How is this grandson of Princess Margriet doing?
In contrast to the daughters of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, the offspring of Prince Bernhard and Princess Annette can grow up in relative shelter. Today we put one of the Van Vollenhovens in the spotlight: young Benjamin gets to blow out sixteen candles!
Benjamin
As the youngest of the family, Benjamin Pieter Floris van Vollenhoven is literally the baby at the Van Vollenhovens’ home. On March 12, 2008, he was born as the little brother of Samuel and Isabella, and since then we have only seen him in the spotlight very occasionally. Not surprising, of course: the Van Vollenhovens are several degrees removed from the throne, and can therefore largely follow their own path, away from the royal spotlight.
Naturally, all the Oranges showed up at Benjamin’s baptism, which took place in the chapel at Paleis ‘t Loo. Keeping so many young Oranje descendants under control – it turns out to be quite a job!
Sporty son
Where we do see Benjamin regularly is at all kinds of sporting events in which his father is involved. For example, Bernhard has been organizing the Dutch 100 since 2015: a grueling duathlon that participants complete partly by bicycle and partly by skating. The proceeds from this sporting effort go to the organization Lymph&Co, which raises money for research into lymphatic cancer.
For example, we saw young Benjamin and big brother Samuel with mother Annette along the line in 2015…
…But a few years later the two brothers also took part in the event themselves.
Little family
Prince Bernhard also occasionally shares cheerful photos of his family via social media. Every now and then we can catch a glimpse of the grandchildren of Princess Margriet and Prof. Pieter van Vollenhoven. Last year, the proud father shared the snapshot below on the occasion of Benjamin’s fifteenth birthday.
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We also sometimes see sunny summer photos.
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And of course some cheerful F1 snapshots of father and sons cannot be missed.
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What will the future bring for the youngest Van Vollenhoven member? Nothing is known about that. In any case, it wouldn’t surprise us if Margriet’s grandson also heads for the roaring engines and luxury cars. With his father as the owner of the Zandvoort circuit and a brother who has a company in luxury Jeeps, it seems an obvious choice.
Fortunately, the teenager still has some time before he has to worry about such matters. For now, Glamial wishes him a very happy birthday!
Source: Blue Blood | Image: NL Image
