Juliana Tribute
| Princess Juliana was born on April 30, 1909, as only daughter of Queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands and Prince Hendrik of Mecklenburg. | |
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As Crown Princess Juliana became socially active during the crisis years.
On January 7, 1937 she married Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld,
who is 2 years her junior. Their eldest daughter, Queen Beatrix, was
born on January 31, 1938. Another daughter, Irene, followed in 1939.
After the German invasion in May 1940, Princess Juliana fled with her daughters to Canada, while Prince Bernhard and Queen Wilhelmina stayed in
England. A third daughter, Margriet, was born in 1943. The Royal Family
was reunited at the end of the war. In 1947 the youngest daughter,
Christina, was born. It soon became clear that she is visually disabled. |
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In 1948 Juliana became Queen upon her mother's retirement.
Soon after ascending the throne Queen Juliana refused
to sign death penalties for criminals of the Second World War.
It was the time of the Cold War and her vague speaches
about world peace were troubling the Dutch government.
They also lead to an estrangement between the Queen and
Prince Bernhard.
In 1956 Queen Juliana was forced to send her friends away,
among them the heeler Greet Hofmans whom she used to
consult regarding her youngest daughter's health. |
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By 1976 the marriage was as good as ever; Queen Juliana
stood by her man, when Prince Bernhard was accused of taking
bribes from Lockheed. When their daughter Irene decided to
marry the Catholic Prince Juan Carlos de Bourbon-Parma in Rome
in 1964 without permission from the government, Queen Juliana
could not be present at the wedding. In the next years she
proudly attended the weddings of her other daughters.
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Queen Juliana retired in 1980. Since then the Princess
has taken care of her daughters Irene and Christina,
who have been divorced. In the 1990s Prince Bernhard
suffered from major health problems, but he still lives an active life.
In the last years, Princess Juliana no longer appeared in public. People have always regarded her as "less majestic" than both her mother and daughter. May-be that is the reason why she is genuinely loved by the Dutch people; she was everybody's grandmother. Princess Juliana passed away at 5.50 on the morning of Saturday 20 March 2004 in Soestdijk Palace. Her doctors have announced that the Princess died from pneumonia combined with a general deterioration in her health. |
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