Divorce for Prince Bernhard and Princess Annette: January 2026

[iceflower]

* *

It was announced today, January 23, that Prince Bernhard and Princess Annette are getting divorced.

​

Announcement from the Government Information Service
on behalf of His Highness Prince Bernhard and Her Highness Princess Annette

News item | 23-01-2026 | 10:00

"After 25 years of marriage, we have decided to divorce. We have done so by mutual agreement and with mutual respect.
We will continue to care for our three children together. Nevertheless, this remains a difficult step. We therefore ask for everyone's understanding and respect for our privacy."

Bernhard van Oranje and Annette Sekrève​

Mededeling van de Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst namens Zijne Hoogheid Prins Bernhard en Hare Hoogheid Prinses Annette

"Na 25 jaar huwelijk hebben wij besloten te gaan scheiden. Dat doen we in goed overleg met wederzijds respect. We blijven samen de zorg dragen voor onze drie kinderen. Desondanks blijft het een moeilijke stap. We doen daarom een beroep op ieders begrip en respect voor onze privacy." Bernhard...

www.koninklijkhuis.nl

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Happy Posting! ​

 

[Biri]

Very sad news.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Very unfortunate news.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Sad news for the family after 25 years of marriage.

 

[lucien]

Very very sad! Both such nice people. So sorry to hear this.

 

[Somebody]

That's such sad news. Benjamin is turning 18 in March, so they might have waited until all of their children are no longer minors to avoid any issues with custody. Last summer they celebrated their 25th wedding...

The message is signed as 'Bernhard van Oranje' and 'Annette Sekrève' - as is customary, Annette is reverting back to her maiden name.

 

[Snowangel]

Sad news

 

[Blog Real]

This is surprising news after 25 years of marriage.

 

[Hans-Rickard]

Always sad when a divorce happens… But it’s a part of life for many people… I just hope it will be for the best for everyone involved…

I really like both of them.

 

[Marengo]

Sad after such a long time. The first divorce for Margriet’s children.

 

[Biri]

Sad after such a long time. The first divorce for Margriet’s children.

Let's hope only divorce.

Benjamin is turning 18 in March, so they might have waited until all of their children are no longer minors to avoid any issues with custody.

Reportedly the final divorce decree will be announced when Benjamin will be already of age.

 

[TLLK]

I'm sorry that the couple have decided to divorce after so many years of marriage. Best of luck to them and their families.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Were there reports or rumors of marital problems or possible separation before this announcement, as with the (denied) rumor about Prince Pieter-Christiaan and Princess Anita?

 

[Marengo]

Were there reports or rumors of marital problems or possible separation before this announcement, as with the (denied) rumor about Prince Pieter-Christiaan and Princess Anita?

Maybe 10-15 years ago he was pictured with a blonde young lady in a club and on the cover of a gossip magazine. The magazine implied something happened but from the photos that was not obvious.

We have a lot of so-called juice channels these days, social media accounts where news is leaked about famous people. Unsourced and not always verified either. I would not be surprised something will show up at some point. Of course Bernhard would not be the first multimillionaire with a midlife crisis to get divorced.

 

[Somebody]

Maybe 10-15 years ago he was pictured with a blonde young lady in a club and on the cover of a gossip magazine. The magazine implied something happened but from the photos that was not obvious.

We have a lot of so-called juice channels these days, social media accounts where news is leaked about famous people. Unsourced and not always verified either. I would not be surprised something will show up at some point. Of course Bernhard would not be the first multimillionaire with a midlife crisis to get divorced.

Are you sure that was Bernhard? I only recall a picture of Maurits being discussed at that time.

As far as I am aware there were no rumors indeed. But I also wouldn’t be surprised if their lives had started to go in very different ways with Bernhard’s business success and Annette being in a completely different work environment. Nonetheless, as with all couples, I had hoped they would be able to keep that strong connection.

 

[Marengo]

I have looked it up and it was Bernhard, though it was in 2019, so not as long ago as I thought.

https://www.telegraaf.nl/entertainment/bernhard-heeft-thuis-wat-uit-te-leggen/64531030.html?utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=share

In a party cafe at the Leidseplein.

 

[Somebody]

It's the first time a prince in the Dutch royal family is getting divorced. Previous divorces were either by princesses (Irene, Christina, Margarita) or by untitled members (Benardo).

 

[doro]

Such a unexpected news

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Title discussion here:

Titles of the Dutch Royals

The law clearly states that Willem-Alexander will return to being 'prince of the Netherlands', Which law clearly states that? The 2002 Royal House Membership Law did not, and the then government interpreted it (cf. previous post) as leaving open the possibilities: "Dit constitutionele...

www.theroyalforums.com

I noticed that the second sentence is translated in English to 'by mutual agreement and with mutual respect'. However, that is not what is says in Dutch (in goed overleg met wederzijds respect): instead, it states 'in good deliberation with mutual respect'. So, based on the phrasing, it might be the decision of one of them that the other has no choice but go along with (but they do so in a civil manner).

That seems revealing indeed. If the divorce were mutually initiated, it would have been desirable to specify such, as it would reinforce the message of "mutual respect", so its absence seemingly hints that the divorce was initiated by one spouse, though he/she consulted the other instead of blindsiding them.

Probably there will be more attention drawn now to the gossip magazine report from 2019.

Out of curiosity, given that Prince Bernhard's immense self-made fortune has been a subject of much reporting: Under the current laws, is Annette likely to continue sharing in that wealth after the divorce?

 

[Somebody]

Under the law in 2000 (which has since changed - but the law st the time of marriage is applicable not the current one), a marriage would be ‘in gemeenschap van goederen’ (sharing all goods), unless a couple decided otherwise - in that case, they could opt to marry ‘op huwelijkse voorwaarden’ (on marital conditions). Whether Bernhard and Annette opted out we don’t know but given that Bernhard already had started his own company as a student and was expected to receive a large inheritance, it wouldn’t surprise me if the opted for ‘marital conditions’.

 

[Marengo]

I missed this item in Boulevard on January 23rd, but according to royalty reporter of RTL and before of the EO, Jeroen Snel, the divorce was no surprise to him. He says the Prince was spotted with other women multiple times and rumours were going around for some time. In the end of June Annemarie de Kunder, also royalty reporter for RTL, asked the Prince if they were going to divorce. The answer then was 'no' and the same day a family photo was posted on his instagram, from Ibiza where they were vacationing.

Jeroen Snel niet verrast door scheiding prins Bernhard en Annette: ‘Meerdere malen met andere vrouwen gezien’

Na 25 jaar huwelijk hebben prins Bernhard (55) en Annette besloten uit elkaar te gaan. De tweede zoon van prinses Margriet (83) en Pieter van Vollenhoven (86) leerde Annette Sekrève (53) kennen tijdens hun studententijd in Groningen. Wat begon als een liefde buiten de schijnwerpers, groeide uit...

www.rtl.nl

 

[Marengo]

As said above, the so-called juice channels will certainly soon reveal more. And now 'RealityFBI' says that Bernhard was spotted on a plane to Rio de Janeiro with a Brazilian woman. She seemed significantly younger and they could not keep their hands of each other.

Zette Prins Bernhard zijn vrouw aan de kant voor deze jonge Braziliaanse dame?

Nog maar enkele weken nadat prins Bernhard en prinses Annette bekendmaakten uit elkaar te gaan, duiken er alweer nieuwe geruchten op. Het huwelijk van 25 jaar kwam drie weken geleden officieel ten ein...

mannenzaken.nl

‘Prins Bernhard vertrokken met Braziliaanse vrouw’

Nog maar enkele weken nadat het nieuws naar buiten kwam dat prins Bernhard en prinses Annette uit elkaar gaan, duiken er al nieuwe geruchten op.

www.ditjesendatjes.nl

It will be interesting to see if we will see him attend King's Day this year. I imagine we may not.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

It seems likely then (referring to the earlier posts in this thread) that it was Princess Annette who initiated the divorce.

If I understand correctly, Prince Bernhard was already unpopular with parts of the population over his business practices and general image as an out-of-touch spoiled millionaire (billionaire?). I imagine the new revelations will not exactly turn his image around?

Do he and his brothers attend King's Day every year?

 

[Marengo]

He was negatively in the press some years ago, and became a symbol of everything that was wrong in the housing market. Political parties here in Amsterdam also used him as a symbol, to the point of proposing a 'Prince Bernhard Tax' on people owning multiple homes in the city. The last few years we did not see many of these stories and there have been less comments.

If true the girlfriend-rumours will confirm what people are already thinking. But I am sure the Oange-fans will regret it, Princess Annette was appreciated and well-liked. Of course having a new relationship now does not need to mean this relationship was the cause of the failure of the marriage.

In general the amount of people in the country who will recognise the van Vollenhovens and their wives will be decreasing with the turn of the generations. They live discreet lives and have not been involved in scandals.

After the inauguration of the King it was rumoured the van Vollenhovens might not continue to be present at King's Day 'new style' [first implemented in 2015]. There were whispered complaints previous years that there were too many royals, which led to increased security problems and especially costs. But this was solved differently, they now do a much shorter route and visit only one city and not two. So they do attend most years, though once in a while somebody is absent due to illness or other engagements. But this year I can imagine Bernhard may prefer to skip it. We will see.

Princess Annette seems to be doing well. Three weeks ago, a few days before the divorce was announced, her daughter Isabella posted a photo of her on instagram talking about a sunny start of 2026 [they were travelling in Colombia].

Isabella van Vollenhoven on Instagram: "Zonnig begin van 2026💛"

439 likes, 34 comments - isabellavanvollenhoven on January 16, 2026: "Zonnig begin van 2026💛".

www.instagram.com

It could be that the photos were made a bit earlier as in the first days of January Samuel van Vollenhoven posted photos of the family [and perhaps his girfriend] at a tropical location, including Annette ánd Bernhard.

Samuel on Instagram: "Family trip ❤️"

322 likes, 21 comments - samuelvanvollenhoven_ on January 7, 2026: "Family trip ❤️".

www.instagram.com

 

[theroyalfly]

Very sad.

Not sure if this has been answered but will Princess Anette be able to retain her title?

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Not sure if this has been answered but will Princess Anette be able to retain her title?

No, she won't retain it (which is as expected and was confirmed by the court). See here for the title discussion:

Titles of the Dutch Royals

The law clearly states that Willem-Alexander will return to being 'prince of the Netherlands', Which law clearly states that? The 2002 Royal House Membership Law did not, and the then government interpreted it (cf. previous post) as leaving open the possibilities: "Dit constitutionele...

www.theroyalforums.com

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Sad news for the family after 25 years of marriage.

I agree. What is difficult to comprehend is the fact that the news is announced months after the Silver Wedding Anniversary.