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Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Videos: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message Icon:                             Message: Smilies [quote][i]Originally posted by Bea[/i] [br]HRH Prince Claus of The Netherlands has died : The Government Information Service has : announced that this evening at seven p.m. : local time, October 6th, His Royal : Highness Prince Claus of the Netherlands : has passed away at the Academic Medical : Centre in Amsterdam. : Prince Claus, husband of Queen Beatrix, was : 76 years old. Queen Beatrix and the : Prince's three sons were at his bedside : when he died. : In a speach to the nation via radio and : television, Prime Minister prof. mr. : dr. Jan- Peter Balkenende spoke of the : noted role the Prince played in his work : for the environment, poverty and : developmental assistance. The : Minister-President said The Netherlands : had much to thank the Prince for, and also : praised the support he gave Queen Beatrix. : The German-born diplomat of noble descent, : Claus Georg Otto Wilhelm Friedrich Gerd : von Amsberg, married Princess Beatrix in : 1966. A government-appointed historian : investigated his role as a soldier in the : German army in Italy, and found nothing : damaging in his past. However his marriage : festivities in Amsterdam were marred by : demonstrations and a smoke bomb. : In the years after his marriage he became a : noted international figure due to his : activities in the field of developmental : assistance, the preservation of monuments : and culture. : Because of his easygoing manner he soon : became popular in the Netherlands. Prince : Claus and Queen Beatrix had three sons of : whom the eldest, Prince Willem Alexander, : the Prince of Orange, is the heir to the : throne. : Prince Claus has been in poor health for many : years. In the early 1980s he struggled : with severe depression, undergoing two : years of treatment. Ten years later he was : diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. In the : summer of 1998 he was operated on after he : was found to have cancer. : The Prince subsequently lost his left kidney : as a result of the radiation treatment. : Despite his weakened condition he managed : to attend the wedding of his eldest son, : Prince Willem Alexander, to Máxima : Zorreguieta in February this year. This : spring he also celebrated the birth of his : first grandchild, Countess Eloise. Shortly : afterwards, however he was hospitalised : with a pulmonary embolism. While in : hopital he also suffered a heart attack. : He spent several months recovering at home : before returning to the Academic Medical : Centre in Amsterdam, where he died this : evening. : It is the first death in the Royal Family : since the grandmother of Queen Beatrix, : Queen Wilhelmina, passed away in 1962. An : official period of national mourning will : probably not be announced. It is expected : that the funeral will take place in the : Nieuwe Kerk in the town of Delft, where : the Orange-Nassau Mausoleum is located, on : Wednesday the 16th of October. : Because of the Prince's death, all Dutch : television and radio stations have : interrupted their regular schedules and : are broadcasting appropriate music. : Ilse, your thoughts? I am deeply saddened by his death. I still remember watching his wedding to Princess Beatrix. [/quote]    Upload an Image File From Your PC For Insertion in Your Post    -  HTML is OFF | Forum Code is ON   Check here to include your profile signature. Check here to subscribe to this topic.