Juliana of the Netherlands
Juliana | |
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Nieuwe Kerk, Delft , Netherlands | |
Spouse | |
Issue |
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agnatic) | |
Father | Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
Mother | Wilhelmina of the Netherlands |
Religion | Dutch Reformed Church |
Signature |
Juliana (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌjyliˈjaːnaː]; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980.
Juliana was the only child of
Due to Wilhelmina's failing health, Juliana took over royal duties briefly in 1947 and 1948. In September 1948, Wilhelmina abdicated and Juliana ascended to the Dutch throne. Her reign saw the decolonization and independence of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and Suriname. Despite a series of controversies involving the royal family, Juliana remained a popular figure among the Dutch.
In April 1980, Juliana abdicated in favour of her eldest daughter, Beatrix. Upon her death in 2004 at the age of 94, she was the longest-lived former reigning monarch in the world.
Early life and education
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2016) |
Juliana was born on 30 April 1909 at
The Queen's nearest relative was
Juliana spent her childhood at Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn, and at Noordeinde Palace and Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague. A small school class was formed at Noordeinde Palace on the advice of the educator Jan Ligthart so that, from the age of six, the Princess could receive her primary education with children of her own age. These children were Baroness Elise Bentinck, Baroness Elisabeth van Hardenbroek and Jonkvrouwe Miek (Mary) de Jonge.
As the Dutch constitution specified that Princess Juliana should be ready to succeed to the throne by the age of eighteen, her education proceeded at a faster pace than that of most children. After five years of primary education, the Princess received her secondary education (to pre-university level) from private tutors.
On 30 April 1927, Princess Juliana celebrated her eighteenth birthday. Under the constitution, she had officially come of age and was entitled to assume the royal prerogative, if necessary. Two days later her mother installed her in the "Raad van State" ("Council of State").
In the same year, the Princess enrolled as a student at the
Marriage
In the 1930s, Queen Wilhelmina began a search for a suitable husband for her daughter. At the time, the
At the 1936 Winter Olympics in Bavaria, she met Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, a young German Prince who was her 7th cousin, as both descended from Lebrecht, Prince of Anhalt-Zeitz-Hoym.[3] His rank and religion were suitable; so Princess Juliana's royal engagement was arranged by her mother. Princess Juliana fell deeply in love with her fiancé, a love that was to last a lifetime and that withstood separation during the war and Bernhard's extramarital affairs and illegitimate children. Queen Wilhelmina, by then the richest woman in the world, left nothing to chance. Wilhelmina had her lawyers draw up a prenuptial agreement that specified exactly what the German-born prince could and could not do, and what money he would receive from the royal estate. The couple's engagement was announced on 8 September 1936.
The wedding announcement divided a country that mistrusted Germany under
A wedding gift was the royal yacht, Piet Hein. The young couple moved into Soestdijk Palace in Baarn.
The first of their four daughters,
Canadian exile
On 12 May 1940, during the
When her third child,
On 24 June 1945, she sailed on the RMS Queen Elizabeth from Gourock, Scotland, to the United States, listing her last permanent residence as London, England. The following year (1946), Juliana donated another 20,500 bulbs, with the request that a portion of these be planted at the grounds of the Ottawa Civic Hospital where she had given birth to Margriet. At the same time, she promised Ottawa an annual gift of tulips during her lifetime to show her lasting appreciation for Canada's war-time hospitality. Each year Ottawa hosts the Canadian Tulip Festival in celebration of this gift.
On 2 May 1945, Princess Juliana was returned with her mother to Dutch soil. Initially they lived in temporary quarters at
During her pregnancy with her last child,
Reign
Regency and early reign
Wilhelmina's increasingly precarious health made it increasingly difficult for her to perform her duties. Juliana was forced to take over as regent from 14 October to 1 December 1947. Wilhelmina seriously considered abdicating in favour of Juliana at the end of 1947, but Juliana urged her mother to stay on the throne so she could celebrate her golden jubilee in 1948. However, Wilhelmina was forced by further health problems to relinquish her royal duties to Juliana once again on 4 May 1948.
The independence of
On 27 December 1949 at
The near-blindness of her daughter Christina and the increasing influence of Hofmans, who had moved into a royal palace, severely affected the queen's marital relationship. Over the next few years, the controversy surrounding the faith healer, at first kept out of the Dutch media, erupted into a national debate over the competency of the queen. However, the debate subsided in part due to Juliana's efforts to connect with her people. She often appeared in public dressed like any ordinary Dutch woman, and preferred to be addressed as "
Although the bicycle and the down-to-earth manners suggest a simple life style, the Dutch royal court of the 1950s and 1960s was still an opulent affair with chamberlains in magnificent uniforms, gilded state coaches, visits to towns in open carriages and lavish entertaining in the huge palaces. At the same time the queen began visiting the citizens of the nearby towns and, unannounced, would drop in on social institutions and schools like her mother before her insisting on seeing reality rather than a prepared show. On the international stage, Queen Juliana was interested in the problems of developing countries, the refugee problem,[
Crises and recovery
On the night of 31 January 1953, the Netherlands was hit by the most destructive storm in more than five hundred years. Thirty breaches of dunes and dikes occurred and many towns were swept away by twelve-foot storm surges. More than 1800 people drowned and tens of thousands were trapped by the floodwaters. Dressed in boots and an old coat, Queen Juliana waded through water and slopped through deep mud all over the devastated areas to bring desperate people food and clothing. Showing compassion and concern, reassuring the people, her tireless efforts would permanently endear her to the citizens of the Netherlands.
In 1956, the influence of Hofmans on Juliana's political views almost brought down the monarchy in a
Queen Juliana faced another crisis among her Protestant citizens in 1963, when her second daughter
Another crisis developed as a result of the announcement in July 1965 of the engagement of Princess Beatrix, heir to the throne, to German diplomat
The queen was noted for her courtesy and kindness. In May 1959, for example,
An event in April 1967, helped by an improving Dutch economy, brought an overnight revitalization of the royal family: the first male heir to the Dutch throne in 116 years,
Later reign
In the spring of 1975, a group of
On 25 November 1975, Suriname seceded from the Dutch Kingdom and became independent. Representing the Queen at the independence ceremony in the Surinamese capital, Paramaribo, were the heir presumptive Princess Beatrix, and her husband Prince Claus.
Scandal rocked the royal family again in 1976, when it was revealed that Prince Bernhard had accepted a
Prime Minister Joop den Uyl ordered an inquiry into the affair, while Prince Bernhard refused to answer reporters' questions, stating: "I am above such things." Rather than calling on the queen to abdicate, the Dutch people were this time fearful that their beloved Juliana might abdicate out of shame or because of a criminal prosecution conducted in her name against her consort.
On 26 August 1976, a censored and toned-down yet devastating report on Prince Bernhard's activities was released to a shocked Dutch public. The prince resigned his various high-profile positions as a
On her
On 30 April 1980, her 71st birthday, Queen Juliana abdicated and her eldest daughter succeeded her.[11] Juliana remained active in numerous charitable causes until well into her eighties.
Queen Juliana was very attached to Monte Argentario, in Tuscany, a favorite place for the Dutch royal family for their summer holidays for more than 40 years.[12][13]
Illness and death
From the mid-1990s, Juliana's health declined as she suffered the progressive onset of dementia. Juliana did not appear in public after this time. At the order of the Royal Family's doctors, Juliana was placed under 24-hour care. Prince Bernhard said in a television interview in 2001 that the former Queen was no longer able to recognise her family and that she had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for several years.[14]
Juliana died in her sleep on 20 March 2004 at the age of 94, at
In 2009, an exhibition of portraits of Juliana, and objects from her life, was held at the Het Loo Palace to mark the centenary of her birth.[15]
Titles, styles, and arms
Juliana's full title and style as an unmarried woman was: Her Royal Highness Princess Juliana Louisa Emma Marie Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Duchess of Mecklenburg, etc.[16][17]
Her mother issued a decree allowing her to adopt her husband's princely title as customary, providing that it be preceded by the title she held as a member of the
After her accession to the throne, Juliana's
Arms
Azure, billetty Or a lion with a coronet Or armed and langued Gules holding in his dexter paw a sword Argent hilted Or and in the sinister paw seven arrows Argent pointed and bound together Or. |
Issue
Name | Birth-death | Marriage | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Spouse | Issue | ||
Beatrix of the Netherlands | 31 January 1938 | 10 March 1966 (widowed in 2002) |
Jonkheer Claus van Amsberg | Prince Constantijn
|
Princess Irene | 5 August 1939 | 29 April 1964 (divorced in 1981) |
Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma | Princess Carolina, Marchioness of Sala
|
Princess Margriet |
19 January 1943 | 10 January 1967 | Pieter van Vollenhoven | Prince Maurits Prince Bernhard Prince Pieter-Christiaan Prince Floris |
Princess Christina | 18 February 1947 – 16 August 2019 (aged 72) |
28 June 1975 (divorced in 1996) |
Jorge Pérez y Guillermo | Juliana Guillermo
|
Ancestry
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Legacy
- Shortly after her birth, the inhabitants of a small village near Den Helder asked permission from Queen Wilhelmina to name their village after the young princess. They received permission and they named their village Julianadorp.[20]
- Princess Juliana Park in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is named after her.
- St. Maartenis named after her.
- Queen Juliana Bridge in Willemstad, Curaçao is named after her.
- She is commemorated in space, in the name of the asteroid 816 Juliana.
References
- ^ Simons, Marlise (21 March 2004). "Princess Juliana, Former Dutch Monarch, Is Dead at 94". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
- ^ 1
- ^ a b c van der Vat, Dan (22 August 2004). "Queen Juliana of the Netherlands". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
- ^ "Were A Monarch To Fall Dead", The Washington Post, 7 May 1905
- ^ a b van der Vat, Dan (22 March 2004). "Queen Juliana of the Netherlands". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ "CBC Digital Archives: "Netherlands' Princess Margriet born in Ottawa"". Archives.cbc.ca. Archived from the original on 23 June 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- ^ a b c "The Queen & the Saucers". Time. 1 June 1959. Archived from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
- ^ "The Netherlands: The Queen & the Saucers". Time. 1 June 1959. Archived from the original on 13 July 2007.
- ^ Witzand, Jopie (23 June 2017). "40 years on, questions remain: the extraordinary story of the 1977 Dutch train siege". SBS. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
- ^ Rule, Sheila (9 June 1989). "Vught Journal; Remember the Moluccans? Is This a Last Stand?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 September 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- ^ "Queen Beatrix to address the nation tonight; is she abdicating?". Dutch News. 28 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
- ^ "Il Tirreno (italian)". Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ "Adnkronos (italian)". 10 July 2005. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ (in Dutch) [1] Archived 20 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Lof na uitspraken prins over Juliana, 2 July 2001
- ^ "Nationaal Museum Paleis Het Loo – Juliana in beeld". Paleishetloo. 12 June 1981. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
- ^ a b c H.M. (koningin Juliana) Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina Archived 10 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine (Parlement.nl)
- ^ Decree about the titles and names of the descendants of HM Queen Wilhelmina Archived 14 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine – Website with Legislation concerning the Royal House of the Netherlands (Dutch)
- ^ Decree of granting the title "Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld" to HRH Prince Juliana Archived 14 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine – Website with Legislation concerning the Royal House of the Netherlands (Dutch)
- ^ Wet op het Kroondomein (BWBR0002752 Archived 26 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine)
- ^ "Julianadorp". Holland.com. 5 June 2019. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
External links
- Queen Juliana (1909-2004) at the Dutch Royal House website
- Netherlands Coronation (1948), newsreel on the British PathéYouTube Channel
- Newspaper clippings about Juliana of the Netherlands in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW