Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
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Princess Margriet Francisca of the Netherlands (born 19 January 1943) is the third daughter of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. As a daughter of the Queen Juliana, and a younger sister of the current monarch, Queen Beatrix, she is a member of the Dutch Royal House and currently ninth in the line of succession to the Dutch throne.[1]
Princess Margriet often represents Queen Beatrix at official or semi-official events. Some of these functions have taken her back to Canada (her country of birth), and to events organised by the Dutch merchant navy of which she is a patron.
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[edit] Birth in Canada
The Princess was born in Ottawa, Ontario, as the family had been living in Canada since June 1940 after the occupation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany. The maternity ward of Ottawa Civic Hospital in which Princess Margriet was born was temporarily declared to be extraterritorial by the Canadian government.[2] Making the maternity ward outside of the Canadian domain caused it to be unaffiliated with any jurisdiction and technically international territory. This was done to ensure that the newborn Princess would derive her citizenship from her mother only, thus making her solely Dutch.
It is a common misconception that the Canadian government declared the maternity ward to be Dutch territory. Since Dutch nationality law is based primarily on the principle of Jus sanguinis it was not necessary to make the ward Dutch territory for the Princess to become a Dutch citizen. Since Canada followed the rule of jus soli, it was necessary for Canada to disclaim the territory temporarily so that the Princess would not, by virtue of birth on Canadian soil, become a Canadian citizen.
[edit] British nationality
Since she is a descendant of King George II of Great Britain, and is therefore in line for the British throne, she became a British subject after a 1957 court case filed by Ernest Augustus IV, Prince of Hanover (who also claimed, but did not legally have, the title Prince of Great Britain and Ireland) decided that all persons in line for the British throne are British subjects. Though this rendered previous efforts to avoid dual nationality useless, Margriet does not hold dual citizenship.
Princess Margriet of the Netherlands could claim British nationality because of her descent from Sophia, Electress of Hanover. Her British nationality is based on 'The Act for the Naturalization of the Most Excellent Princess Sophia, Electress and Duchess Dowager of Hanover, and the Issue of her Body' from 1705. This Act was repealed in 1948 and is no longer in force, but that was after her birth.
[edit] Namesake and christening
She was named after the marguerite, the flower worn during the war as a symbol of the resistance to Nazi Germany. (See also the book When Canada Was Home, the Story of Dutch Princess Margriet, by Albert VanderMey, Vanderheide.)
Princess Margriet was christened at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Ottawa, on 29 June 1943. Her godparents included the President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt, Queen Mary of the United Kingdom, The Crown Princess Märtha of Norway, Martine Roell (who was a Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Juliana in Canada) and The Dutch Merchant Fleet.[3]
[edit] After the war
It was not until August 1945, when the Netherlands had been liberated, that Princess Margriet first set foot on Dutch soil. Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard returned to Soestdijk Palace in Baarn, where the family had lived before the war.
It was while she was studying at Leiden University that Princess Margriet met her future husband, Pieter van Vollenhoven. Their engagement was announced on 10 March 1965, and they were married on 10 January 1967 in The Hague. It was decreed that any children from the marriage would be styled HH Prince/Princess of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven, titles that would not be held by their descendants.
The Princess and her husband took up residence in the right wing of Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn. In 1975 the family moved to their present home, Het Loo, which they had built on the Palace grounds.
[edit] Children
| Styles of Princess Margriet |
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| Reference style | Her Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
Princess Margriet and Pieter van Vollenhoven have four sons:
- Prince Maurits (born 17 April 1968) m. Marilène van den Broek (b. 4 February 1970) on 29 May 1998. They have three children:
- Anastasia (Anna) Margriet Joséphine van Lippe-Biesterfeld van Vollenhoven (b. 15 April 2001)
- Lucas Maurits Pieter Henri van Lippe-Biesterfeld van Vollenhoven (b. 26 October 2002)
- Felicia Juliana Benedicte Barbara van Lippe-Biesterfeld van Vollenhoven (b. 31 May 2005)
- Prince Bernhard (b. 25 December 1969) m. Annette Sekrève (b. 18 April 1972) on 6 July 2000. They have three children:
- Isabella Lily Juliana van Vollenhoven (b. 14 May 2002)
- Samuel Bernhard Louis van Vollenhoven (b. 25 May 2004)
- Benjamin Pieter Floris van Vollenhoven (b. 12 March 2008)
- Prince Pieter-Christiaan (b. 22 March 1972) m. Anita van Eijk (b. 27 October 1969) on 25 August 2005. They have two children:
- Emma Francisca Catharina van Vollenhoven (b. 28 November 2006)
- Pieter Anton Maurits Erik van Vollenhoven (b. 19 November 2008)
- Prince Floris (b. 10 April 1975) m. Aimée Söhngen (b. 19 October 1977) on 20 October 2005. They have two children:
- Magali Margriet Eleonoor van Vollenhoven (b. 9 October 2007)
- Eliane Sophia Carolina van Vollenhoven (b. 5 July 2009)
Upon the marriage of Prince Maurits to Marie-Helene van den Broek in 1998, it was announced that the couple's children would bear the surname Van Lippe-Biesterfeld van Vollenhoven. The children of Prince Bernhard, Prince Pieter-Christiaan and Prince Floris will be known by the surname Van Vollenhoven.
Since neither Prince Pieter-Christiaan nor Prince Floris applied for Parliamentary approval for their marriages, as required in the Netherlands, they lost their place in the succession when they married.
[edit] Style, titles and names
- Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld (1943–1967)[4]
- Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld, Mrs van Vollenhoven (1967–present)
[edit] Ancestry
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Royal House of the Netherlands
- CBC Archives – A look at Princess Margriet's birth in Ottawa (from 1992).
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Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
Cadet branch of the House of Lippe
Born: 19 January 1943 |
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| Dutch royalty | ||
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| Preceded by Countess Leonore |
Line of succession to the Dutch Throne 9th position |
Succeeded by Prince Maurits |
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