Church Minister

Reverend Welmet Hudig-Semeijns de Vries van Doesburgh will conduct the funeral service of Her Royal Highness Princess Juliana of the Netherlands on Tuesday 30 March in the Nieuwe Kerk, Delft. The choice of a woman minister to conduct the service is in accordance with the Princess’s express wish.

Reverend Hudig studied theology at Leiden University, and in 1977 she was called to the ministry of the Dutch Reformed Church in Kralingen, where she was active as pastor to the Free Youth Church. She has been minister to the Bergkapel chapel in Hillegersberg, spiritual counsellor to Sophia Children’s Hospital in Rotterdam, and a minister of the Remonstrant Brotherhood in the same city. She now works as an oncological therapist for the Helen Dowling Institute in Utrecht and Vruchtenburg in Rotterdam. Both institutes provide psychological support for cancer patients.

For several years, Reverend Hudig regularly visited Princess Juliana to discuss theological and spiritual matters with her.