM

is this true? sorry i might not be up-to-date

Prince admits illegitimate children
December 14, 2004
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PRINCE Bernhard of the Netherlands has admitted in an interview published two weeks after his death that he had fathered two illegitimate daughters.

"I had six daughters," the prince told Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant in an interview given almost four years ago but published only today.

Prince Bernhard, the father of Queen Beatrix, died on December 1, aged 93, and was buried last Saturday.

The prince admitted to fathering two girls called Alexia and Alicia.

The existence of Alexia, now 37 and living in France, was an open secret in the Netherlands, but that of Alicia was a revelation.

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Australian · #2 12-14-2004, 06:17 AM

Alicia is understood to be aged about 50 and living in the US.

"She must be left in peace," Prince Bernhard was quoted as saying.

There was no indication of the identity of the mother or mothers of the two women.

Prince Bernhard, consort of former Queen Juliana, officially had four daughters -- Queen Beatrix and the princesses Irene, Margriet and Christina.

They followed the coffin into the crypt in Delft where the princes of the House of Orange have been buried since Willem I (1533-1584). In a separate interview published just after his death, Prince Bernhard admitted to having taken bribes from the US aeroplane manufacturer Lockheed, thus confirming widespread reports in 1976.

Agence France-Presse

HMQueenElizabethII · #3 12-14-2004, 07:01 AM

I have not heard of that but i do not think it's true.

Tina · #4 12-14-2004, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HMQueenElizabethII

I have not heard of that but i do not think it's true.

there was a big report some days ago in the telegraaf, but I don't know wheather it is true or not - we will see

**Marengo** · #5 12-14-2004, 07:21 AM

It is true! Today the interview was published in one of the most reliable newspapers of the country. According to the prince, Juliana found the girls 'terribly sweet'.

Tina · #6 12-14-2004, 07:49 AM

http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/1..._dochters.html

it really seems to be true!

hope his other daughters knew it before!

GrandDuchess · #7 12-14-2004, 11:20 AM

Yes, this is true. For those of us who follow the Benelux Royals MB, the fact about Alexia Grinda-Lejeune and Alicia is nothing new. There are lots of good posts you can read on the mb about it, and some nice Dutchmen who keep one up on the news from Dutch media.

For those of you who can understand a little Dutch (like I can because similiarities between the languages) - you can read the interview with Prince Bernhard published now after his death and conducted during many years without the knowledge of either the Queen or the RVD (!) online. Go here to read the interview in de Volkskrant.

The Watcher · #8 12-14-2004, 01:01 PM

Translation of most important parts of the interview from BRMB:

Most important items in a summary and with quotes:

The late Prince Bernhard spoke -without any knowledge by the Queen or the Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst (RVD - Government Information Service)- a few times with 'De Volkskrant'. The interviews with the editor-in-chief mr. Pieter Broertjes and editor mr. Bart Tromp took place in 2001, 2002 and 2003. The Prince requested that it should only be published after his death. A request which was fully repsected by the two journalists. Only yesterday, the day before publication, the Queen was informed.

The interview is published in a 23-pages long appendix, attached to today's normal daily newspaper.

Amongst other things it reveals that the late Prince had fathered two daughters outside his marriage with Queen Juliana.

According to Pieter Broertjes, the editor-in-chief, the late Prince Bernhard has seen all documents, transcripts and gave his fiat to all texts.

That the late Prince Bernhard had one illegitimate daughter out of his realationship with the française Hélène baronne Grinda-Lejeune -the now 27-years old Alexia- was a public secret. That does not count for the now 50-years old Alicia, born in an extramarital affair of the Prince with an American. This daughter is born in the middle of the Hofmans Affair, which demolished the marriage of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard. In the interview the Prince says that Alicia is a wonderful talented lady, a landscape architecte, and that she must be left in pace.

De Volkskrant: "Do you see each other?"
The Prince: "Yes, once in summer and once in winter. She has been with her mother on Soestdijk Palace."

Both daughters will, together with the Queen and the three Princesses, have a fair share in his inheritance. "My inheritance must be divided by six. That is how I have fixed it in my testament." The Prince values the private fortune of the late Queen Juliana and him together on 150 to 200 million Euro's (195 to 260 million US Dollar). He fights every assumption that the Orange-Nassaus would belong to the richest families in the world. He also explicitly stated in the interview that he never ever lived on his wife's expenses, as he had his own sources of income.

The Prince values the private fortune of Queen Beatrix on no more than a million. The family hardly has stocks in Royal Oil. "From the day on that Trix became the Queen, I have paid for the feeding of the boars on Het Loo. Claus has said: "We must get rid off the boars on Het Loo." I replied that you then no longer can invite guests: they do not want to shoot deer. They want to shoot boars. "Yes, but we can not afford that" replied Claus. "Okay", I said: "I will pay for it".

Another example to stress that the Queen really has to finance things from her annual apanage: "The cadeau for the young couple, Alexander and Máxima, should be a silver cutlery-service, with silver tableware, salt and peppercans, etc. I thought that was a nice cadeau indeed. But Beatrix thought that 50.000 for the cadeau was an inconvenience." According to the Prince, he then paid for the costs of this cadeau.

According to the Prince, Queen Juliana knew about his affairs and accepted his two daughters. She could accept it because she loved him so dearly. When he told the Queen about the existence of Alicia and Alexia, she reacted 'normal'. "Just like as if I told her we would play tennis tomorrow", so said Prince Bernhard.

De Volkskrant: "Queen Juliana must have loved you very much".
The Prince: "Yes. That is also why she could accept it. That is it. For an example, take that relationship I had in London, during the War (with Lady Ann Orr-Lewis / HM). The first year she asked: "Do you have a friend?". I confirmed. The second year: "Do you still have the same friend?" I confirmed again. In the third year: "Still?". I confirmed it again. "Well, if she is só nice that you still have a relationship with her after three years, I would be pleased to meet her."

Also the Queen and the three Princesses are aware of their halfsisters. "Of course. Why would I keep this secret in my own family? Wouldn't that be be nonsense?" The Prince does not know if the Queen and the three Princesses do blame him for his two extramarital daughters. "I have no idea about that. I don't think so. But at the other side: I do immediately believe that they will not shout 'hooray!' about this."

The late Prince Bernhard als stated that he did not suffer from the Lockheed Affair. He thought that the then minister-president, Joop den Uyl, went too far by dismissing him from all his military functions.

De Volkskrant: "What was your opinion about that prohibition to appear in a military uniform?"
The Prince: "I have made clear to Joop den Uyl (the minister-president / HM): no one can prohibit me to wear an uniform. I am a hounourable dismissed supreme officer. That means that I can wear an uniform until in my grave. Because his party wanted this prohibition, I have agreed only to wear an uniform after consultation with the minister-president. It was a gentlemen's agreement. He accepted it this way."

According to him the irreconcilable attitude by many Labour Party ministers was caused during the finals of the World Championships Football in 1974 (West-Germany defeated the Netherlands). After this lost final the Prince caused a fury under the attending Labour Party ministers due to an incident.

The Prince: "During a banquet after the final, all ladies and gentlemen fully dressed up to the max in smoking, etc. And there came the Dutch ministers, looking like Provo's. I joked to the Bavarian minister-president: 'Can not you get those folks be thrown out?' Well, take it for sure: that affair was in the backs of their head, during the Lockheed Affair."

Prince Bernhard: "I thought: Oh gosh, that good man (the minister-president) stands under pressure of his own Labour Party, which wants to see me in a box." (De Volkskrant: "A box?" - The Prince: "O, that is the prison."). The Prince requested the Government to publish an official explanation after his death, in which all unture and infamous accusations are for once and for all parried. He made this known to the then director-general of the Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst (RVD - Government Information Service). mr. Eef Brouwers. "But mr. Brouwers said to me: how could the Government ever issue something like that? I replied: "I do not care about that at all. I want the truth to be told. I find the Government owes me that." In the interviews the Prince furthere denies ever have been a member of the NSDAP, Hitler's Nazi Party. "With my hand on the Bible, I can declare: I have never been a Nazi!"

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So according Prince Bernhard has Queen Beatrix only 1 million dollar adn couldn't she even pay the wedding cadeau for her son Willem Alexander, Bernhard has paid that. Well the 200 million of Juliana and Bernhard will go to the daughters, so now she must have around the 50 million.

And I'm really wondering how Juliana could be so nice to her husband' girlfriends

The Watcher · #9 12-14-2004, 03:42 PM

And a other shocking story today, message from BRMB:
---------------------------------------------
Ministers seriously wanted to force Queen Juliana to abdicate

Today some closed archives went open (after the death of the Prince) and especially the personal archives of mr. C. Fock, the Clerk to the Council of Ministers gave an insight.

A group of ministers, especially mr. J.W. Beyen (Foreign Affairs), mrs. M.A.M. Klompé (Overseas Territories), mr. S.W. Mansholt (Agriculture) and mr. C. Staf (Defence) wanted to discuss the Queen in the Council of Ministers. At least to get her out of parental power over Princess Beatrix (and automatically to a declaration of being unfit for the kingship) because they shared Prince Bernhard's opinion that the Queen was totally under the spell of a Rasputin, mrs. Margareta 'Greet' Hofmans, the (in)famous Faith Healer.

According to the memoranda by mr C. Fock, the minister-president, mr. W. Drees, immediately cut short any discussion about the Queen in the Council of Ministers. (Instead a Commission investigated the Hofmans Affair, in a Top Secret Report, and gave a few solutions. In general the Prince was 'victorious' and the Queen had to dismiss many of the Household who choose 'her (and Hofmans) side'. This was the end of a strictly personal royal household. Since the Hofmans Affair (and formalized in the Constitution of 1983) the Queen organizes her own Household 'due account to the Intersts of the State' (with other words, also under ministerial responsibility).

Gabriella · #10 12-14-2004, 06:30 PM

Thank you The Watcher, for translating these articles for us. I never knew that he had the second daughter, so that is news to me. I did know that there was a rumor that he had one daughter, but I didn't know that this had ever been confirmed. Were either or both of them present at the funeral?

MoonlightRhapsody · #11 12-14-2004, 08:23 PM

You know, Juliana must have loved him so much to be able to stand his infidelities. I don't think I can say the same if it was done to me. Somehow, "livid", "enraged", and "divorce" are some of the words that comes to my head. I simply couldn't tolerate what Bernard did to Juliana.

Alexandria · #12 12-14-2004, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moonlightrhapsody

You know, Juliana must have loved him so much to be able to stand his infidelities. I don't think I can say the same if it was done to me. Somehow, "livid", "enraged", and "divorce" are some of the words that comes to my head. I simply couldn't tolerate what Bernard did to Juliana.

Back then, divorce for royals wasn't really an option. While Queen Juliana was quite modern and unpretentious about some things, her marriage certainly wasn't something she was laxadaiscal about.

I think there was a lot of give and take in Juliana and Bernhard's relationship, from Juliana's "new age" medical treatments for Christina's blindness to Bernhard's infidelities, they are a testament of a couple who struggle and put up with each other rather than just cutting each other loose.

GrandDuchess · #13 12-15-2004, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Watcher

Translation of most important parts of the interview from BRMB:

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Watcher

And a other shocking story today, message from BRMB:

I hope you have asked permission from those who did the work on the translations (in this case only Henri, I think) and summaries at the Benelux Royal MB - I'm sure they've devoted a lot of time to it, and they want to be asked permission before anyone copies and uses it else where. I'm just saying, because there has been some arguments before in these cases.

Jackswife · #14 12-15-2004, 08:30 AM

Yes, I think at the time, divorce was totally not an option for a reigning Queen, and so Juliana tolerated Bernhard's straying. I'm sure she did love him dearly despite his mistakes. In many ways, it was a different world then.

Vicomtesse · #15 12-17-2004, 10:45 PM

Did Alicia or Alexia go to their father's funeral?
Does anyone know where they live now?

hrhcp · #16 12-18-2004, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vicomtesse

Did Alicia or Alexia go to their father's funeral?
Does anyone know where they live now?

Neither went.

Alicia I think lives in the USA .... and is a dentist ?
Alexia lives in the Netherlands?

MoonlightRhapsody · #17 12-18-2004, 01:58 AM

Alicia is said to be a landscape architect here in the US.

royal_sophietje · #18 12-18-2004, 04:38 AM

Alexia and Alicia didn't went to the funeral. They were not allowed to. Alexia doens't live in the Netherlands but in France.

Alexandria · #19 12-18-2004, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by royal_sophietje

Alexia and Alicia didn't went to the funeral. They were not allowed to.

Why weren't they allowed to go? Queen Juliana seemed to have made peace with her husband's infidelity and the existence of his two other daughters, so I don't understand why they weren't allowed to attend and say a final goodbye to their father?

I am curious to know how long the Queen and her sisters have been aware of their half sisters, and if in the future there might be an occurence where Alicia and Alexia could "bond" with Beatrix, Irene, Margriet and Christina?

Ennyllorac · #20 12-18-2004, 06:07 PM

How much of a relationship did the Prince have with his other daughters? I would think that if it was a good relationship, that they would have gone to see him before he passed away.