Royalty Digest Quarterly no. 4, 2023

I have written on the envelope which included the latest issue of Royalty Digest Quarterly (no. 4, 2023) that it arrived on 9 January 2024. So this time I am not too late with my commentary article, as compared to RDQ no. 3, 2023. The list of planned blog articles about various genealogy and history periodicals has fortunately become shorter, and I have managed to update my blog quite often so far this year as compared to last fall. Life is less hectic now, so I am able to focus more on my blog activities than earlier. Another reason is that Slektshistoriewiki, the Norwegian genealogy wiki which I am the editor of, has been taken down since 1 January due to program updating, and that work, which I am not involved with, has taken more time than expected. But this also means that I have not been able to update and write new articles on the wiki for a while. I look forward to returning to my editor responibilities and other contributions to Slektshistoriewiki, but I enjoy updating the blog as well. I have also started on a genealogy book project this year, but it is something that I plan to work on and off for quite some time. I might not get the book out before 2027 or 2028 because there is so much work to be done on it, and I have to work on other projects as well, and of course my family and work have to come first.

Anyway, here are the contents of the latest issue of RDQ:

• Charlotte Zeepvat: The Prince House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. A Family Album, pp. 1-22.
• Susan Symons. Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and her sister, pp. 23–29.
• Datiu Salvia Ocaña: The Spanish Hohenlohe-Langenburgs, pp. 30–36.
• Elizabeth Jane Timms: Imperial Governess: Miss Throckmorton and Marie Valerie [, Part] II, pp. 37–46.
• Stephen Bunford: Claims and counter-claims. Those who would be kings/queens, or think they should, pp. 47–53.
• Katrina Warne: A Surfeit of Sophias, pp. 54–58.
• Bearn Bilker: Christian, Fürst zu Bentheim und Steinfurt 1923–2023, pp. 59–62
• The World Wide Web of Royalty. Births, marriages, deaths and other events in the Royal Families of Europe, p. 64.

On page 63 you will find information on the planned Royal Weekend conference in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, which will take place on 11 October (evening) to 13 October  (afternoon) 2024. I very much plan to attend the conference and hope to see you all there! I have never been to that part of the Netherlands before, so it all looks interesting.

Charlotte Zeepvat, the former historical consultant to Royalty Digest Quarterly, has returned with a contribution titled The Princely House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. A Family Album. As usual the readers get a short introduction to the dynasty, then follows a large number of illustrations (of palaces and members of the dynasty, 70 in all if I have counted correctly) and finally the readers can enjoy 5 pages with genealogy tables. The genealogy surveys become handy when reading the next two articles, which also cover members of the Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Susan Symons, who is known for her book series on German castles and palaces, has written a nice article about Princess Feodora of Leiningen (1807–1872), who in 1828 married Ernst I of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1794–1860). Feodora was elder the half-sister of the British Queen Victoria (1819–1901).

To be honest, I didn't know too much about the Spanish Hohenlohe-Langenburgs, so the article was very useful to me. The already mentioned genealogy tables helped when reading the article, because the author lists lots of names! There is no list of sources at the end of the article, which I hope was a one-time mistake.

I wrote about Elizabeth Jane Timms' articles on Imperial Governess last month. I really enjoyed the two-part article.

The list of people with a claim to the present and former thrones of Europe is long. I think Stephen Bunford has made a good effort of presenting them all. Visited are United Kingdom (the Stuarts), Portugal, France, Austria, Russia, Spain, Romania, Italy, Saxony, Monaco and Bourbon-Two Sicilies. I don't understand why the author writes that «Does a monarch have the right to change succession rules? This was done in Denmark (disinheriting Prince Knud and allowing female succession), [...]», though. The question was settled by constitutional changes supported by a majority of the Danes in a referendum. It was not King Frederik IX's unilateral decision. 

There have been many royals named Sophia over the years. Katrina Warne tells the story of  seven of them. I take the opportunity to quote from the article's introduction: «In May 2007 Point de Vue published a royal family tree highlighting numerous royals named Sophia or Sophie or a regional variation of the name. The publication was prompted by the birth of Infanta Sofia of Spain, the younger daughter of King Felipe VI. A couple of years later my niece Sophie was born and as I was very pleased that she had been given a royal name I looked at the family tree again. I noticed that in one line of descent that there was a surfeit of royals named Sophia and that it included some interesting personalities.» The line begins with the Electress Sophia of Hannover (1630–1714) and ends with Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg (1759–1828), who took the name Maria Feodorovna when she married Emperor Paul I of Russia in 1776.  The above-mentioned Infanta Sofia of Spain is of course one of many descendants of the couple. 

Prince Christian of Bentheim and Steinfurt celebrated his 100th birthday on 9 December 2023. He died 3 days later. The article by Bearn Bilker was written prior to his death, so information about his death has probably been added by the editor, Ted Rosvall. The new head of the House of Bentheim and Steinfurt is Prince Christian's nephew and adopted son Prince Carl Ferdinand, b. 1977.

The genealogy column The World- Wide Web of Royalty then brings news from Austria, Liechtenstein, Russia, Saxony-Coburg and Gotha, Schleswig-Holstein, Schwarzenberg, Serbia, Bourbon-Two Sicilies and Hohenlohe-Öhringen.

Information about Royalty Digest Quarterly can be found at its editor's website Royalbooks.se. See earlier presentations of RDQ here. See also its Facebook page. 

Death of Princess Christina of the Netherlands

The Dutch Royal Court announced today the death of Princess Christina of the Netherlands, youngest of the four daughters of Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard. She was thus the youngest sister of Princess Beatrix, who abdicated as Queen of the Netherlands in 2013, and an aunt to King Willem-Alexander.

Princess Christina, who was born at Soestdijk Palace in Baarn on 18 February 1947, died at the Noordeinde Palace complex in The Hague in the morning of 16 August 2019, after having suffered from bone cancer for several years.

The princess married in 1975 the Cuban-born Jorge Pérez y Guillermo and had 3 children by him – Bernardo (b. 1977, Nicolas (b. 1979) and Juliana (b. 1981) as well as 5 grandchildren. Princess Christina was excluded from the line of succession to the Dutch throne by not seeking and obtaining consent by Act of Parliament, cf. the Dutch Constitution Article 28 (2). All descendants are thus also excluded. Princess Christina and Guillermo divorced in 1996. Princess Christina, who for the main part had lived in New York and in Italy for many years, was an accomplished singer and had studied vocal teaching. In later years she took an interest in dance therapy and sound therapy.

According to the press release, «Princess Christina’s remains will be taken to Fagel’s Garden Pavilion in the grounds of Noordeinde Palace, where close friends and family will pay their last respects. The cremation will be held in private.»  According to Netty Leistra at Nobiliana.de (thread «Prinses Christina der Nederlanden»,  Death Announcements Gotha 2019) the private ceremony and cremation will take place on 22 August 2019.

Titles for the Emperor and Empress of Japan following abdication

Preparations are under way for the abdication of Emperor Akihito of Japan on 30 April 2019. One question that naturally has arised is what to call them afterwards.

Last week The Japan Times wrote, with the Imperial Household Agency as the stated source, that Emperor Akihito will be referred to as «Emperor emeritus», while his wife, Empress Michiko will use the title «Empress emerita». The Japanese equvialents will be jōkō (上皇) and jōkōgō (上皇后) respectively.

The similar practice in Europe varies. While the Dutch monarchs traditionally reverts to the title of prince or princess* following abdication, King Juan Carlos of Spain, King Albert of the Belgians and Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg are still titled King or Grand Duke respectively, but they are of course not HM The King or HRH The Grand Duke anylonger. A parallell to Japan would be the Roman-Catholic Church, where Pope Benedixt XVI is referred to as «supreme pontiff emeritus».

* The three monarchs prior to King Willem-Alexander were all women – Queen Wilhelmina, Queen Juliana and Queen Beatrix respectively – and they all reverted to the title of Princess of the Netherlands following their abdication. I mention the title prince the just for «the sake of balance and equality» and because I expect that King Willem-Alexander will use the title of Prince again if he should decide to abdicate some time in the future. As far as I know, the first King of the Netherlands, Willem I, continued to use the title King following his abdication in 1840.

Heraldry in Amsterdam (Heraldry, Part I)

Last weekend I visited Amsterdam, which is a wonderful city one could return to over and over again. This was my second visit, the first took place as far back as in 1989. I took some photos of the canals, but that is not very original to post in a blog article, so I thought I should do something different this time. While I am far from an expert on the field of heraldry, I have always been interested in the topic, and when traveling I often take photos of coats of arms in various shapes when I come over them. So I thought I should show some of the photos I took during my visit. During a boat trip on the canals I noticed many coats of arms on different buildings, but they were too distant to photograph, and I didn't have the time or energy to follow the canal route on foot later on. As I have already said, I have to visit Amsterdam again another time, so maybe there will be more heraldry from the Dutch capital in my blog later on?

In addition to the arms on different buildings in Amsterdam, I also came over a box of cards with coats of arms in antiquarian shop, the Antiquariaat A. Kok & Zn. in Oude Hoogstraat. The families in question are not necessarily from Amsterdam - some of them might not be Dutch for all I know - but I found the cards there!

I plan to publish more heraldry blog articles in the future, hence "Heraldry, Part I" in parenthesis.

Arms of Amsterdam. The photo is taken from my hotel room (Radisson Blu). The street where the arms can be viewed was not Rusland, though, but a side street.

Also the arms of Amsterdam. Found at the Central Station.

I visited the Rijksmuseum during my stay in Amsterdam. I don't have more details on this one, though.

The arms of the Dutch East India Company and of the Town of Batavia (Jeronimus Becx) in the Rijksmuseum.

Stained glass with heraldry in the Rijksmuseum.

Funeral of Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau to take place on 16 August 2013

The Dutch Government Information Service (RVD) on behalf of the Royal Family announced yesterday that the funeral service for Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau will take place in the afternoon of Friday 16 August 2013 in the Stulpkerk in Lage Vuursche in the municipality of Baarn (province of Utrecht). The service will be officiated by Reverend Carel A. ter Linden. After the funeral the prince will be interred in the adjacent cemetery. A memorial service will take place later in the year.

Prince Friso and his brothers grew up at the Drakestein Castle (Kasteel Drakensteyn) closeby, and as Princess Beatrix is to take up permanent residence at the castle later this year, it means she will be able to visit her son's grave regularly, as the cemetery is only a short walk from the castle. In fact, as commented by Berno at the Benelux Royals Message Board yesterday, the then Queen Beatrix donated in 2008 400 square meters of land to the church as there was no more space for new graves.

After the announcement of Prince Friso's death, the Dutch media seemed to be certain that the prince was to be interred in the royal crypt at Delft. Personally I think it is a good idea "to bring Prince Friso home" to the place where he grew up. It is also nice that he will be buried in a public cemetery.

The Norwegian Royal Court confirmed today that King Harald is to attend the funeral service on Friday. The king was one of Prince Friso's sponsors (godparents) and was also present at Friso and Mabel's wedding in 2004 together with Queen Sonja. According to the official program of the Norwegian Royal Court, the service will start at 3 p.m.

Death of Prince Johan Friso of Orange-Nassau

The Dutch Government Information Service earlier today announced the death of Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, younger brother of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands:

His Majesty the King announces with deep regret that His Royal Highness Prince Johan Friso Bernhard Christiaan David, Prins van Oranje-Nassau, Jonkheer van Amsberg passed away this morning at Palace Huis ten Bosch in the Hague at age 44.

Prince Friso has died of complications related to the hypoxic brain injury, which he suffered as the result of his skiing accident in Lech, Austria on 17 February 2012.

Following initial treatment at the Intensive Care Unit of the Innsbruck University Hospital, Prince Friso was transferred in early March 2012 to the Wellington hospital in London, his place of residence. In November 2012, Prince Friso begun showing signs of limited awareness ('minimal consciousness') and remained in that state since then. In early July 2013, he was transferred to Palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, the Netherlands.

The Royal family wholeheartedly thanks all persons who have looked after Prince Friso for their excellent and devoted care.

Prince Johan Friso, who preferred to be called just Prince Friso,* was the second son of Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, who reigned from 1980 to 2013, and Prince Claus (1926-2002), b. von Amsberg. Prince Friso lost his title Prince of the Netherlands and his rights of succession to the Dutch throne when he in 2004 married Mabel Wisse Smit without consent of the Dutch parliament. The government had refused to forward a marriage bill to the parliament after it was disclosed that the then Ms. Smit had not told the truth about her former relationship to a "drugs baron".

According to the official website Prince Friso studied mechanical engineering at the College of Engineering of the University of California at Berkeley, USA and later also aerospace engineering at the Delft University of Technology, graduating in 1994.

From 1990 onwards, the Prince also studied economics at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, graduating in 1995. In 1997, he studied and received an MBA at the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD) in Fontainebleau, France. At the time of the skiing accident in Austria, he was a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of URENCO in Stoke Poges, England.

Prince Friso leaves behind his wife as well as two daughters, Luana (b. 2005) and Zaria (b. 2006).

King Willem-Alexander and his family returned from their vacation in Greece today. Information on Prince Friso's funeral service will be disclosed later.

Prince Friso's obituary published by Telegraph.co.uk can be read here.
 
Postscript 14 August 2013: *A correspondent has kindly informed me that Prince Claus on the day his second son "met" the press for the first time after his birth, informed that Friso was going to be his call name (this is on tape as well, as broadcast on Dutch TV on Monday evening). I had got the impression that the now late Prince Friso only in later years had expressed his wish only to be referred to as Prince Friso, but I was obviously wrong. Prince Friso was quite often presented as "Prince Johan Friso" in the media, so I guess I am not the only one who have got stuck by the (incorrect) reference. I will try to restrict myself to Friso from now on ...

Last time updated on Wednesday 14 August 2013 at 20:20 (postscript added).

The Netherlands: A son for Prince Floris and Princess Aimée of Orange-Nassau

The Dutch Royal Court announced on Monday 1 July 2013 the birth of Willem Jan Johannes Pieter van Vollenhoven, the third child of Prince Floris and Princess Aimée of Orange-Nassau. The little boy, who weighed 3650 grams at birth, was born at the Bronovo Hospital in the Hague on 1 July 2013 at 1.32 p.m.

This is the couple's third child. The daughter Magali was born on 9 October 2007, while Eliane came along on 5 July 2009.

Prince Floris is the fourth son of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, younger sister of the former Queen Beatrix, and Pieter van Vollenhoven. Willem is Margriet and Pieter's 11th grandchild.

Prince Floris married the then Aimée Söhngen in 2005.

The Netherlands: The Queen has abdicated, long live the King!

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (now Princess Beatrix) signed the abdication document earlier today, 30 April 2013, and was immediately succeeded by her eldest son, King Willem-Alexander. The investiture ceremony, in which the new king took his oath, took place at 2 p.m. More information on the abdication and investuture can be found at the official website.

In connection with the events in the Netherlands today, I have updated my Longest reigns website. Queen Beatrix' abdication meant that King Mswati III of Swaziland now is no. 8 on the list, while King Willem-Alexander has started his reign on the bottom (as no. 30)...

The succession also meant that Princess Margriet's two eldest sons Prince Maurits and Prince Bernhard lost their membership in the Royal House as well as their succession rights, cf. the Constitution of the Netherlands Article 25, which says:

On the death of the King, the title to the Throne shall pass by hereditary succession to the King’s legitimate descendants in order of seniority, the same rule governing succession by the issue of descendants who predecease the King. If the King has no descendants, the title to the Throne shall pass in the same way to the legitimate descendants of the King’s parent and then of his grandparent who are in the line of succession but are not further removed from the deceased King than the third degree of consanguinity.

The updated line of succession to the Dutch Throne is as follows:

1. HRH Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange
2. HRH Princess Alexia
3. HRH Princess Ariane
4. HRH Prince Constantijn
5. Countess Eloise of Orange-Nassau
6. Count Claus-Casimir of Orange-Nassau
7. Countess Leonore of Orange-Nassau
8. HRH Princess Margriet

No. 1-3 are daughters of the king, then follows his youngest brother Prince Constantijn and his children and finally the king's aunt Princess Margriet.

I had meant to cover the abdication and investiture in more detail, but as I have caught a severe cold as well as a mere touch of influenza, I have had to restrict myself... Normally I would have written about yesterday's events in Serbia, when the remains of Queen Maria of Yugoslavia were repatriated to Belgrade, as well, but this will have to do.  The state funeral of King Peter II, Queen Alexandra and Queen Maria is to take place on 26 May 2013.

Norwegian Crown Prince couple to attend inauguration ceremony in the Netherlands

The Norwegian Royal Court confirmed this afternoon that Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit are going to attend the swearing in and investiture ceremony for King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands in Amsterdam on 30 April 2013.

The program for the inauguration ceremony can be found at the Dutch Royal Court's official website.

The Swedish Royal House will be represented by Crown Prince Victoria and Prince Daniel.

Queen Beatrix to abdicate on 30 April 2013

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands announced in a televised address to the nation earlier tonight that she was going to abdicate on 30 April 2013, exactly 33 years after she succeeded to the throne on the abdication of her mother, Queen Juliana. (The Queen's speech in English.)

After the speech the Royal Court issued a press release which contained quite interesting information about the many changes that will affect the members of the Dutch Royal House.

Time and place of abdication and investiture

The official programme for the abdication and investiture will take place on 30 April 2013. Her Majesty the Queen will sign the Instrument of Abdication at the Royal Palace, Amsterdam. The investiture of His Majesty the King will then take place at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam.

King's Day on 27 April from 2014

From 2014 onwards, King's Day will be celebrated on 27 April, the birthday of the Prince of Orange and future King Willem-Alexander. In 2014 it will be celebrated by the Royal Family in Amstelveen and De Rijp. These municipalities will be able to use the programme that has already been developed for the planned celebration of Queen's Day on 30 April this year, which will assume a different character because of the abdication and investiture.

Prince of Orange to become King Willem-Alexander

When Queen Beatrix abdicates, His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange will become King Willem-Alexander, and Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima of the Netherlands will become Queen Máxima. They will both be addressed as 'Your Majesty'. After abdicating, Queen Beatrix will be called Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, etc. As soon as the Prince of Orange ascends the throne, his eldest child, Her Royal Highness Princess Catharina-Amalia, will be the first in line to the throne. She will then become the Princess of Orange (under section 7 of the Membership of the Royal House Act).

The titles and names of the other members of the Royal Family will not change after Queen Beatrix's abdication. The membership of the Royal House and the line of succession will however change under the above Act.*

After the abdication, the line of succession will begin with the children of His Majesty the King: Her Royal Highness the Princess of Orange, Her Royal Highness Princess Alexia, and Her Royal Highness Princess Ariane. The next in line will be His Royal Highness Prince Constantijn, his children and finally Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet.

After the abdication, the children of Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven will no longer be eligible for the throne. They will also cease to be members of the Royal House.

A truly historical event is going to take place in April. Oh how much I would love to be present! It feels strange that Queen Beatrix will not longer be the Queen of the Netherlands. She has held that position for a little more than three quarters of my life, and she has always been one of my favourites. A Queen with capital Q. Devoted, loyal, constitutional, popular and distant at the same time. She deserves to take it a bit easier after all these years. And I am confident that the new king - who will use his name Willem-Alexander and not Willem IV - will do well in the position he has been groomed for and will also become a popular monarch as the years go by.

As of now the line of succession to the Dutch throne is as follows (all Prince or Princess of the Netherlands (and other titles) unless otherwise noted):

1. Prince Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange
2. Princess Catharina-Amalia
3. Princess Alexia
4. Princess Ariane
5. Prince Constantijn
6. Countess Eloise of Orange-Nassau
7. Count Claus-Casimir of Orange-Nassau
8. Countess Leonore of Orange-Nassau
9. Princess Margriet
10. Prince Maurits of Orange-Nassau
11. Prince Bernhard of Orange-Nassau

Updated on Tuesday 29 January 2013 at 19:45 (link to the Queen's speech in English added).

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands to address the nation

The Dutch Royal Court has announced this afternoon that Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, b. 1938, is going to address the nation on Dutch TV and radio at 7 p.m. (GMT+2).

Not surprisingly the Dutch media, for instance De Telegraaf, has started to speculate about a possible abdication in favour of Queen Beatrix' oldest son, Prince Willem-Alexander, b. 1967. Queen Beatrix succeeded to the throne on 30 April 1980 following the abdication of her mother, Juliana, who had reigned since 1948 when Queen Wilhelmina abdicated. In other words, if Queen Beatrix, who is to celebrate her 75th birthday on 31 January, is going to announce he abdication tonight, she will follow in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother.

Prince Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, is married to the Argentinian-born Princess Máxima and has 3 daughters.

If the time allows it I will return with more comments later today.

Prince Johan Friso of Orange-Nassau - latest

The Dutch Royal Court/RVD issued the following statements yesterday, 24 February 2012, concerning the condition of Prince Johan Friso of Orange-Nassau, who was buried by an avalance at Lech, Austria on 17 February 2012:

His Royal Highness Prince Friso, 24 February 2012 - 13.10 RVD, 24 February 2012:

The head of the medical team attending His Royal Highness Prince Friso at Innsbruck university hospital has just issued a press statement giving further information on the Prince's condition and his outlook for the future. The statement was as follows (the written text may differ slightly from the spoken text):

Prince Friso was brought to Innsbruck university hospital by rescue helicopter at about 14:00 on 17 February, after being buried by an avalanche in Lech. He was covered for approximately 25 minutes. At the hospital, after receiving initial treatment in the reanimation unit, he was taken straight to the intensive care trauma unit. This unit specialises in treating the most seriously injured avalanche patients with the utmost medical and technical expertise. The unit's head is Dr Wolfgang Koller.

Our unit was notified of the patient's imminent arrival and we were able to prepare everything in advance. Prince Friso was brought to the hospital under reanimation conditions. Due to the length of time he was covered under the snow, his brain had been deprived of oxygen. The result was cardiac arrest, which lasted approximately 50 minutes. The patient had to be reanimated during this entire period. Fifty minutes is a very long time. One could say, too long. We hoped that the patient's mild hypothermic state had sufficiently protected the brain against excessive damage. Unfortunately, our hope was in vain. Since last Friday, a team of specialists has been fighting to save Prince Friso's life. Yesterday, a first MRI-scan was possible, without bringing the patient into danger. Since this examination and the latest neurological tests yesterday evening it is clear that the oxygen deprivation has caused extensive damage to the patient's brain. At present it is not certain whether he will ever regain consciousness. In any event, rehabilitation will take months, if not years. Prince Friso's family will now look for an appropriate rehabilitation facility.

His Royal Highness Prince Friso, 24 February 2012 - 14:29 RVD, 24 February 2012:

On behalf of the Royal Family, the Government Information Service wishes to make the following announcement.

The members of His Royal Highness Prince Friso's family need to come to terms with the Prince's situation, and to reorganise their lives accordingly. The Royal Family therefore requests the media to give them the space to do so by respecting their privacy.

It is difficult to say much after reading these sad news. I am lost for words, and just would like to add that Prince Johan Friso, Princess Mabel and their family will continue to be in my prayers.

Prince Johan Friso of Orange-Nassau - latest news

The condition of Prince Johan Friso of Orange-Nassau, who was hit by an avalanche on Friday and was buried for 20 minutes under the snow, remain unchanged.

The Dutch Royal Court/RVD has in a press release earlier today informed that "His Royal Highness Prince Friso's condition remains unchanged. His condition is stable, but he is not out of danger. It is possible that the doctors will not be able to give a full prognosis until the end of this week."

This evening the court has issued the following statement:

The members of the royal family are sincerely grateful and deeply touched by all the messages of support and kindness they have received since Prince Friso's skiing accident. They are a great support to them at this difficult time.

Prince Johan Friso of Orange-Nassau in critical condition

Prince Johan Friso, 43, second son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, is reported to be in critical condition at the Uniklinik Innsbruck, Austria, after having been buried by an avalance at Lech, Austria, earlier today. His wife Mabel as well as his mother Queen Beatrix are at his bed-side, while his brother the Prince of Orange (Willem-Alexander), Princess Máxima and other members of the Dutch royal family are flying in from the Netherlands tonight.

According to Telegraph.co.uk, the prince's condition is described as "critical but stable". The Netherlands Government Information Service (Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst, RDV) has informed that a prognosis can be given after a few days. His condition is stable, but he is not out of life danger ("...zijn toestand stabiel, maar hij is niet buiten levensgevaar"). See also the Austrian news site Oe24.at (in German).

My thoughts are with Prince Johan Friso and his family.