BREAKING: Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau has died

Prince Johan Friso Bernhard Christiaan David of Orange-Nassau, Count of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer van Amsberg was born 25 September 1968, the second son of then Princess Beatrix of The Netherlands and her husband Claus van Amsberg, who was a German diplomat. His godparents are{Source}:
  • Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (his maternal grandmother)
  • King Harald V of Norway
  • Johan Christian Baron von Jenisch
  • J.H. van Roijen,  and Christina von Amsberg

 He has one elder brother, King Willem-Alexander,and a younger brother, Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands.

He earned a degree in Mechanical engineering from University of California, Berklee in 1988{Source}. While there, he joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. From 1988-1994, he studied (and obtained) an engineer's degree in aeronautical engineering at Delft University of Technology{Source}. He also obtained a MSc degree in economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam, where he also took courses in Dutch Law{Source}. 

He spent a year (1995-1996) at the Amsterdam branch of the international management consultancy McKinsey{Source}. He then moved on to work for Goldman Sachs International in London as Vice President from 1998-2003{Source}. After that, he became part-time co-president of TNO Space in Delft in 2004. In 2006, he became Managing Director in the London office of the private investment and advisory firm Wolfensohn & Co. He is a co-founder of the MRI Centre in Amsterdam and is also a founding shareholder of Wizzair, the largest low-cost airline in Eastern Europe. Prince Friso is honorary chairman of the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development (a position he holds together with his younger brother Prince Constantijn). The Prince also serves as a director and supervisory director of various companies. Presently, he is working as CFO for a uranium enrichment company called URENCO{Source}.

He married Mabel Wisse Smit on 24 April 2004{Source}. Because he did not seek Parliament's approval before marrying, he lost his claims to the throne, and his spot in the Royal House{Source}. He nor his children from this union are in line for the Dutch throne{Source}. Considering at the time of  his abdicating the throne, he had his older brother, and later The King had three daughters, it was highly unlikely that he would ever become King of The Netherlands anyway. He and Princess Mabel have two daughters:

UPDATE 13-8-2013: 

Funeral service arrangements have been announced. His funeral will take place on the afternoon of 16 August 2013 at the Stulpkerk in Lage Vuursche. The service will be private, the family hopes the media will respect their privacy on this day. The ceremony will be officiated by Rev. C.T ter Linden, and he will be laid to rest in the cemetery adjacent to  Stulpkerk.

A memorial service will be held at a later date {Source}

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Royal Profile: Princess Haalah bint Al Hashim of Jordan

Royal Profile: Prince Constantin d'Orléans

Royal Profile: Princess Beatrix of The Netherlands