Royal Profile: Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands

Prince Constantijn Christof Frederik Aschwin of The Netherlands was born 11 October 1969 as third and youngest son of then Queen Beatrix and the late Prince Claus of the Netherlands {Source}.He has two older brothers, two sisters in law, and five nieces{Source}:

1. King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands (1967)
1. Queen Maxima of The Netherlands (1971, m. 2001)
1. Princess Catharina-Amalia of Oranje (2003)
2. Princess Alexia of The Netherlands (2005)
3. Princess Ariane of The Netherlands (2007)
2. Prince Friso van Oranje-Nassau (1968-2013)
1. Princess Mabel van Oranje-Nassau (1968, m. 2004-2013, his death)
1. Countess Luana van Oranje-Nassau (2005)
2. Countess Zaria van Oranje-Nassau (2007)

His godparents were {Source}:

1. King Constantine II of Greece
2. Prince Aschwin zu Lippe-Biesterfeld
3. Axel Freiherr von dem Bussche-Streithorst
4. Max Kohnstamm
5. Mrs. Corinne de Beaufort-Sickinghe

Presently, he is 4th in line for the Dutch throne after his three nieces. If something should happen to his brother and sister-in-law before Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Oranje becomes of legal age, he will act as regent for her {Source}.

He was educated in The Netherlands, France and Italy {Source}.Princess Beatirx's youngest child received his primary education at the Nieuwe Baarnse School {Source}. His secondary education at the Eerste Vrijzinnig Christelijk Lyceum in The Hague, where he gained his VWO (pre-university education) certificate in 1987{Source}During the 1987/1988 academic year, Prince Constantijn attended language courses in France and Italy{Source}. He studied law at Leiden University, and became a lawyer {Source}.

He worked in Belgium, for the department of Dutch European Union Commissioner of Foreign Relations {Source}. After that, he was hired by the EU where he worked in various capacities until December 1999 {Source}. In December 2000, he obtained a MBA from INSEAD in France {Source}. He spent that summer working for International Finance Corporation of the World Bank group in Washington, D.C. {Source}. He worked until late 2002 for strategic consultants Booz Allen Hamilton in London {Source}.
Since 2003 he has worked for the RAND Corporation Europe in Brussels {Source}. Furthermore, he has a part-time position at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs {Source}.

Unlike his older brother, he rarely makes appearances on The Netherlands behalf {Source}. Upon the abdication of Queen Beatrix on 30 April 2013, the children of Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien ceased to be members of the Royal House, although they continue to be members of the royal family.
He is an avid sportsman, who enjoys Football, tennis, golf and skiing. He also dabbles a bit in the arts, enjoying drawing, cooking and reading {Source}.


He married Laurentien Brinkhorst civilly on 17 May 2001 {Source}. They were religiously married on 19 May 2001 {Source}. Together they have three children, two daughters and a son {Source}:


Countess Eloise van Oranje-Nassau (2002)
Count Claus-Casimir van Oranje-Nassau (2004)
Countess Leonore van Oranje-Nassau (2006)

He holds orders from The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

He is godfather to:

1. Princess Catharina-Amalia of Oranje (2003) (his niece)\
2. Countess Luana van Oranje-Nassau (2005) (niece)
3. Miss Alaïa-Maria Irene Cécile Brenninkmeijer (2014) (his cousin's daughter)

He is chair or honorary chair of several organizations including

1. The Hauge Process on Refugees and Migration{Source}
2. The Prince Berhard Nature Fund {Source}.
3. The Prince Claus Fund{Source} (Honorary)

He is also a:

1. Member of the supervisory board of the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam {Source}
2. Patron of the World Press Photo Foundation{Source}.
3. Patron of the National Musical Instrument Fund{Source}.
4. Patron of the Oskar Back Study Foundation for young violinists{Source}.