Prince of the Netherlands from 1980 to 2002
Prince Claus of the Netherlands, Jonkheer van Amsberg
(born
Klaus-Georg Wilhelm Otto Friedrich Gerd von Amsberg
; 6 September 1926 ? 6 October 2002) was
Prince of the Netherlands
from 30 April 1980 until his death in 2002 as the husband of
Queen Beatrix
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Klaus-Georg Wilhelm Otto Friedrich Gerd von Amsberg was born on his family's estate,
Castle Dotzingen
,
Hitzacker
,
Germany
, on 6 September 1926.
[1]
He was the second child and only son of
Claus Felix von Amsberg
and his wife,
Baroness Gosta von dem Bussche-Haddenhausen
. His father, by birth a member of
House of Amsberg
which belonged to the untitled
German nobility
from
Mecklenburg
, operated a large farm in
Tanganyika
(formerly
German East Africa
) from 1928 until
World War II
. His mother belonged to the ancient
von dem Bussche
noble family which originated from the
County of Ravensberg
. From 1938, Claus and his six sisters grew up on their maternal grandparents' estate in
Lower Saxony
; he attended the
Friderico-Francisceum-Gymnasium
in
Bad Doberan
from 1933 to 1936 and a boarding school in Tanganyika from 1936 to 1938.
[2]
Claus was a member of such
Nazi
youth organisations
as
Deutsches Jungvolk
and the
Hitler Youth
.
[1]
[3]
From 1938 until 1942, he attended the
Baltenschule Misdroy
.
In 1944, Claus was conscripted into the German
Wehrmacht
, becoming a soldier in the German
90th Panzergrenadier Division
in Italy in March 1945.
[2]
He was taken
prisoner of war
by the
American forces
at
Meran
before taking part in any fighting.
[2]
After his
repatriation
, he finished school in
Luneburg
and studied
law
in
Hamburg
. He then joined the German
diplomatic corps
and worked in
Santo Domingo
and
Ivory Coast
. In the 1960s, he was transferred to
Bonn
.
[4]
Claus met Princess Beatrix for the first time on New Year's Eve 1962 in
Bad Driburg
at a dinner hosted by the Count von
Oeynhausen-Sierstorpff
, who was a distant relative of both of them. Claus and Beatrix were also distantly related (5th cousins twice removed), as both being descendants from
von dem Bussche family
. They met again at the wedding-eve party of Princess Tatjana of
Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg
and
Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse
, in the summer of 1964. With memories of German oppression still very strong 20 years after the war, sections of the Dutch population were unhappy that Beatrix's fiance was a German and former member of the
Hitler Youth
. Nonetheless,
Queen Juliana
gave the engagement her blessing
[2]
after giving serious thought to canceling it. The engagement was approved by the
States-General
?a necessary step for Beatrix to remain in the line of succession to the throne?in 1965. He was granted Dutch citizenship later that year and changed the spellings of his names to Dutch.
The
couple were married
on 10 March 1966. Their wedding day saw violent protests, most notably by the anarchist-artist group
Provo
. They included such memorable slogans as "Claus, 'raus!" (Claus, get out!) and "Mijn fiets terug" (Give me back my bike), a reference to the memory of occupying German soldiers confiscating Dutch bicycles. A smoke bomb was thrown at the wedding carriage by a group of Provos.
[1]
[2]
For a time, it was thought that Beatrix would be the last monarch of the Netherlands.
However, over time, Claus became accepted by the public, so much so that during the last part of his life he was considered by some to be the most popular member of the
royal family
.
[2]
[5]
This change in Dutch opinion was brought about by Claus's strong motivation to contribute to public causes (especially
Third World
development, on which he was considered an expert), his sincere modesty and his candor (within but sometimes on the edge of royal protocol).
The public also sympathised with Claus for his efforts to give meaning to his life beyond the restrictions that Dutch law imposed on the royal family's freedom of speech and action. However, these restrictions were gradually loosened; Claus was even appointed as senior staff member at the Department of Developing Aid, albeit in an advisory role.
One example of his attitude toward protocol was the "Declaration of the Tie". In 1998, after presenting the annual
Prince Claus Awards
to three
African
fashion designers
, Claus told "workers of all nations to unite and cast away the new shackles they have voluntarily cast upon themselves", meaning the
necktie
, that "snake around my neck,"
[1]
and encouraged the audience to "venture into open-
collar
paradise
". He then removed his tie and threw it on the floor.
[6]
[7]
Claus battled depression for a number of years, and underwent surgery in 1998 to remove his prostate. In 2001, he underwent another surgery to remove one of his kidneys. He eventually died on 6 October 2002 from Parkinson's disease and heart failure.
[4]
Activities
[
edit
]
As a husband of the heir, Claus was a member of the National Advisory Council for Development Cooperation and its Bureau, and was a chair of the National Committee for Development Strategy 1970?1980 and the Netherlands Development Organization. He also worked as special advisor to the Minister for Development Cooperation. He held these positions until 1980.
[8]
On 30 April 1980, Claus' mother-in-law, Queen Juliana, abdicated in favour of Princess Beatrix, who became Queen of the Netherlands.
[9]
After the investiture, the couple visited the
Netherlands Antilles
and
Aruba
.
[9]
As a prince consort, Prince Claus frequently visited public organisations, commercial and industrial enterprises, and companies in the agriculture and fisheries sector.
[9]
In 1984, Claus became the Inspector General for Development Cooperation, member of the Board of Directors of De Nederlandsche Bank N.V. (until 1998), member of the Board of Directors of Royal PTT Nederland, and Chair of the Transport and Public Works Platform.
[10]
Claus was an honorary chair of the National Coordinating Committee for the Protection of Monuments and Historic Buildings and the King William I Foundation. He was also a patron of the Concertgebouw Orchestra and Scouting Netherlands.
[10]
On Claus' seventieth birthday, the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development was established on the initiative of the Dutch government. The fund focused on enhancing understanding of cultures and promoting interaction between culture and development.
[10]
Declining health and death
[
edit
]
Claus suffered various health problems, such as
depression
,
cancer
and
Parkinson's disease
. He died of complications of
pneumonia
and Parkinson's at the
Academic Medical Center
in
Amsterdam
on 6 October 2002 after a long illness, aged 76.
[4]
He died less than four months after the birth of
his first grandchild
.
Claus was interred in the royal family's tomb in
Delft
on 15 October. It was the first full
state funeral
since
Queen Wilhelmina
's in 1962.
Titles, styles, honours, and arms
[
edit
]
Titles
[
edit
]
- 6 September 1926 ? 16 February 1966: Klaus von Amsberg
- 16 February 1966 ? 10 March 1966: Claus van Amsberg
- 10 March 1966 ? 30 April 1980:
His Royal Highness
Prince Claus of the Netherlands, Jonkheer van Amsberg
[11]
- 30 April 1980 - 6 October 2002:
His Royal Highness
The Prince of the Netherlands
Honours
[
edit
]
National
[
edit
]
Foreign
[
edit
]
Academic awards
[
edit
]
Prince Claus was also appointed Honorary Fellow of the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in 1988. Prince Claus was held in very high esteem in the international development cooperation community, partly because of his considerable insight and understanding of the problems involved, and partly because of his exceptional gift for expressing the hopes and anxieties felt by all.
Ancestry
[
edit
]
Ancestors of Prince Claus of the Netherlands
|
---|
|
Issue
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Simons, Marlise (7 October 2002).
"Claus von Amsberg, 76, Popular Dutch Prince"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
27 September
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Halasa, Malu (7 October 2002).
"Obituary: Prince Claus of the Netherlands"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
11 October
2018
.
- ^
Hitler Youth: Prelude to War 1933?1939
. The History Place. Retrieved on 23 April 2014.
- ^
a
b
c
"Prince Claus of Netherlands Dies"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
11 October
2018
.
- ^
(in Dutch)
Maxima en Claus populairste Oranje-leden
- ^
(in Dutch)
Claus' speech in which he removes his tie, among other video fragments
Archived
12 January 2012 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Prins Claus werpt stropdas af (1998)"
.
nos.nl
(in Dutch). 6 April 2011
. Retrieved
18 September
2019
.
- ^
"Prince Claus's Work until 1980"
.
Dutch Royal House Official Website
. 20 January 2015
. Retrieved
7 July
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Prince Claus and Queen Beatrix"
.
Dutch Royal House Official Website
. 20 January 2015
. Retrieved
7 July
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Prince Claus's Public appointments"
.
Dutch Royal House Official Website
. 20 January 2015
. Retrieved
7 July
2020
.
- ^
"Titels leden Koninklijke Familie"
. The Royal House. 14 January 2015
. Retrieved
26 May
2017
.
- ^
"Kanselarij der Nederlandse Orden: Index gedecoreerden, Achternaam: Amsberg, van"
.
hdl
:
10648/16e8d4b4-d2d8-11e8-828a-00505693001d
. Retrieved
24 February
2022
.
- ^
"Vierdaagsekruisje van prins Claus te zien - Vorsten"
. 23 May 2016
. Retrieved
25 September
2017
.
- ^
"Reply to a parliamentary question about the Decoration of Honour"
(PDF)
(in German). p. 111.
- ^
Bille-Hansen, A. C.; Holck, Harald, eds. (1995) [1st pub.:1801].
Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1995
[
State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1995
]
(PDF)
. Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender (in Danish). Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri. p. 36.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 22 September 2021 – via
da:DIS Danmark
.
- ^
Italian Presidency
, S.A.R. Claus Principe dei Paesi Bassi ? Decorato di Gran Cordone
- ^
"Den kongelige norske Sanct Olavs Orden"
,
Norges Statskalender for Aaret 1970
(in Norwegian), Oslo: Forlagt av H. Aschehoug & Co. (w. Nygaard), 1970, pp. 1240?1241 – via runeberg.org
- ^
"ENTIDADES ESTRANGEIRAS AGRACIADAS COM ORDENS PORTUGUESAS - Pagina Oficial das Ordens Honorificas Portuguesas"
.
- ^
"1999 National Orders awards - South African Government"
.
www.gov.za
. Retrieved
25 September
2017
.
- ^
Boletin Oficial del Estado
. 8 October 1985.
- ^
Prince Claus wearing the Order of Isabella the Catholic
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Generations indicate descent from
William I
, the first king of the Netherlands.
|
1st generation
| |
---|
2nd generation
| |
---|
3rd generation
| |
---|
4th generation
| |
---|
5th generation
| |
---|
6th generation
| |
---|
7th generation
| |
---|
1
title granted by Royal Decree to consort of the Queen, without the title "Prince of Orange-Nassau"
2
gave up the title "Prince of the Netherlands, but still held the title "Prince of Orange-Nassau"
3
title granted by Royal Decree to descendants of Princess Irene
4
only held the title "Prince of Orange-Nassau"
|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
People
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|