Princess Irene of the Netherlands (Irene Emma Elisabeth; born 5 August 1939), Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld, is the second child of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld.
She was born in Soestdijk Palace. Her older sister is the current Queen of the Netherlands, Beatrix. Among her godparents was Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who was Queen consort of the United Kingdom at the time of her birth...
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Princess Irene of the Netherlands (Irene Emma Elisabeth; born 5 August 1939), Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld, is the second child of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld.
She was born in Soestdijk Palace. Her older sister is the current Queen of the Netherlands, Beatrix. Among her godparents was Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who was Queen consort of the United Kingdom at the time of her birth.
Princess Irene is a descendant of Sophia, Electress of Hanover via her great-granddaughter Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange.
Because of the invasion of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany during World War II the Dutch Royal family chose to live in exile in Canada, where Irene attended Rockcliffe Park Public School, in Ottawa. As a teenager, she was dubbed by the Dutch press as "the glamorous Princess of the Netherlands." During the war, the Royal Dutch Brigade (the formation of Free Dutch soldiers that fought alongside the Allies) was...
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