The Kingdom of the Netherlands has always had a fondness for Canada, and specifically Ottawa, since the Second World War when the Dutch Royal Family sheltered in Ottawa after the Netherlands fell to the Nazis. In particular, Her Royal Highness, Princess Margriet was born in Ottawa at the Civic Hospital in January, 1943, in the maternity ward which was temporarily declared extra-territorial so that she could be born with as a Dutch citizen. She was baptized at St. Andrews Church in June, 1943, and stayed in Canada for the duration of the war. She returned to Ottawa from the 12th to the 16th May, 2022, for a visit in which she dedicated a plaque to a Canadian WWII General, opened the Tulip Festival, and met with WWII veterans at the Canadian War Museum.
On the 13th May she visited Beechwood Cemetery to pay respects to and unveil a plaque commemorating WWII Canadian Gen. Charles Foulkes who, in 1945, accepted the surrender of the German forces in the Netherlands. On hand was Prime Minister Trudeau, CDS Gen. Wayne Eyre, as well as descendant Don Foulkes (nephew) and his wife Sharon. The day was bright and sunny and the plaque was unveiled to grand applause from the attendees, followed by a visit and laying of flowers at the memorial bunker commemorating Dutch servicemen just beside where the plaque was unveiled. She also layed flowers at the grave of Gen. Foulkes (section 27, Beechwood Cemetery).
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On the 16th May she visited the Canadian War Museum to meet with World War II Veterans. She started this tour by a visit to the Memorial Hall where she laid a wreath at the headstone of the soldier buried in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Following that, she visited an artifact from her birth which was a wicker chair her mother used at the Ottawa Civic Hospital following her birth, now in the care of the Museum. She was ushered to a display of the liberation of the Netherlands and then on to a reception in the Barney Danson Theatre where she and her husband, along with other members of the official party, shared coffee and treats with WWII veterans, two who had actually landed at Normandy on D-Day.
To see these pictures, CLICK HERE.
After spending over an hour talking to the veterans, she departed the Museum and started her journey home.
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