Prince Bernhard of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven

Prince Bernhard Lucas Emmanuel of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven (born 25 December 1969) is the second son of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Pieter van Vollenhoven. Before the succession of his cousin Willem-Alexander as King, he was a member of the Dutch Royal House and eleventh in the line of succession to the Dutch throne. With Willem-Alexander's succession however, he is no longer a member of the Dutch Royal House, and is no longer in line to direct succession to the Dutch throne, but still retains his membership of the Dutch Royal Family [1]

Prince Bernhard
Prince Bernhard (2016)
Born (1969-12-25) 25 December 1969
Nijmegen, Netherlands
Spouse
​
(m. 2000)​
IssueIsabella van Vollenhoven
Samuel van Vollenhoven
Benjamin van Vollenhoven
Full name
Bernhard Lucas Emmanuel
HouseOrange-Nassau
FatherPieter van Vollenhoven
MotherPrincess Margriet of the Netherlands

Life and education

Prince Bernhard's family lived in Apeldoorn throughout his childhood, moving to Het Loo House in 1975. He received both his primary and secondary education in Apeldoorn.

Prince Bernhard has three brothers: Princes Maurits, Pieter-Christiaan, and Floris.

He studied economics in 1988 at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Subsequently, in 1989 he went to the Groningen University in the Netherlands where he studied marketing and market research. In 1995 he received the degree of doctorandus (Master of science) at this university.

Although he is a member of the extended royal family, he rarely takes part in official duties. Prince Bernard is a self-employed entrepreneur.

Marriage and family

While studying in Groningen, Prince Bernhard met Annette Sekrève, (born 18 April 1972). The couple announced their engagement on 11 March 2000. They married in July 2000. The civil ceremony was performed on 6 July 2000 by the Mayor of Utrecht, Annie Brouwer-Korf, in the Spiegelzaal of the Paushuize in Utrecht. The marriage was blessed two days later, on 8 July 2000, by Dr. Anne van der Meiden in the Cathedral of Saint Martin, Utrecht. Prince Bernhard and Princess Annette have three children: Isabella (born 2002), Samuel (born 2004), and Benjamin (born 2008). According to a royal decree of 5 July 2000 the children were granted the family name van Vollenhoven, without titles. Prince Bernhard and his family live in Amsterdam.

Upon the announcement of the planned abdication of Queen Beatrix, which took place on 30 April 2013, it was also restated that after the abdication, the children of Princess Margriet and Pieter van Vollenhoven would no longer be eligible for the throne. They would also cease to be members of the Royal House.[2]

Illness

At the end of August 2013, it was made public that Bernhard was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma by doctors in Amsterdam.[3]

He also suffers from Crohn's disease.

Ancestry

References
  1. Current line of succession Archived 25 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine – Official website of the Dutch Royal House
  2. "Prince of Orange to become King Willem-Alexander, 28 January 2013". Dutch Royal House.
  3. Nrc Netherlands
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