28 March 2007

AMSTERDAM - Prince Bernhard changed his will just six days before his death almost 2.5 years ago. The newspapers of the Associated Press Services (GPD) have gathered this from the legal instrument which provides for the partial division of the departed prince's estate.

Queen Beatrix and princesses Irene, Margriet and Christina have partially, and perhaps entirely, bought out the shares that two illegitimate half-sisters had in the estate, the GPD discovered.

The prince had left his estate to be equally divided among the six women.

American Alicia (54) and French Alexia (39) relinquished their claims to a part in the prince's three buildings in Soest in exchange for an amount of money. The legal document does not report how much money was offered them, since the sum was deposited in a special account for them at De Brauw, Blackstone Westbroek in Amsterdam. The GPD estimates this would have been about EUR 0.8 million, on the basis of its valuation of the property.

There are no indications that show whether the illegitimate daughters' claims to other parts of the estate were bought off in a similar manner.

In the almost 2.5 years since Bernhard's death only part of his estate has been sold off. His hunting grounds have been sold, but his Italian villa The Happy Elephant has been up for sale at Christie's for a year already.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2007]

Subject: Dutch news