The Netherlands' Prince Constantijn
married the agriculture minister's daughter Laurentien Brinkhorst
today at a brief civil ceremony in The Hague. The marriage was
performed by the mayor of The Hague and attended by members of the
Royal Family, including Queen Beatrix, Prince Claus, Prince
Bernhard and Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, accompanied by his
bride-to-be Máxima Zorreguita.
More pomp and pageantry has been reserved for Saturday when Queen Beatrix's youngest son and his wife marry again in a church service before 1,000 guests, also in The Hague. Among their royal guests will be Japanese Prince Akishino, Belgium's Prince Philippe, Sweden's Princess Victoria and Greece's exiled King Constantine, the Dutch Prince's godfather.
Máxima
The wedding between
31-year-old Prince Constantine and his 34-year-old bride is seen as
a dress rehearsal for another royal wedding, slated for next year,
between his older brother, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and his
Argentinean fiancée Máxima Zorreguita. In fact, court
circles fear that media attention will be drawn towards
Máxima, who happens to turn 30 on Thursday.
Máxima won Dutch hearts recently when she spoke about her father's controversial past during the official announcement of her engagement in March. Jorge Zorreguieta served as agricultural minister under the Argentine military dictatorship in the late 1970s and early 80s. Some royal watchers say Willem-Alexander should not become king if he marries Máxima.
No Controversy
Much less controversial is
today's wedding between the Crown Prince's youngest brother and
Laurentien Brinkhorst. Prince Constantijn has kept a low public
profile, pursuing a career at the European Commission. His wife
is quite a model daughter-in-law. Her mother has
known the Queen since their college days together and Laurentien is
even Protestant, which carries weight in this country.
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