ROYAL NEWS: PRINCE CLAUS 1926-2002

October 6th
Prince Claus of the Netherlands died at the Academisch Medisch Centrum in Amsterdam at 19:00. He was surrounded by his wife, Queen Beatrix, and his three sons. Also Princess Máxima, Princess Laurentien and Princess Margriet were at the hospital. The doctors at the AMC hospital stated that the Prince died of a combination of Parkinson's disease and pneumonia. Soon after the news became known people started bringing flowers to the palaces in The Hague and Amsterdam and burned candles. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende made an appearance on television to deliver the news. He described the death as a shock for the country. 'It was a great man who departed from us this day'.

October 7th
The Prince of Orange, Prince Johan Friso and Prince Constantijn, deeply moved, accompanied their father's body from the AMC Hospital in Amsterdam to Palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague in the early afternoon. They were escorted by vehicles of the Corps National Police Service. Several hundreds of people stood outside the hospital and the palace, while others stopped their cars when the royal cars passed them on the way from Amsterdam to The Hague. At the palace also Princess Irene, Princess Margriet and members of the Von Amsberg family were present. In the afternoon Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende condoled the family on behalf of the government. The body of Prince Claus will lie in state in the garden chamber at Palace Huis ten Bosch until tomorrow to give family and friends the opportunity to say goodbye to him. Tomorrow the coffin will be brought to Palace Noordeinde in The Hague, where the prince's three sons will hold a vigil. On Wednesday dignitaries will be able to say goodbye, while the people are allowed to say goodbye from Thursday to Sunday.The funeral will be held on Tuesday October 15 at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, where the family vault is situated already since the 16th century. The service will be led by the Rev. C.A. ter Linden. It will be the first royal funeral in the Netherlands since the death of Queen Wilhelmina in 1962. It was announced that the coffin will be brought to the church in a purple coach with silver accents. The family will wear black. The Dutch royal court has announced court mourning, which means that the family will not carry out any engagements until November 1st.

Other royal houses in the world have sent their sympathy to the Dutch royal family after the death of Prince Claus. King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium have said they will come, while the royal houses of Sweden, Spain and Great Britain have said to send someone. For sure Queen Elizabeth II will not be present herself.

Grand Master P. Waldeck officially gave notice of the death of Prince Claus in Amsterdam as head of the royal household. He is also charged with the organisation of the funeral.

October 8th
About 14:45 the coffin of Prince Claus, covered with the Dutch flag, arrived at Palace Noordeinde in The Hague, accompanied by the Prince of Orange, Prince Johan Friso and Prince Constantijn wearing a jacquet. Men from the marine corps carried the coffin into the palace where the three princes held a vigil that lasted half an hour. Queen Beatrix arrived at Palace Noordeinde accompanied by Princess Máxima and Princess Laurentien. Also other members of the family were present at the palace.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands placed a death announcement in a special edition of the Staatscourant today. It says: "With deep sorrow I give notice that my beloved husband died peacefully yesterday. My family and I feel strenghtened by the thought that many share this great loss with us. Beatrix."

The funeral service on October 15th will be held from 12:15 to 13:15. According to the Dutch press it is uncertain if Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands will attend the funeral of his son-in-law.

October 9th
Members of the Dutch government, parliament as well as Dutch and foreign dignitaries paid their last respect to prince Claus today at Palace Noordeinde.

October 10th
On the first day the people could say goodbye to Prince Claus 23.000 people lined up to pay their last respect to him. In the afternoon waiting time had become more than 2 hours. High school students gave hot chocolate and cookies to the waiting people. In a tent in the garden of Palace Noordeinde people could also sign a condolence book.

After speculations that Prince Bernhard wouldn't attend the funeral of his son-in-law today it was announced that he will attend. Several more guests have confirmed they come. Among them King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark together with Princess Benedikte of Denmark and Prince Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. Also said to come from Japan are Prince and Princess Akishino.

The funeral train will leave for Delft at 9:45. 6000 military men will stand along the 9-kilometres-long route. Family joins the funeral train in Rijswijk. It is expected the funeral train will arrive in Delft at about 11:45. After the service the family goes back to Palace Noordeinde for the reception.

The municipality of Delft has ordered that if the funeral train passes windows and doors should be closed along the route. It is also forbidden to sail, drive or park in town or to drink alcohol.

October 11th
Some 25.000 people lined up to pay their last respect to Prince Claus.

October 12th
There will be a huge tv-screen at a square near the railway station of Delft for visitors who can't find a place along the route anymore on Tuesday. Furthermore the municipality of Delft has issued 35.000 folders with information about the funeral.

The Prince of Orange, Prince Johan Friso and Prince Constantijn will accompany the coffin of their father already from Palace Noordeinde. The rest of the family will join the funeral train in Rijswijk.

October 13th
Queen Beatrix, the Prince of Orange, Princess Máxima, Prince Johan Friso, Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien attended a church service at the Kloosterkerk in The Hague today. Among the other guests Mrs Renée Smith-Roëll, Queen Beatrix best friend, and Mabel Wisse Smit, girlfriend of Prince Johan Friso.

In four days time more than 90.000 people said goodbye to Prince Claus while he was lying in state at Noordeinde Palace. This evening the gates remained open until almost one hour after midnight. In the beginning of the evening the people were halted for a short while when the police arrested two men queueing. They were suspected of possessing forbidden weapons. Later on it was discovered this was not right.

October 14th
This morning the family was able to say goodbye to Prince Claus at Noordeinde Palace.


Thousands of people lined the nine-kilometre route of the funeral procession of Prince Claus, which started at the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, where the prince's body lay in state for four days. At 09.45 the funeral procession departed from Noordeinde Palace for the Netherlands Defence College in Rijswijk, accompanied by the Prince of Orange, Prince Johan Friso and Prince Constantijn. In Rijswijk they were joined by Queen Beatrix, Princess Máxima and Princess Laurentien. At 11.35 the complete procession left from there for the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft with full military honours. It arrived in Delft at 12.15. Guests, among them many royals, arrived at the Nieuwe Kerk between 10.30 and 12.00. Members of the Royal Family who were not taking part in the procession, dignitaries from the Kingdom of the Netherlands and visiting members of royal houses assembled in Delft town hall and crossed the Market square to the Nieuwe Kerk on foot between 11.50 and 12.00, followed at 12.00 by the members of the Royal Family assembled in the town hall. About 1900 people were invited. After the moving funeral service the royal family and their guests left about 14:00 for Noordeinde Palace, where guests had an opportunity to offer their condolences to the family.

On the cushions that were on top of the coffin during the funeral service were the Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands, the Personal Flag of His Royal Highness Prince Claus of the Netherlands, and the Grand Cross of the Order of the House of Orange and the Medal of the Nijmegen Vierdaagse.

Prince Claus' remains joined those of 43 other members of the House of Orange in the vault of the Nieuwe Kerk, or New Church, in Delft. The coffin was laid in the section containing the remains of King Willem III (1890), Queen Emma (1934), Prince Hendrik (1934) and Queen Wilhelmina (1962). Only Queen Beatrix, the Prince of Orange, Princess Máxima, Prince Johan Friso, Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien, Prince Claus's five surviving sisters (Sigrid, Rixa, Barbara, Theda and Christina) as well as Prince Johan Friso's girlfriend Mabel Wisse Smit, followed the coffin into the vault, where they had last moment to say goodbye.

October 16th
On an average 3,3 million people watched the live television broadcast of the funeral of Prince Claus in the Netherlands. At 12:30, when the ceremony started, about 4,4 million people watched television.

The 5000 kilo heavy stone, which was taken off for the funeral, has been placed again at the family vault in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft.

October 17th
Immediately after the funeral Queen Beatrix travelled to Italy to get some rest. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende will be received next Monday when she returns back to The Netherlands. He will officially hand over the dismissal of the Dutch Cabinet, that fell apart yesterday after having governed less than 100 days.