Biography
Youth and study
Prince Bernhard was born in Jena in Germany on 29 June 1911, the elder son of Prince Bernhard von Lippe and Baroness Armgard von Sierstorpff-Cramm. The Prince spent his early years at Reckenwalde, the family estate in East Prussia (now Woynovo in Poland), near the city of Züllichau (Sulechow). The Prince received his early education at home. When he was twelve he was sent as a boarder to the gymnasium in Züllichau and several years later, again as a boarder, to a gymnasium in Berlin, where he gained his leaving certificate in 1929.
He went on to study law at the commercial college in Lausanne, and at the universities of Munich and Berlin. He was awarded his Referendar Juris degree in 1935. On graduating, the Prince went to work for the German chemical company, I.G. Farben. After a period of training, he became Secretary to the Board of Directors at the Paris office in 1935. He worked there until his engagement on 8 September 1936 to Princess Juliana, heiress to the Dutch throne. On 27 November of the same year, he became a Dutch citizen.
Marriage and family
On 7 January 1937, Prince Bernhard married Princess Juliana of the Netherlands. On that occasion, he was accorded the title of Prince of the Netherlands. The royal couple chose Soestdijk Palace as their home.
Four daughters were born to Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard: Princess Beatrix in 1938, Princess Irene in 1939, Princess Margriet in 1943 and Princess Christina in 1947.
After the German invasion on 10 May 1940, the royal family was forced to flee to the United Kingdom. For safety reasons, Princess Juliana and her children departed for the Canadian capital, Ottawa, a month later. Prince Bernhard visited his family there on several occasions, but he spent almost the entire war in London, the seat of Queen Wilhelmina's government-in-exile. Between 1940 and 1945, he played an active part in the Allied struggle against Nazi Germany, both in London and, from September 1944, in the Netherlands. As Supreme Commander of the Netherlands Armed Forces, he was present when the terms of surrender were negotiated in Wageningen in May 1945. He was reunited with his wife and family in the Netherlands in August 1945.
Prince of the Netherlands
On 4 September 1948 Princess Juliana succeeded her mother as Queen of the Netherlands. From that date to the date of Queen Juliana's abdication in 1980, Prince Bernhard, as the Queen's Consort, bore the title the Prince of the Netherlands. The Prince accompanied his wife on state visits and attended official receptions.
Prince Bernhard played an important role in many fields. The many hundreds of organisations of which he was patron, honorary chair, special supervisory board member or honorary member together form a picture of Dutch society in all its diversity. The Prince was a member of the supervisory board of Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM), Hoogovens and the Royal Netherlands Industries Fair, chair of the National Disaster Fund, member of the board of the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Commander of the Netherlands Order of St John of Jerusalem, honorary chair of the Royal Dutch Touring Club (ANWB) and the Royal Tropical Institute, and patron of the Netherlands Olympic Committee, the Society for the Preservation of Nature Reserves, and the Jewish National Fund, to name but a few.
Economy
After the Second World War, Prince Bernhard played an important part in the economic reconstruction of the Netherlands. He made goodwill visits to many countries to promote Dutch trade relations.
From 1954 to 1976, the Prince was Chair of the Bilderberg Group, a debating forum for politicians, businesspeople and other prominent figures from Europe, the United States and Canada. The Group meets informally once a year at different venues to discuss current political, economic and social developments. It takes its name from the venue of its first meeting, the Bilderberg Hotel in Arnhem. Queen Beatrix, and sometimes the Prince of Orange, still attend these meetings.
Military career
Shortly before his marriage, Prince Bernhard swore the oath of allegiance as an officer and was commissioned in a number of military ranks. He was appointed Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Netherlands Navy, Captain in the Royal Netherlands Army and brevet Cavalry Captain in the Royal Netherlands Indies Army (KNIL). In 1939 he became Aide-de-Camp Extraordinary to Queen Wilhelmina.
However, it was the Second World War that marked the start of Prince Bernhard's military career proper. During his stay in London, he gained his pilot's wings. In 1941, he became Honorary Air Commodore in the RAF and in 1964 was promoted to Honorary Air Marshal.
Promotions followed in rapid succession. In 1943, Queen Wilhelmina appointed him Lieutenant-General and Vice-Admiral, and in 1944 Supreme Commander of the Netherlands Armed Forces and the Netherlands Forces of the Interior (the military resistance). In September 1945, the Prince was honourably discharged from these posts and, at the same time, appointed Inspector-General of the Royal Netherlands Army.
For his services during the Second World War, Prince Bernhard was awarded the highest military decoration - the Cross of Commander of the Military Order of William - in 1946. For his achievements as a pilot on active service, he received the Flying Cross. In 1984, he was awarded the Resistance Cross. The Prince was also decorated for his war service by the United States, Britain and France.
In 1946, Prince Bernhard was appointed Inspector-General of the Royal Netherlands Navy, and Inspector-General of the Royal Netherlands Air Force in 1953. In 1970, these three posts were combined into one - that of Inspector-General of the Armed Forces. In 1954 Queen Juliana appointed him General and Lieutenant-Admiral. In September 1976, the Prince retired from military duties with an honourable discharge.
Culture
Prince Bernhard was the founder and a governor of the Prince Bernhard Fund, which was set up in London in 1940. The original aim of the Fund was to collect financial contributions for the Allied war effort. After the war, it became a vehicle for the advancement of culture, science and nature conservation in the Netherlands. In 1999, the Fund’s name was changed to the Prince Bernhard Cultural Fund. Its national headquarters is in Amsterdam, and there are 15 branches in the provinces and in the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. Every year, Prince Bernhard presented a number of monetary awards on behalf of the Fund to artists and scholars, and every summer he presented the Silver Carnation award for voluntary service in the cultural field.
The Prince was also a governor of the Erasmus Prize Trust, which he founded in 1958. Every year, the Trust makes monetary awards to people or organisations for outstanding services to culture, society or the social sciences in Europe. Recipients of the prize include Jan Tinbergen (1967), Amnesty International (1976), Vaclav Havel (1986), Simon Wiesenthal (1992), Jacques Delors (1997) and Hans van Manen (2000). Now worth €150,000, the Erasmus Prize is the Netherlands' most valuable cultural award.
From 1956 to 1977, Prince Bernhard was chair of the Fondation Européenne de la Culture, which was founded by Robert Schuman in Geneva in 1954, and has been based in Amsterdam since 1960. The Fondation promotes European cooperation in the field of education, the arts, the environment, social issues and cultural relations between Western and Eastern Europe. Princess Margriet has chaired the Fondation since 1984.
Nature conservation
Prince Bernhard has always been highly committed to nature conservation. In 1961, he established the World Wildlife Fund (now the World Wide Fund for Nature), with the aim of conserving plant and animal species throughout the world, making more space for nature, and protecting the environment. As the WWF's President, Prince Bernhard regularly visited countries in Asia, Africa and South America. On his retirement in 1977, he was appointed Founder President. The Prince was President of the Netherlands Branch of the WWF.
In 1971 the Prince founded the Order of the Golden Ark, an honour awarded to those who have performed outstanding service in the area of wildlife conservation.
Sport
Prince Bernhard took a keen and active interest in sport, and was patron of a great number of sports organisations, including the Netherlands Lawn Tennis Association, the Netherlands Ski Association and the Federation of Sport for the Disabled. For many years he chaired the Fédération Equestre Internationale, and was honorary president. The Prince was a keen golfer.
Hobbies
The Prince's leisure pursuits included photography and film-making. He was also very interested in aviation, and in the summer of 1994 he ended a flying career spanning 53 years, during which time he flew over 200 types of aircraft.
Prince Bernhard usually spent the summer holidays at l'Elefante felice in Porto Ercole in Italy. Up to 1994, he and Princess Juliana went skiing every winter, usually in Lech, Austria.