In Memoriam HRH Prince of the Netherlands

Prince Bernhard, the President of the FEI from 1954 to 1964, passed away on 1st December 2004. He was 93 years old.

Prince Bernhard, husband of Queen Juliana, who reigned from 1948, and father of the present Queen of the Netherlands, Beatrix, was born on 29 June 1911 in the Mark Brandenburg, son of the Count of Lippe Biesterfeld.

In 1937 he married the then Princess Juliana. The couple had four children, all girls. One of them, Irene, became a successful Jumping rider, competing as a member of the Dutch team at the European Junior Championships of 1956.

Prince Bernhard too was a successful rider. Coached by the Russian born Alexander Pantshulizev, the winner of the Emperors Price of Vienne in 1914, Prince Bernhard competed internationally for the Netherlands especially in Dressage. He also rode for his country in one Nations Cup in 1949 in le Zoute, and competed nationally in Eventing events, winning the Dutch National Eventing Championship in 1952.

In 1952 he succeeded Baron de Trannoy as President of the FEI and was followed in 1964 by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. In the years following his presidency, Prince Bernhard continued to show a keen interest in equestrian sport and regularly attended events in the Netherlands, in particular Jumping Amsterdam. He was also a guest at the World Equestrian Games in 1994 in the Hague. The last time he attended an official FEI function was in 1984, at the Official dinner at the General Assembly in Amsterdam.

Prince Bernhard served as member of the Appeal Jury at several Olympic Games. For many years he was the president of the World Wild Life Fund.