Hurrah!
Party in Benoordenhout! Princess Laurentien is blowing out 58 candles today. High time for some fun facts about the princess.
Approachable princess
Princess Laurentien is known as ‘the most ordinary and approachable’ member of the royal family: easy to get along with, a cheerful and easy conversationalist and a talent for making someone feel that her interest is genuine.
And even though she was basically the ‘reserve queen’, she didn’t need to know anything about this title. The princess has too much respect for what her sister-in-law, Queen Máxima, does. The fact is that we could have done worse than with this nice, dignified lady as our first backup, right? And that is why we have listed a number of facts about the princess for you.
She chose her name herself
Believe it or not, but instead of a Princess Laurentien, we almost had a Princess Petra. This is because Mrs. Petra Laurentien Brinkhorst chose to use her middle name as her nickname long before her marriage to Prince Constantijn. Another fun fact: Laurentien is a porte-manteau of her parents’ names: Laurens Jan Brinkhorst and Jantien Brinkhorst-Heringa.
A smart aunt
As a teenager, Princess Laurentien was already a true citizen of the world. She attended high school in The Hague and obtained her baccalaureate A at the Lycée Français in Tokyo, Japan.
She then returned to the Netherlands, where she obtained her propaedeutic history degree at the University of Groningen in 1986. In 1989, she received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of London. But that wasn’t all. In 1991, the princess also obtained her Master of Journalism from the University of California at Berkeley in the US. And sailing, she could do that back then!
Most beautiful wedding dress ever?
Princess Laurentien and Prince Constantijn tied the knot 23 years ago, in 2001. In circles of royal wedding addicts, her very simple retro dress by Edouard Vermeulen (also known from fashion house Natan) is still known as one of the most beautiful wedding dresses ever. She wore the laurel wreath tiara, one of the oldest pieces of the House of Orange.
At home in The Hague
Laurentien and Constantijn have three children together: Eloise, Claus-Casimir and Leonore. The family lived in Brussels for a long time, but chose to return to The Hague in 2015. Nice and close to their family.
Princess with her own style
In terms of looks, Princess Laurentien has had her hits and misses, but let’s be honest: it’s never boring. After all, she isn’t called the fashion princess for nothing, right?
She was one of the first princesses in Europe with very short hair and she has never encountered a wild print that she did not like. But she also goes all out with plain outfits. With such a CV of distinct flavors and a mysterious style with perhaps more Bea diction than Queen Máxima will ever get, we can only draw one conclusion: Laurentien is fabulous at 58!
Source: Glamial archive | Image: NL Image
