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Happy Birthday to Princess Irene of the Netherlands!. Born the second of the four daughters of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, she spent part of her childhood in Canada, where the family stayed for the duration of the Nazi Occupation of Holland. One of the most glamorous Princesses in the 1960s, Princess Irene studied in Spain, where she met Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma, one of the pretenders to the Throne of Spain. When they announced their engagement, it caused a lot of controversy among the Dutch people and her family, over the Duke’s catholic religion and role in Spain, for which she had to renounce her place in the line of Succession. Eventually, the couple married in 1964, and had four children, but divorced in 1981. Since, Princess Irene and her children moved back to the Netherlands, where she promotes sustainability.
Bourbon-Parma Tiara | Ruby Peacock Tiara | Ruby Earrings | Queen Emma’s Diamond Tiara | Aquamarine Tiara | Emerald Tiara | Antique Pearl Tiara | Ears of Wheat Tiara | Dutch Diamond Trellis Necklace | Queen Juliana’s Art Deco Diamond Brooch
Princess Irene was and is a beauty. I think it’s very nice that the Dutch are forgiving people. It seems like they have welcomed her back in the family to where she attends family functions and has access to the Dutch jewelry vault. In retrospect, it seems excessive to shun her so completely when she got married. I think removing her from the Dutch succession should have been “punishment” enough. Instead, she couldn’t have her parents or her sisters or anybody in her family present at her wedding. That’s pretty harsh. I’ll bet Queen Juliana suffered because of that, since I think she was a loving and doting mother.