View source for Princess Irene of the Netherlands

{{Short description|Dutch princess (born 1939)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Princess Irene
| title        = 
| succession   = [[Duchess of Parma|Duchess consort of Parma]]
| reign        = 7 May 1977 – {{nowrap|7 January 1981}}
| reign-type   = Pretense
| full name    = Irene Emma Elisabeth van Oranje-Nassau, van Lippe-Biesterfeld
| image        = Irene2011.jpg
| caption      = Princess Irene in 2011
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma]]<br>|29 April 1964|7 January 1981|reason=div}}
| issue        = [[Prince Carlos, Duke of Parma]]<br>[[Princess Margarita, Countess of Colorno]]<br>[[Prince Jaime, Count of Bardi]]<br>[[Princess Carolina, Marchioness of Sala]]
| house        = [[House of Orange-Nassau|Orange-Nassau]]
| father       = [[Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld]]
| mother       = [[Juliana of the Netherlands]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|1939|8|5|df=yes}}
| birth_place  = [[Soestdijk Palace]], [[Baarn]], [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]]
| religion     = [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]], <br> <small>''prev.'' [[Calvinism]]</small>
}}
'''Princess Irene of the Netherlands''' (Irene Emma Elisabeth; born 5 August 1939) is the second child of [[Juliana of the Netherlands|Queen Juliana of the Netherlands]] and [[Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld|Prince Bernhard]].

In 1964, she converted to Catholicism and married the then-[[Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma|Prince Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma]] in a Catholic ceremony in Rome, thus forfeiting her place in the royal succession. Since their 1981 divorce, she has espoused left-wing causes, including anti-nuclear campaigns, and has developed a pantheistic philosophy about the relationship between man and nature.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Affairs|first=Ministry of General|date=2015-10-09|title=Princess Irene - Royal family - Royal House of the Netherlands|url=https://www.royal-house.nl/members-royal-house/royal-family/princess-irene|access-date=2021-04-16|website=www.royal-house.nl|language=en-GB}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

==Childhood and family==
The princess was born on 5 August 1939 at [[Soestdijk Palace]]. At the time of her birth, war was a distinct possibility but, because her parents hoped for a peaceful solution, they chose to name their new daughter for [[Eirene (goddess)|Eirene]], the Greek goddess of peace.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=s78tAAAAIBAJ&pg=3713,1164227&dq=princess+irene+netherlands&hl=en|title=Baby Princess Carried to Birth Registration|date=8 August 1939|newspaper=The Montreal Gazette|access-date=24 March 2012}}</ref><ref name=Shadow>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cawyAAAAIBAJ&pg=1319,4503505&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Princess Irene's Shadow Emerges|date=11 February 1964|newspaper=The Miami News|access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref> She has three sisters, the eldest of whom is the former queen of the Netherlands, Princess [[Beatrix of the Netherlands]]; the two younger ones are [[Princess Margriet of the Netherlands|Princess Margriet]] and the late [[Princess Christina of the Netherlands|Princess Christina]].<ref name=Canada/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6J8xDWDqOkEC&pg=PA281|title=The International Who's Who of Women 2002|editor-last=Sleeman|editor-first=Elizabeth|year=2001|publisher=Psychology Press|page=281|isbn=1-85743-122-7|access-date=12 March 2012}}</ref>

Because of the invasion of the Netherlands by [[Nazi Germany]] during [[World War II]] the Dutch royal family first fled to the United Kingdom. Irene was not yet a year old when the family was forced to leave the Netherlands; she was christened in the Chapel-Royal of Buckingham Palace in London, with the wife of King [[George VI]], [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Elizabeth]], being one of her godparents. When the family was leaving the Netherlands, the port where they boarded the British warship was attacked by a German air raid; one of the German bombs exploded within 200 yards of the family. Irene was placed in a gasproof carrier to protect her from chemical warfare.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oJ1aAAAAIBAJ&pg=2929,3731699&dq=princess+irene+netherlands&hl=en|title=Wilhelmina Flees Holland; Escapes German Bombers|date=14 May 1940|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|access-date=24 March 2012}}</ref><ref name=Peace>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ABM_AAAAIBAJ&pg=5137,6144336&dq=princess+irene+netherlands&hl=en|title=Princess of Peace Finds No Peace|date=12 June 1940|newspaper=The Windsor Daily Star|access-date=24 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VkdQAAAAIBAJ&pg=6070,2705112&dq=princess+irene+netherlands&hl=en|title=Dutch Royalty Flees; Baby in Gasproof Box-Photo of Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard carrying Irene in the gasproof box|date=14 May 1940|publisher=The Milwaukee Journal|access-date=24 March 2012}}</ref>

[[File:Princes Irene and Carlos Hugo 1964.jpg|thumb|left|Princess Irene with [[Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma|Carlos Hugo]] in 1964]]
Princess Juliana and her daughters again took flight when the [[The Blitz|London Blitz]] began, this time to exile in [[Ottawa]], Canada, where her younger sister, Margriet, was born and where Irene attended [[Rockcliffe Park Public School]].<ref name=Shadow/><ref name=Canada>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IslELAX61NMC&pg=PA59|title=Canada and the Liberation of the Netherlands, May 1945|editor-last=Goddard|editor-first=Lance|publisher=Dundurn Press Ltd|year=2005|page=44|isbn=1-55002-963-0|access-date=12 March 2012}}</ref><ref name=Peace/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MtxUAAAAIBAJ&pg=7159,1635800&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Ottawa-born Dutch Princess to Wed|date=10 March 1965|newspaper=The Leader-Post|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref> As a teenager, she was dubbed by the Dutch press "the glamorous Princess of the Netherlands." During the war, the [[Princess Irene Brigade|Royal Dutch Brigade]] (the formation of [[Dutch resistance|Free Dutch]] soldiers that fought alongside the Allies) was named for Princess Irene. This was continued after the war as the [[Garderegiment Fuseliers Prinses Irene|Regiment Prinses Irene]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_eNGEV_QL64C&pg=PA64|title=The Hunger Winter: Occupied Holland, 1944–1945|editor-last=Van Der Zee|editor-first=Henri A.|year=1998|publisher=University of Nebraska|page=67|isbn=0-8032-9618-5|access-date=12 March 2012}}</ref>

Always an independent person, Irene was thrilled to receive a sports car from her father, one of the gifts he had been presented with. Irene's happiness was short-lived; when she opened the hood of the automobile, she noticed that the vehicle only looked like a sports car but had an ordinary car's engine. She asked her father for permission to turn the vehicle into a true racing-type auto, which Prince Bernhard refused to allow.<ref name=Independent>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZQJFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2718,3192613&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Princess Irene: Always the Independent Type|newspaper=The Windsor Star|date=10 February 1964|access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref>

She was a bridesmaid at the 1962 [[Wedding of Prince Juan Carlos and Princess Sophia|wedding of Prince Juan Carlos of Spain and Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark]].

Princess Irene studied at the [[Utrecht University|University of Utrecht]], then went to [[Madrid]] to learn the [[Spanish language]] and became proficient enough to become an official interpreter.<ref name=Shadow/><ref name=Independent/>

==Marriage controversy==

===Conversion to Catholicism===
[[File:Prinses Irene woonde zondag j.l. de jaarlijkse Carlistenbijeenkomst op de berg M, Bestanddeelnr 018-0789.jpg|thumb|right|Irene (donning the Carlist Red Beret at Montejurra in 1965) controversally married [[Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma|Prince Carlos Hugo]], the heir apparent of the [[Carlism|Carlist]] movement.]]
While studying Spanish in Madrid, Irene met then [[Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma|Prince Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma]], the eldest son of [[Carlism|Carlist]] claimant to the Spanish throne, [[Xavier, Duke of Parma]] and Head of the [[House of Bourbon-Parma]]. In the summer of 1963, Princess Irene secretly converted from [[Protestant]]ism to [[Roman Catholicism]].<ref name=Throne>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XV4bAAAAIBAJ&pg=5536,2407825&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Princess Irene Gives Up Throne|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|date=8 February 1964|access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref> The first time the public or the royal family knew about the conversion was when a photograph appeared on the front page of an [[Amsterdam]] newspaper showing the Princess kneeling to receive communion at a [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] in the Roman Catholic Church of the Hieronymites (''[[San Jeronimo el Real|Los Jerónimos]]'') in [[Madrid]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YQJFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4639,1374576&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Holland All Abuzz Over Royal Rumors|date=5 February 1964|newspaper=The Windsor Star|access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref> Irene's conversion took place a year before her engagement announcement, but the royal family did not officially announce the news until January 1964.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/01/30/archives/princess-2d-in-line-to-dutch-throne-becomes-a-catholic.html|title=Princess, 2d in Line To Dutch Throne, Becomes a Catholic|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=30 January 1964|access-date=23 August 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dw5ZAAAAIBAJ&pg=7150,3873033&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Dutch Princess Irene Joins Catholic Church|date=30 January 1964|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AD5QAAAAIBAJ&pg=6510,1164760&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Irene Advised to Drop Rights|date=8 February 1964|newspaper=The Evening Independent|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref>  When news leaked out that she was engaged to Prince Carlos Hugo (born 1930), it provoked a Protestant outcry and a constitutional crisis.<ref name=Post>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KGkyAAAAIBAJ&pg=948,1566723&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Princess Irene Keeps Dutch Guessing About Engagement|date=8 February 1964|newspaper=The Palm Beach Post|access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref><ref name=CCinHolland>{{cite news|title=Constitutional Crisis in Holland|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PzsjAAAAIBAJ&pg=2904,2395740&dq=princess+irene+constitutional+crisis&hl=en|access-date=24 March 2012|newspaper=Montreal Gazette|date=12 February 1964}}</ref>

Although Dutch law did not forbid a Catholic to reign over the Netherlands, Protestant succession was traditional, born out of the 16th-century [[Eighty Years' War]] with Spain and the assassination of [[William the Silent|William of Orange]] by a supporter of [[Philip II of Spain]] who believed William had betrayed both the Spanish monarch and the Catholic Church.<ref name=Post/>  By the middle of the 20th century, religious attitudes had begun to change, but only very slowly. While members of the Roman Catholic Church accounted for approximately 34&nbsp;percent of the Dutch population, and Catholic political parties had been in coalition governments since 1918, the high fertility rate of the Catholics was a matter of some concern for all non-Catholics.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y50fi5AvrY8C&q=princess+irene+netherlands&pg=PP21|title=Discovering the Dutch: on culture and society of the Netherlands|editor-last=Besamusca|editor-first=Emmeline|editor2-last=Verhuel|editor2-first=Jaap|year=2009|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|page=20|isbn=978-90-8964-100-7|access-date=12 March 2012}}</ref><ref name=Politics>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/politicsofaccomm00aren_0|url-access=registration|quote=princess irene netherlands.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/politicsofaccomm00aren_0/page/84 84]–86|editor-last=Lijphart|editor-first=Arend|publisher=University of California Press|year=1968|title=The politics of accommodation: pluralism and democracy in the Netherlands|access-date=12 March 2012}}</ref>

The Carlists, whose support of [[Francisco Franco]] amplified the crisis over a royal conversion to Catholicism and a marriage without approval of the Dutch States-General. For the second in line to the throne to not only convert to Roman Catholicism, but to marry the heir to the Carlist claim, caused shock and consternation in the Netherlands. When Princess Irene left the Netherlands to join Prince Carlos in Paris after the announcement of their engagement, a threat was telephoned to [[KLM Royal Dutch Airlines]] by an anonymous caller saying, "you should investigate the plane". The telephone call was construed to be a bomb threat and the airliner was searched, causing more than an hour's delay for the flight. It was the first instance of any threat involving the royal family and their air travel.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tz1QAAAAIBAJ&pg=6658,1415080&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Bomb Scare Delays Princess' Plane|date=8 April 1964|newspaper=The Evening Independent|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref>

[[Juliana of the Netherlands|Queen Juliana]] attempted to stop the marriage, first by sending a member of her staff to Madrid to persuade the Princess not to go ahead with a marriage that would be a political disaster for the monarchy in the Netherlands. It seemed to work and the Queen went on Dutch radio to tell the citizens that Princess Irene had agreed to cancel her engagement and was returning to the Netherlands. When the airplane arrived at Schiphol Airport, the Princess was not on it, and Queen Juliana and her husband, [[Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld|Prince Bernhard]] were supplied with a Dutch military plane to go to Spain to retrieve their daughter.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DWRkAAAAIBAJ&pg=6253,704470&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Princess' Engagement Off|date=5 February 1964|newspaper=The Calgary Herald|access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref> However, a message was delivered to the Queen from the Dutch government warning that it would resign ''en masse'' if she set foot in Spain. It was suggested that Princess Irene was a pawn of General [[Francisco Franco]] who tried to maximize the event to his benefit.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VZYBE087pUUC&q=princess+irene+netherlands&pg=PA97|title=The decline of Carlism|editor-last=MacClancy|editor-first=Jeremy|year=2000|publisher=University of Nevada|page=97|isbn=0-87417-344-2|access-date=12 March 2012}}</ref>

Given the ramifications and the fact that a monarch from the House of Orange had never visited Spain, the Queen had no choice but to turn back. Prince Bernhard then traveled to Madrid to meet with his daughter and her fiancé, who both accompanied him back to the Netherlands, where an immediate meeting took place with the couple, the Queen, Prime Minister [[Victor Marijnen|Marijnen]], himself a Roman Catholic, and three top cabinet ministers.<ref name=Throne/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XV4bAAAAIBAJ&pg=4142,2219571&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Princess Irene to Wed Spaniard|date=8 February 1964|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref> When the meeting ended in the early hours of the morning on Sunday, 9 February 1964, Dutch radio broke its traditional Sabbath day silence to announce that Princess Irene would give up any rights of succession to the throne so she could marry Carlos Hugo. The princess further stated that she did not want the government to create a bill which would grant official consent to her marriage.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sGpJAAAAIBAJ&pg=5772,1223452&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Princess Irene to Give Up Succession Rights for Love|date=9 February 1964|publisher=The News and Courier|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref> In an attempt to gain public favour for her proposed marriage, Princess Irene publicly stated that her marriage was intended to help end religious intolerance.<ref name=Shadow/> This caused a division in public opinion, as less than 40&nbsp;percent of the country ruled by the Protestant House of Orange was Roman Catholic. Over the ensuing weeks, things deteriorated further when [[Pope Paul VI]] granted an [[Audience (head of state)|audience]] requested by the couple in [[Rome]]. The Vatican believed the meeting was being held with the consent of the Dutch royal family.<ref name=Rift>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=900_AAAAIBAJ&pg=3424,1770440&dq=princess+irene+pope+paul+vi&hl=en|title=Dutch Rift Seems Almost Complete|date=20 April 1964|newspaper=The Windsor Star|access-date=24 March 2012}}</ref> The Queen at first denied such a meeting had taken place, but it was later verified.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=m4VRAAAAIBAJ&pg=1050,1909508&dq=princess+irene+pope+paul+vi&hl=en|title=Royalty Received by Pope Paul|date=8 April 1964|newspaper=The Milwaukee Sentinel|access-date=24 March 2012}}</ref> Because the constitution prohibits members of the royal family from any involvement in foreign politics, Irene alienated herself from almost every Dutch citizen when a photo appeared in a Dutch paper showing her at a [[Carlist]] rally in Spain and she declared that she supported her fiancé's political goals.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ijwxAAAAIBAJ&pg=7418,4856459&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Dutch Crisis Builds Up Princess Beatrix, Premier|date=10 February 1964|newspaper=The Toledo Blade|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref> The Dutch government officially announced that it had no responsibility for either the words or actions of Princess Irene in the future on 10 April 1964. It was done in response to Irene's declaration of joining Carlos Hugo's political campaign to regain the throne of Spain on 8 April 1964.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=orNWAAAAIBAJ&pg=4768,2598337&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Irene Will Join Fight for Carlos|date=8 April 1964|newspaper=The Spokesman-Review|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ThJdAAAAIBAJ&pg=715,583188&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Holland Disowns Irene's Future Words, Actions|date=10 April 1964|publisher=St. Joseph Gazette|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref>

===Marriage===
{{Dutch Royal Family}}
No one from the Dutch royal family or any Dutch diplomatic representative attended the marriage of Princess Irene and Prince Carlos Hugo in the [[Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore#Borghese Chapel and Salus Populi Romani|Borghese Chapel]] at the [[Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore]] in [[Rome]], [[Italy]], on 29 April 1964.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vgBWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6758,6021584&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Princess Irene, Prince Carlos Married in Catholic Ritual|date=29 April 1964|newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref> There were also no representatives of Spain's Franco government at the ceremony; the couple chose Rome as the site of their nuptials because of its neutrality.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r7pGAAAAIBAJ&pg=668,3515094&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Princess Irene Married; Wedding is Boycotted|author=Long, James M.|publisher=The Evening News|date=29 April 1964|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Prinses Irene en Prins Carlos Hugo doen Prinses Cecilia (zuster van Prins Calosl, Bestanddeelnr 921-9826.jpg|thumb|right|262px|Princess Irene (right) with her husband and sister-in-law, [[Princess Cécile Marie of Bourbon-Parma|Princess Cécile Marie]], in 1968]]
Dutch television provided coverage of the marriage and Irene's family was among those who watched the ceremonies, although fate conspired in the form of a power failure which made them unable to see the last part of the rite. The Dutch royal family gathered at the home of Prince Bernhard's mother, [[Armgard of Sierstorpff-Cramm]], for the television coverage. Princess Armgard had also converted to Roman Catholicism like her granddaughter, but decided against attending the wedding.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D_JQAAAAIBAJ&pg=4946,4783023&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Queen Sees Irene's Wedding on Video|date=30 April 1964|publisher=The Press-Courier|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VKAyAAAAIBAJ&pg=4497,4730705&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Irene Marries Amid Carnival Air|date=29 April 1964|newspaper=The Miami News|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref> Irene and her mother spoke on the telephone before she left for the Basilica. Governmental fears that attendance at the wedding by the Dutch royal family might be construed as approval of Spanish politics made it impossible for the family to do anything else.<ref name=Rift/>  The Dutch government had also vetoed the possibility of the wedding being held in the Netherlands. While it is said that [[Pope Paul VI]] had been asked to officiate at the wedding and declined, he did send the couple his special blessing before the ceremony. He received the newlyweds at a private Vatican audience after their wedding.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0D16F9385415738DDDA80994DC405B848AF1D3|title=Dutch Tell Paul They Object To Papal Wedding for Irene|date=10 April 1964|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=11 March 2012}}"THE HAGUE, 10 April (UPI) – The Netherlands has informed Pope Paul VI that she would oppose a papal marriage ceremony for Princess Irene and Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Parma, court sources said today." (pay-per-view)</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Pm9KAAAAIBAJ&pg=481,4452416&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Crowds Cheer; Bride's Kin Stay Away|date=29 April 1964|publisher=Youngstown Vindicator|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref> Because she had failed to obtain the approval of the States-General to marry, Irene lost her right of succession to the Dutch throne. She agreed that she would live outside of the Netherlands.<ref name=Throne/>

In 1968, Princess Irene was libeled by the West German "rainbow press". The publications operated similarly to movie and television gossip magazines, with the exception being that instead of stories about film or television stars, the rainbow press wrote about royalty and their supposed secret lives. One of the publications printed a story that Irene had undergone an abortion with parental consent before she was married. Irene's father, Prince Bernhard, took the paper to court to clear his daughter's name. The court found in favor of father and daughter, ordering the newspaper to pay them both damages and to print a public apology.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Z6ofAAAAIBAJ&pg=2479,4054940&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Enraged Dutch Royalty Fights to Clear Name of Princess|date=20 March 1969|newspaper=Gadsden Times|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref>

After the wedding, Irene was very active in her husband's right-wing political cause, but over time they drifted away from right-wing extremism to left-wing sympathies and became a part of the international [[jet-set]] crowd. On 9 May 1977 Irene was expelled from Spain on the day after the death in Switzerland of her father-in-law, the Carlist claimant [[Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma|Xavier, Duke of Parma]]. Her husband [[Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma|Carlos Hugo]], now the new [[Dukes of Parma|Duke of Parma]], Head of the House and Carlist claimant to the throne and an opponent of King [[Juan Carlos I]], was also barred from the country for the same reason.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AFA_AAAAIBAJ&pg=5584,3276763&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Princess Expelled From Spain|date=9 May 1977|newspaper=The Windsor Star|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref>  Prince Carlos Hugo was allowed to return in late 1977, but Princess Irene was not permitted back in the country until April 1978.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_uVLAAAAIBAJ&pg=5834,426672&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Princess' Long Exile Ends|date=4 April 1978|newspaper=The Free Lance-Star|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref> The prince, head of the [[dynasty|Royal House]] of [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]]-Parma, became a naturalized Spanish citizen in 1979. The couple had four children, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1981.<ref name=Dissolve>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vDxUAAAAIBAJ&pg=3656,1155923&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Princess Irene to Dissolve Marriage|date=7 January 1981|newspaper=Boca Raton News|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0AgyAAAAIBAJ&pg=5920,2634257&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Princess Plans Divorce|date=14 December 1980|newspaper=Boca Raton News|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=v_QhAAAAIBAJ&pg=6219,3719173&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=People in the News-Annulment Started|newspaper=Reading Eagle|date=7 January 1981|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref>

Having been married to the Duke of Parma, she is the only one of her sisters whose husband was of royal status.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=A2ZSAAAAIBAJ&pg=4484,528470&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Dutch Princess to Marry Commoner|author=Kersting, Hendrik|date=11 March 1965|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lOgeAAAAIBAJ&pg=1050,5889240&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Queen Juliana Gives Approval to Betrothal|date=30 June 1965|publisher=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref> Her youngest sister, Princess Christina, later waived her rights to the throne when she married Jorge Guillermo, a United States citizen born in Cuba and a Roman Catholic.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0AxZAAAAIBAJ&pg=5479,4811093&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Dutch Princess Marries, Gives Up Right to Throne|date=29 June 1975|newspaper=The Victoria Advocate|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref>

==Since divorce==
In 1980, Irene and her children returned to live in the Netherlands, initially moving back into Soestdijk Palace. She became involved in various personal development workshops.<ref name=Dissolve/> By 1981, she and her children had moved to their own home across the street from the palace, where Irene did traditional household chores like grocery shopping.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kh0aAAAAIBAJ&pg=5123,7074806&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Princess Irene|newspaper=The Times-News|date=30 October 1981|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref> In 1983 and 1985, she publicly spoke out against the additional deployment of NATO missiles at a large anti-nuclear rally in The Hague and with a letter to the newspaper ''De Volkskrant''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BOUbAAAAIBAJ&pg=6672,7818655&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Princess Joins Missile Protesters in Largest Rally in Dutch History|date=30 October 1983|newspaper=Sarasota Herald-Tribune|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HFshAAAAIBAJ&pg=1968,3993919&dq=princess+irene&hl=en|title=Princess Opposes Deployment|date=13 October 1985|publisher=Tri City Herald|access-date=11 March 2012}}</ref> Her connection with nature, that she says she had felt since childhood, intensified, and in 1995 she published her book ''Dialogue with Nature''.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5-RciVTCC2AC&q=princess+irene+netherlands&pg=PR10|title=The True Power of Water:Healing and Discovering Ourselves|editor-last=Emoto|editor-first=Masaru|year=2005|publisher=Simon and Schuster|page=x|isbn=0-7432-8981-1|access-date=12 March 2012}}</ref> The book outlined her philosophy that human beings are alienated from the natural world, but the Dutch media seized upon passages that recounted conversations she said she had with the trees and dolphins.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mfsIc2KYjYsC&q=princess+irene+netherlands&pg=PA250|title=Animal Voices, Animal Guides:Discover Your Deeper Self Through Communication with Animals|year=2009|publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co.|page=back cover|editor-last=Brunke|editor-first=Dawn Baumann|isbn=978-1-59143-098-8|access-date=12 March 2012}}</ref>

In 1999 Princess Irene purchased a farm near [[Nieu-Bethesda]] in [[South Africa]], turning it into a sanctuary.<ref name=Budapest/> In 2001, she helped establish the NatuurCollege in the Netherlands.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.natuurcollege.nl/welcome-to-nature-college|title=The NatureCollege Foundation (in English)|author=Irene van Lippe-Biesterfeld H.R.H. Prinses Irene of the Netherlands|access-date=13 March 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423192544/http://natuurcollege.nl/welcome-to-nature-college|archive-date=23 April 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> She is also the founder of NatureWise, an organization that brings elementary school children in the Netherlands directly in touch with nature.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?act=url&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http://www.bndestem.nl/regio/breda/9618551/Prinses-Irene-beleeft-natuur-Mastbos.ece&usg=ALkJrhg0MBc4MfjLvUIJjoUboSkvMgpCqQ|title=Princess Irene experiences nature at the Mastbos|date=6 October 2011|publisher=De Stem.nl|access-date=13 March 2012}} (Google English translation)</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=nl&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=www.natuurwijs.nl&act=url|title=NatureWise home page|access-date=13 March 2012}} (Google English translation)</ref> The Princess is an honorary member of the Club of Budapest.<ref name=Budapest>{{cite web|url=http://www.clubofbudapest.org/p-amb-lippebiesterfeld.php|title=H.R.H. Irene van-Lippe Biesterfeld|publisher=Club of Budapest|access-date=24 March 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111112204253/http://www.clubofbudapest.org/p-amb-lippebiesterfeld.php|archive-date=12 November 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==Children==
Carlos Hugo and Princess Irene had four children:<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-mq7ctwMNdoC&q=princess+irene+netherlands&pg=PA152|title=Papal Genealogy:The Families And Descendants Of The Popes|editor-last=Williams|editor-first=George L.|year=2004|publisher=McFarlan|page=152|isbn=0-7864-2071-5|access-date=12 March 2012}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan=2| Name!! rowspan=2| Birth!! colspan=3| Marriage
|-
| bgcolor=#EEEEEE align="center"| '''Date''' || bgcolor=#EEEEEE align="center"| '''Spouse''' || bgcolor=#EEEEEE align="center"| '''Issue'''
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Prince Carlos, Duke of Parma]] || rowspan="2" | 27 January 1970 || Unmarried || Brigitte Klynstra || [[Prince Hugo de Bourbon de Parme|Carlos Hugo Klynstra, <br> ''later Prince Hugo'']]<ref>Bart Dirks & Remco Meijer, "[https://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/nederland-heeft-er-een-prins-bij-carlos-hugo-roderik-sybren-prins-de-bourbon-de-parme~a4574471/ Nederland heeft er een prins bij: Carlos Hugo Roderik Sybren prins de Bourbon de Parme]" (in Dutch), ''[[de Volkskrant]]'', 28 February 2018. Retrieved on 28 February 2018.</ref>
|-
|| 12 June 2010 (civil)<br>20 November 2010 (religious) || [[Annemarie Gualthérie van Weezel]] || Princess Luisa, Marchioness of Castell'Arquato<br>Princess Cecilia, Countess of Berceto<br>Prince Carlos Enrique, Prince of Piacenza
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Princess Margarita of Bourbon-Parma|Princess Margarita, Countess of Colorno]] || rowspan="2" | 13 October 1972 || 19 June 2001 (civil)<br>22 September 2001 (religious)<br><small>Divorced 8 November 2006</small> || Edwin de Roy van Zuydewijn || Without issue
|-
| 3 May 2008<br><small>Separated 20 February 2023</small> || Tjalling ten Cate || Julia ten Cate<br>Paola ten Cate
|-
| [[Prince Jaime, Count of Bardi]] || 13 October 1972 || 3 October 2013 (civil)<br />5 October 2013 (religious) || [[Viktória Cservenyák]] || Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma<br />Princess Gloria of Bourbon-Parma
|-
| [[Princess Carolina, Marchioness of Sala]] || 23 June 1974 || 21 April 2012 (civil)<br>16 June 2012 (religious) || Albert Brenninkmeijer || Alaïa-Maria Brenninkmeijer<br>Xavier Brenninkmeijer
|}

==Titles, styles, and honours==
{{see also|List of honours of the Dutch royal family by country}}

{{Infobox hrhstyles|royal name=Princess Irene of The Netherlands|image= [[File:Coat of Arms of the children of Juliana of the Netherlands.svg|70px]]|dipstyle=[[Royal Highness|Her Royal Highness]]|offstyle=Your Royal Highness}}
[[File:The_Dutch_Church,_Austin_Friars,_London_EC2_-_West_window_detail_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1213541.jpg|thumb|Princess Irene (window [[Dutch Church, Austin Friars]] in London)]]

===Titles===
Her official style is ''Her Royal Highness'' Princess Irene of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld.<ref>[http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/globale-paginas/taalrubrieken/english/members-of-the-royal-house/royal-family/princess-irene/ Princess Irene] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226055459/http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/globale-paginas/taalrubrieken/english/members-of-the-royal-house/royal-family/princess-irene/ |date=26 February 2015 }} - website of the Dutch Royal House</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0013729/2002-06-12|title=Wet lidmaatschap koninklijk huis|first=Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en|last=Koninkrijksrelaties|website=wetten.overheid.nl|access-date=19 August 2019}}</ref>
The Princess has used the following names since her divorce:
*Princess Irene of Lippe-Biesterfeld;<ref name="ghda2">''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XIII. "Niederlande". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1987, pp. 85-86.</ref>
*Mrs (''Mevrouw'') van Lippe-Biesterfeld.<ref name="ghda3">''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XV. "Niederlande". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1997, p. 75.</ref>

==Ancestry==
{{See also|Dutch monarchs family tree}}
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1  = 1. '''Princess Irene of the Netherlands'''
|2  = 2. [[Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld]]
|3  = 3. [[Juliana of the Netherlands]]
|4  = 4. [[Prince Bernhard of Lippe (1872–1934)|Prince Bernhard of Lippe]]
|5  = 5. [[Armgard von Cramm]]
|6  = 6. [[Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]]
|7  = 7. [[Wilhelmina of the Netherlands]]
|8  = 8. [[Ernest, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld]]
|9  = 9. [[Karoline of Wartensleben|Countess Karoline von Wartensleben]]
|10 = 10. [[Baron Aschwin of Sierstorpff-Cramm|Baron Aschwin von Sierstorpff-Cramm]]
|11 = 11. Baroness Hedwig von Sierstorpff-Driburg
|12 = 12. [[Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]]
|13 = 13. [[Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt]]
|14 = 14. [[William III of the Netherlands]]
|15 = 15. [[Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont|Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont]]
}}

==References==
{{reflist|35em}}

==External links==
{{Commonscatinline}}
{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[House of Orange-Nassau]]|5 August|1939|||[[House of Nassau]]}}
{{S-pre|}}
|-
{{S-bef|before=[[Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset]]}}
{{S-tul|title=[[Queen consort of Spain]]|line=[[Carlism|Carlist]]|years=7 May 1977 – 7 January 1981}}
{{S-vac|next=[[Annemarie, Duchess of Parma|Annemarie Gualthérie van Weezel]]}}
{{end}}

{{Dutch princesses}}
{{Princesses of Parma by marriage}}
{{Duchesses of Parma}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Thai sort key not needed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irene Of The Netherlands, Princess}}
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:21st-century Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism]]
[[Category:Duchesses of Parma]]
[[Category:Dutch conservationists]]
[[Category:Dutch people of German descent]]
[[Category:Dutch people of Russian descent]]
[[Category:Dutch Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:House of Orange-Nassau]]
[[Category:People from Baarn]]
[[Category:Princesses of Orange-Nassau]]
[[Category:Utrecht University alumni]]
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[[Category:House of Lippe]]
[[Category:Daughters of queens regnant]]