Princess Christina of the Netherlands

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

photo: Dutch Royal House, © RVD

Princess Christina of the Netherlands – photo: Dutch Royal House, © RVD

Princess Maria Christina of the Netherlands (nicknamed Marijke) was born February 18, 1947, at Soestijk Palace in Baarn, the Netherlands, the youngest of four daughters of the future Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. Her mother had contracted German measles while pregnant with Christina, resulting in her being born nearly blind. Fortunately, she was able to gain some sight and was able to live a relatively normal life. As a teenager, she chose to be known simply by her middle name, Christina.

Christina had three older sisters:

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Princess Christina being held by her sister Princess Irene with her godfather Winston Churchill and her mother Queen Juliana

Christina was christened on October 9, 1947, at the St. Martin’s Cathedral in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Her godparents were:

Following her primary education, she attended the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and then in 1968 traveled to Canada where she studied classical music in Montreal. A few years later, she moved to New York City, taking a position teaching music in a Montessori school.

While in New York she met her future husband, Jorge Pérez y Guillermo. Once again religious differences came into play with a Dutch royal marriage. Guillermo was Catholic, and many people still remembered the recent marriage of Christina’s elder sister Irene and the scandal it caused. Despite this, the couple was engaged in February 1975.

 

The couple married on June 28, 1975, in a civil ceremony held in Baarn, the Netherlands followed by a religious ceremony at the St. Martin’s Cathedral in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Because she had not received the government’s consent, Princess Christina relinquished her rights to the Dutch throne for herself and her descendants and her position as a member of The Royal House. The couple settled in New York for several years before returning to the Netherlands. They built Villa Eikenhorst, on the De Horsten estate in Wassenaar, and had three children:

    • Bernardo Federico Tomas Guillermo (born 1977), married Eva Prinz-Valdes, had one son and one daughter
    • Nicolás Daniel Mauricio Guillermo  (born 1979), has two children with Leah-Michelle Pilon
    • Juliana Edina Antonia Guillermo (born 1981), has three children with Tao Bodhi

 

Christina and her husband divorced in 1996, and she moved with her children to New York. She later lived in Rome and had a home in The Hague in the Netherlands.  Her marital home, Villa Eikenhorst, later became the home of the future King Willem-Alexander and his family.

Princess Christina was an accomplished musician, recorded several CDs, and sang at several family events, including the funeral of her mother Queen Juliana. She founded a music foundation in her name and was the chairperson of the Princess Christina Competition, a music competition for young people.

In June 2018 it was announced that Princess Christina was suffering from bone cancer.  Princess Christina died at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands on August 16, 2019, at the age of 72 from bone cancer. Princess Christina’s remains were taken to Fagel’s Garden Pavilion on the grounds of Noordeinde Palace, where close friends and family paid their last respects. The cremation was held in private.

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Princess Christina’s coffin at Fagel’s Garden Pavilion on the grounds of Noordeinde Palace

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