Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands has always been considered a modern and down-to-earth woman, despite her position and privileged origins. But the image of Laurentien, married to Constantinbrother of the current sovereign Willem-Alexander, is facing an unprecedented reputational crisis after having resigned from the foundation he chaired, after being accused by its employees of creating a “culture of fear” due to degrading treatment. Although she denies the accusations, she has said that she prefers to resign in order to “prioritise her happiness and avoid a spectacle”.
Laurentien of the Netherlands married Prince Constantin, one of the three sons of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, in 2001, and they have three children. Until 2015, the couple lived in Brussels, where the prince worked for the European Commission. Since moving to The Hague, the couple has participated more in official events and belongs to various organisations.
The foundation from which Laurentien resigned is under the country’s Finance Ministry. The Dutch government is responsible for helping immigrant families who have been accused of fraudulently taking advantage of a number of public benefits in the past. In 2021, the government led by the liberal Mark Rutte resigned in full after this case of institutionalised racism became known, as the tax office imposed stricter controls on family benefits for those applicants with surnames of non-Dutch origin. In many cases, immigrants were unfairly accused of having taken advantage of these benefits without being entitled to them and were forced to pay back huge amounts of money that led them to ruin.
The Press Speaker
The workers of this foundation tried to get Laurentien to change his attitude by filing a complaint through the usual internal channels. But in the absence of a response from the country’s authorities, they decided to go to the press. They present the sister-in-law of Máxima of Holland as a Little tyrant with “emotional reactions, insults and inability to tolerate contradiction” and to generate fear among the staff with “patterns of bullying” in her conduct. The Dutch Ministry of Finance has finally had to admit that it has received verbal complaints, but has not wanted to confirm whether they were directed at the princess. A spokesman for the foundation has issued a statement describing this information as a “personal attack” on Laurentien.
This scandal is reminiscent of that of Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, accused of having fired dozens of palace employees between 2015 and 2019 and of having behaved in a despotic manner towards the staffwhich even included episodes of physical violence. All these excesses appeared in the so-called Waringo report, which forced the then Prime Minister Xavier Bettel to launch a constitutional reform to modernise the monarchy and which resulted in the Grand Duchess being stripped of any power.
In this case, it seems that the crisis has already been resolved after the resignation of the princess, who will remain linked to this foundation although without any managerial role. But her image has been damaged. Although she is little known outside the borders of her country and almost all the spotlights are monopolized by the charismatic Maxima of the Netherlands who has won over the Dutch and the international press, Laurentien’s image was far from that of a tyrannical witch.. Quite the opposite.
She was presented as a 21st-century woman capable of reconciling caring for her family and her professional life, and of not having lost her idealism, despite her entry into maturity. “I feel young enough to believe that we can make the world a better place”he said in an interview with «La Vanguardia». Apart from his work in this foundation, in the past he has also participated in organizations related to the protection of nature and the fight against illiteracy.
Despite this, she is far from being a self-made woman and her privileged origins are evident. She knew her current husband since childhood, as their mothers were friends, and she is the daughter of a former foreign minister. She studied Political Science and completed a Master’s degree in Journalism at Berkeley. As part of this curriculum, she decided to dedicate her thesis to street prostitution and, as a way of documenting herself, spent three nights among homeless people. As a result of this experience, She realized the links between illiteracy, sexual exploitation and marginalization. That is why she dedicated part of her efforts to supporting organizations that promote reading. and became a writer of children’s books starring Mr. Finney.
Regaining prestige
She often participates in group readings with children, as a way of encouraging this habit. “Children who read 15 minutes a day know more words than those who don’t,” she said. “She’s not a fairy tale princess, but she writes stories”“She’s a modern, committed princess,” said Vanity Fair in a 2015 profile, which also explained that the princess did not live “in a glass palace” and praised her attempts to behave like a normal woman who went to the gym, went out with her friends and bought clothes from avant-garde designers. But the portrait of a modern, committed princess seems to have come to an end with this information and it does not seem easy for her to regain her prestige.