Princess Margriet of the Netherlands (Margriet Francisca; born 19 January 1943) is the third daughter of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard. As an aunt of the reigning monarch, King Willem-Alexander, she is a member of the Dutch Royal House and currently eighth and last in the line of succession to the throne.
Princess Margriet has often represented the monarch at official or semi-official events. Some of these functions have taken her back to Canada, the country where she was born de facto, and to events organised by the Dutch merchant navy of which she is a patron.
Margriet was born to Princess Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. Her mother was heir presumptive to Queen Wilhelmina.
The Dutch royal family went into exile when the Netherlands was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1940, and went to live in Canada. Margriet was born in Ottawa Civic Hospital, Ottawa. The maternity ward of the hospital was temporarily declared to be extraterritorial by the Canadian government. This ensured that the newborn would not be born in Canada, and not be a British subject under the rule of jus soli. Instead, the child would only inherit Dutch citizenship from her mother under the principle of jus sanguinis, which is followed in Dutch nationality law. Thus, the child would be eligible to succeed to the throne of the Netherlands. This would have applied if the child had been male, and therefore heir apparent to Juliana, or if her two older sisters died without eligible children.
It is a common misconception that the Canadian government declared the maternity ward to be Dutch territory. That was not necessary, as Canada follows jus soli, while the Netherlands follows jus sanguinis. It was sufficient for Canada to disclaim the territory temporarily.
Princess Margriet was named after the marguerite, the flower worn during the war as a symbol of the resistance to Nazi Germany. She was christened at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Ottawa, on 29 June 1943. Her godparents included US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Queen Mary (Queen dowager of the United Kingdom), Märtha, Crown Princess of Norway, and Martine Roell (lady-in-waiting to Princess Juliana in Canada).
Princess Margriet has continued to visit Canada over the years in an official capacity, as recently as 2017 (Stratford, Ontario and Goderich, Ontario) and 2026 (Ottawa).
It was not until August 1945, when the Netherlands had been liberated, that Princess Margriet first set foot on Dutch soil. Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard returned to Soestdijk Palace in Baarn, where the family had lived before the war.
While she was studying at Leiden University, Princess Margriet met her future husband, Pieter van Vollenhoven. Their engagement was announced on 10 March 1965, and they were married on 10 January 1967 in The Hague, in the St. James Church. It was decreed that any children from the marriage would be titled Prince/Princess of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven, with the style of Highness, titles that would not be held by their descendants. Together, they had four sons:
Prince Maurits Willem Pieter Hendrik of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven (born on 17 April 1968, Utrecht, Netherlands). He married Marilène (Marie-Helène) Angela van den Broek (born on 4 February 1970, Dieren, Rheden, Netherlands) on 30 May 1998. They have three children:
Anastasia (Anna) Margriet Joséphine van Lippe-Biesterfeld van Vollenhoven, (born in Amsterdam on 15 April 2001).
Lucas Maurits Pieter Henri van Lippe-Biesterfeld van Vollenhoven, (born in Amsterdam on 26 October 2002).
Felicia Juliana Bénedicte Barbara van Lippe-Biesterfeld van Vollenhoven, (born in Amsterdam on 31 May 2005).
Prince Bernhard Lucas Emmanuel of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven (born on 25 December 1969, Nijmegen, Netherlands). He married Annette Sekrève (born on 18 April 1972, The Hague, Netherlands) on 8 July 2000. They have three children:
Isabella Lily Juliana van Vollenhoven, (born in Amsterdam on 14 May 2002).
Samuel Bernhard Louis van Vollenhoven, (born in Amsterdam on 25 May 2004).
Benjamin Pieter Floris van Vollenhoven, (born in Amsterdam on 12 March 2008).
Prince Pieter-Christiaan Michiel of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven, (born on 22 March 1972, Nijmegen, Netherlands). He married Anita Theodora van Eijk (born on 27 October 1969, Neuchâtel, Switzerland) on 27 August 2005. They have two children: