http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2009/07/maurits_is_most_popular_prince.php
This story just popped into my newsreader: Dutch royals magazine, Vorsten, asked its readers to list their favorite prince. Prince Maurits of Orange-Nassau, who is the eldest son of Princess Margriet, was named by readers as Europe's most popular prince. I find the poll to be a bit dodgy. After all, Vorsten's readership is largely confined to the Netherlands and Belgium, as the magazine is not sold in most European countries. Prince Maurits, 41, is a largely private individual, and he does not carry out royal engagements. He is 10th in line to the Dutch throne, but he will cease to be a dynast when his first cousin, Willem-Alexander becomes king. Inb 1989, Prince Maurits married Marilene van der Broeck. They have three children, Anna, Lucas and Felicia. The children, who are not in line to the throne, have the surname van Lippe-Biesterfeld van Vollenhoven.
One of the requirements for succession to the Dutch throne is the relationship to the sovereign. An heir must be related within the third degree of consanguinity in order to succeed.
Since 2006, the Prince has run his own company, the Source, which "focuses on innovative concepts for products, services and systems for both business and government."
But is he the most popular of European princes? Well, yes, if you are looking at a very subjective poll, but if the poll was conducted by readers of Majesty magazine, one will assume that the list of names would be very different and would not include the largely unknown Prince Maurits.
One member of the Dutch royal family is exempt from the third degree clause in the succession law. By special legislation, Princess Margriet will continue to remain in line to the throne even after the ascension of her nephew, Willem-Alexander.
2 comments:
I fully agree with you Marlene.
It is just relevant for the BeNeLux.
Lots of people outside this area hardly know who Prince Mauritz is.
It's always interesting to learn about these lesser known royals even if they don't carry out official duties. It's also interesting to see that different countries have different rules regarding succession to the throne and who is considered to be royal.
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