Princess Margriet & Prof Pieter Van Vollenhoven, Current Events 2 (Nov 2006-Dec 2008)

[lucien]

Originally Posted by magnik

I love the new photos of this family.
Little pity that not all grandchilds were presents.

Not all?Would you have wished for little Emma to pop out for the occasion?
The pics were taken in october,

[Marengo]

Now that would have been very civil of little Emma, but I think Magnik meant that it is a pity that they didn't wait with this photoshoot untill after Emma's birth in december :)

[Marengo]

Ademar posted 15 images of Margriets and Pieters pre-wedding ball on the Glittering Royal Events MB, they are worth checking out:

http://members3.boardhost.com/Oranje...168105898.html

[Her_Majesty]

Originally Posted by Marengo

Ademar posted 15 images of Margriets and Pieters pre-wedding ball on the Glittering Royal Events MB, they are worth checking out:

http://members3.boardhost.com/Oranje...168105898.html

Margriet looked stunning! I love the way her hair was styled!

[princess olga]

Originally Posted by Princess_Beatrix

The new photos are so great! Thanks for sharing!
They are really one of the nicest familys in Europe!

Not to mention very very photogenic, more so, in my opinion, than <any> other royal family we discuss on this forum! What gorgeous, grownup sons, what glamorous daughters in law Margriet and Pieter have! They themselves aren't bad looking either.

[Marengo]

As posted by Johan of the Benelux Royals MB:

One of the national newsshows had a poll stating that the majority of the Dutch would prefer it if Pieter was to be a prince. 60% thought he should have been made a prince at his wedding and 56% feel he should be made one now.
The woman who wrote his biography also made a comment that the Queen arranged for all her grandchildren to be titled but was not so generous to the offspring of her sister and that it had hurt Apeldoorn.

[princess olga]

Originally Posted by Marengo

As posted by Johan of the Benelux Royals MB:

One of the national newsshows had a poll stating that the majority of the Dutch would prefer it if Pieter was to be a prince. 60% thought he should have been made a prince at his wedding and 56% feel he should be made one now.

yes I'd agree with that. They made Claus a prince, which he wasn't prior to his marriage. Why not Pieter? Smacks like discrimination.

Originally Posted by Marengo

The woman who wrote his biography also made a comment that the Queen arranged for all her grandchildren to be titled but was not so generous to the offspring of her sister and that it had hurt Apeldoorn.

I would understand the queen's reasoning behind this but on the other hand, the kids of Margriet's kids are just as much children of a Prince as, say, the kids of Friso. Bit unfair, indeed. Interesting that it has'nt caused a rift in that family, easily could have. Makes me think Margriet is one tolerating, easygoing soul, much more so than we think.

[linda85]

Did Pieter ever ask to be made a prince? Maybe he and MArgriet decided that they didn't want him to be titled? WHo is to say?

[lucien]

Originally Posted by linda85

Did Pieter ever ask to be made a prince? Maybe he and MArgriet decided that they didn't want him to be titled? WHo is to say?

At the time of their engagement,Queen Juliana was about the only one who welcomed a commoner,Pieter,into the Royal Family.She wished for him to remain just that,a commoner,it was Queen Juliana's,and the them governments,decision not to give him a title.

Now,so many years on,and with his immaculate service to Queen and Country,it would be a,well deserved imho,sign of gratitude towards him to elevate him into the nobility and bestow a personal,or heriditary title of Count.But i think we have to wait and see if HM successor will elevate him once he becomes King.They,Alexander and Pieter,have a strong and warm uncle nephew relationship,or like Alexander puts it(in tomorrows documentary)they are my second parents(Margriet and Pieter).Apparently Alexander hardly ever makes a crucial decision without having a long talk/advice from/with his uncle first.

[prinses]

...from Netwerk:
http://www.netwerk.tv/

[Marengo]

Does anybody know if they will repeat the programme another day? I think I will not be able to watch it wednesday evening and the DVD-recorder is not functioning proberly either.

[Maxie]

Originally Posted by prinses

...from Netwerk:
http://www.netwerk.tv/

Nice video, prinses. Thanks for sharing! It seems that almost 60% of Dutch people (according to a survey) want Pieter to have the title of prince and they're talking about that in the video. Very interesting, all this. I think he deserves to have a title after all the hard work he did!

[missroyal]

With this link you can watch the interview shown yesterday, of course it is n dutch!
http://player.omroep.nl/aflID=373902...df00467632e910

[missroyal]

If the first link doesn't work, try this one :

http://www.uitzendinggemist.nl/index...4e987723cb76f4

and then klick on the button : 'bekijk uitzending'

[Princess_Beatrix]

All the best wishes to the couple!

Just one question: are there really serious discussions about Pieter getting a title? Oh a Prince Pieter would be nice!

[Marengo]

The discussions are not serious IMO, no politician seriously commented about it, just the media and some of the public.

[Princess_Beatrix]

Originally Posted by Marengo

The discussions are not serious IMO, no politician seriously commented about it, just the media and some of the public.

Oh no.. he really deserves it! Imo he belongs to the Royal Family... I never really understood why he didn't get a title.. but they had heir reasons.

[lucien]

Badgastein,Austria today:

http://www.ppe-agency.com/show.php?z...0Bad%20Gastein

Courtesy PPE.

[Marengo]

Thanks Lucien, the pictures are truly wonderfull, and nice to see ANita there to (as she was absent in the documentaries on the couple, probably due to her pregnancy).

[Henri M.]

Originally Posted by princess olga

yes I'd agree with that. They made Claus a prince, which he wasn't prior to his marriage. Why not Pieter? Smacks like discrimination.

It has nothing to do with discrimination actually. For getting a title, you need to be granted nobility. The standing practice since 1950 is that no new nobility is granted. Prince Claus already was an aristocrat when he married Princess Beatrix. So there was no nobility granted, he already was a nobleman.
His grandchildren from his two youngest sons do belong to the Netherlands nobility with the title Graaf (Gravin) van Oranje-Nassau van Amsberg. This is in fact no granting of new nobility (they inherited nobility via their fathers Prince Friso and Prince Constantijn) but just an elevation to a higher noble rank.

Pieter van Vollenhoven is no aristocrat and therefore also his children do not belong to the Netherlands nobility. Queen Juliana has (in a much criticized decision) granted his children the title Prins van Oranje-Nassau, Van Vollenhoven, purely as a personal and non-hereditary title. Therefore none of Pieter van Vollenhoven's grandchildren has a title.

Since 2002 it is fixed by law that the spouse of the Sovereign and the spouse of the Prince(ss) of Orange are Prins(es) der Nederlanden in their own right.
So by her marriage to the Prince of Orange, Ms Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti became a Princess in her own right under the law.

I'm sure that Queen Beatrix has always felt unlucky about her mother's decision concerning the personal princely titles for the sons of Pieter van Vollenhoven. Luckily, since 2002 new nobility can be created for members of the Royal House. Pieter van Vollenhoven is a member of the Royal House.

It is likely that when Queen Beatrix abdicates, also Princess Margriet and Pieter van Vollenhoven will make place for the new King and for Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien. That is a moment on which King Willem IV Alexander (who seems to be very close to aunt Margriet and uncle Pieter) can issue a royal decree, to grant nobility to Pieter van Vollenhoven (and via him to his sons and his grandchildren).