Claus Georg Wilhelm Otto Friedrich Gerd von Amsberg
Prince Consort of the Netherlands
Queen Beatrix with her husband, the late Claus von Amsberg. The background show several family members, amongst whom Beatrix's mother Juliana.
Titles	Claus George Wilhem Otto Frederik Gert von Amsberg (1926-1966),HRH Claus Prince of the Netherlands, (1966-2002)
Born	September 6, 1926(1926-09-06)
	Hitzacker, Germany
Died	October 6 2002 (aged 76)
	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Consort to	Beatrix
Issue	Prince Willem-Alexander, Prince Friso, Prince Constantijn
Father	Claus Felix von Amsberg
Mother	Baroness Julie von dem Bussche-Haddenhausen

Prince Claus of the Netherlands, Jonkheer van Amsberg (born: Claus Georg Wilhelm Otto Friedrich Gerd von Amsberg) (September 6, 1926 – October 6, 2002) was a German-born aristocrat who became the husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Upon his marriage he became HRH Prince Claus of the Netherlands. Image File history File links Beatrixandclausdancing. ... is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hitzacker is a town in the Lüchow-Dannenberg district of Lower Saxony, Germany. ... is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation). ... Beatrix (born January 31, 1938 as Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, Princess of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld) has been the queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands since April 30, 1980. ... Prince Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, (Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand Prins van Oranje, Prins der Nederlanden, Prins van Oranje-Nassau, Jonkheer van Amsberg, born April 27, 1967) is the eldest son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and is the heir apparent to the Dutch throne, with the style... Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, also known as Prince Johan Friso (Johan Friso Bernhard Christiaan David), Count of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer van Amsberg, van Oranje-Nassau van Amsberg (born September 25, 1968) is the second son of HM Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and HRH Prince Claus. ... His Royal Highness Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands (Constantijn Christof Frederick Aschwin), Prince of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer of Amsberg, (born October 11, 1969), is the third and youngest son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and Claus von Amsberg. ... is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Her Majesty, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard of Orange-Nassau (born January 31, 1938) is the Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne in 1980. ...

Biography

He was born at the family estate Haus Dötzingen near (Hitzacker, Germany), as Claus Georg Wilhelm Otto Friedrich Gerd von Amsberg. His parents were Claus Felix Friedrich Leopold Gabriel Archim Julius August von Amsberg and Gösta Julie Adelheid Marion Marie Baroness von dem Bussche-Haddenhausen. His mother had among her ancestors Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Baden Baron Ernst Philipp Sensburg (Gerst) (1752-1852), who was born Jewish but was baptized in 1770 (See Ernst Philipp Sensburg and Zu Sensburg und der genealogischen Entwicklung derer von Sensburg im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert (in German)). Hitzacker is a town in the Lüchow-Dannenberg district of Lower Saxony, Germany. ...

His father operated a large farm in Tanganyika from 1928 until World War II. Claus and his six sisters grew up at their grandparents' manor in Lower Saxony. Claus also attended a boarding school in Tanzania from 1936 to 1938. He was also a member of Nazi youth organisations such as Deutsches Jungvolk and the Hitler Youth (the latter being mandatory for all fit members of his generation) [1]. From 1938 until 1942, he attended the Baltenschule Misdroy. Flag of Tanganyika Tanganyika was an East African republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, named after Lake Tanganyika, which formed its western border. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... With an area of 47,618 km and nearly eight million inhabitants, Lower Saxony (German Niedersachsen) lies in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the countrys sixteen Bundesl nder (federal states). ... National Socialism redirects here. ... A Youth organization is a formal organization aimed at children and adolescents for education and socialization. ... The Deutsches Jungvolk (German Youth) was a subdivision of the Hitler Youth for boys aged 10 to 14. ... For the SS division with the nickname Hitlerjugend see; 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend The Hitler Youth (German:   , abbreviated HJ) was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. ...

In 1944, he was conscripted to the German Wehrmacht. He became a member of the German 90th Panzergrenadier Division in Italy in March 1945, but was taken as a prisoner of war by the U.S. at Merano before taking part in any fighting. Wehrmacht   (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Merano (Italian, now most common in English; German: Meran, also used in English; Ladin: Meran; Archaic (857 AD): Mairania; Latin: Merona; many of the regions Italian languages/dialects use Meran), is a town in the province of Bolzano-Bozen, Italy. ...

After his repatriation, he finished school in Lüneburg and studied law in Hamburg. He joined the German diplomatic corps and worked in Santo Domingo and Côte d'Ivoire. In the 1960s he was transferred to Bonn. Repatriation (from late Latin repatriare - to restore someone to his homeland) is a term used to describe the process of return of refugees or soldiers to their homes, most notably following a war. ... Lüneburg (English: Lunenburg) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, about 50km southeast of Hamburg. ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ... This article is about the city in Germany. ... The diplomatic corps, or in French (formerly the lingua franca of diplomacy; hence the term is still used e. ... It has been suggested that Greater Santo Domingo Area be merged into this article or section. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany, located about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia. ...

Claus and Beatrix met at the wedding-eve party of Princess Tatjana of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse in the summer of 1964. Sections of the Dutch population were unhappy that Beatrix' fiancé was a German, only twenty years after the end of the war and there were protests during the wedding celebrations, notably by the anarchist-artist group Provo. The two married on March 10, 1966. Princess Tatjana Louise Ursula Therese Elsa of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b. ... HRH Moritz, Prince and Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (full name: Moritz Friedrich Karl Emanuel Humbert Landgraf von Hessen-Kassel) (b. ... For the Utah city, see Provo, Utah. ... March 10 is the 69th day of the year (70th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ...

Over time, Claus became accepted by the public, even so much that in the last part of his life he was generally considered the most popular member of the royal family^{[citation needed]}. Reasons for this change in Dutch opinion were his strong motivation to contribute to public causes, especially third world development (on which he was considered an expert), his sincere modesty, his candidness (within, but sometimes on the edge of, royal protocol), and his approachability to all layers of society. For the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). ...

The public also sympathized with Claus for his efforts to give meaning to his life beyond the restrictions that Dutch law imposed on the royal family's freedom of speech and action (lest they get involved in political controversy). Many also believed that these restrictions were at least partly the cause of his severe depression), which lasted many years. As a result, restrictions were loosened; Claus was even appointed as senior staff member at the Department of Developing Aid, albeit in an advisory role. The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. ... In everyday language depression refers to any downturn in mood, which may be relatively transitory and perhaps due to something trivial. ...

A fine example of his mildly rebellious attitude toward protocol was the "Declaration of the Tie". In 1998, after presenting the annual Prince Claus Awards to three African fashion designers, Claus told "workers of all nations to unite and cast away the new shackles they have voluntarily cast upon themselves", meaning the necktie, that "snake around my neck", and encouraged the audience to "venture into open-collar paradise". Then Claus removed his tie and threw it to the ground. The Prince Claus Fund has presented the Prince Clause Awards annually since 1997 to honor individuals and organisations reflecting a contemporary approach to the themes of culture and development. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... Fashion design is the applied art dedicated to the design of clothing and lifestyle accessories created within the cultural and social influences of a specific time. ... A shackle is a U-shaped piece of metal secured with a pin or bolt across the opening, or a hinged metal loop secured with a quick-release locking pin mechanism. ... For the grappling position, see double collar tie. ... William Shakespeare in a sheer linen collar of the early 17th century, a direct ancestor of the modern shirt collar. ... Paradise, Jan Bruegel Paradise is an English word from Persian roots that is generally identified with the Garden of Eden or with Heaven. ...

Claus and Beatrix had three children:

• Prince Willem-Alexander (born April 27, 1967) (the Prince of Orange and heir apparent to the Dutch throne)
• Prince Friso (born September 25, 1968)
• Prince Constantijn (born October 11, 1969)

Claus suffered various health problems during his life, such as depression, cancer and Parkinson's disease. He died on October 6, 2002 after a long illness. His embalmed body was placed in the royal family's tomb in Delft on October 15. It was the first full state funeral since Wilhelmina's in 1962. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, (Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand), Prince of Orange, Prince of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer of Amsberg (born April 27, 1967), is the Crown Prince of the Netherlands and styled HRH the Prince of Orange. ... April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... Prince of Orange is a title of nobility, originally associated with the principality of Orange in southern France. ... Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, also known as Prince Johan Friso (Johan Friso Bernhard Christiaan David), Count of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer van Amsberg, van Oranje-Nassau van Amsberg (born September 25, 1968) is the second son of HM Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and HRH Prince Claus. ... is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... His Royal Highness Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands (Constantijn Christof Frederick Aschwin), Prince of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer of Amsberg, (born October 11, 1969), is the third and youngest son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and Claus von Amsberg. ... is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... In everyday language depression refers to any downturn in mood, which may be relatively transitory and perhaps due to something trivial. ... Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these to spread, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion, or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis (where cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system). ... is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Embalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall decomposition and to make them suitable for display at a funeral. ... Coordinates: Country Netherlands Province South Holland Area (2006)  - Municipality 24. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... For other uses, see Wilhelmina (disambiguation). ...

External links

• In pictures: Prince Claus remembered
• Video: Condolences pour in, 7 October 2002