Prince of the Netherlands
On 4 September 1948 Princess Juliana succeeded her mother as Queen of the Netherlands. From that date to the date of Queen Juliana's abdication in 1980, Prince Bernhard, as the Queen's Consort, bore the title 'The Prince of the Netherlands'. The Prince accompanied his wife on state visits and attended official receptions.
Prince Bernhard played an important role in many fields. He was a member of the supervisory board of Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM), Hoogovens and the Royal Netherlands Industries Fair, chair of the National Disaster Fund, member of the board of the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Commander of the Netherlands Order of St John of Jerusalem, honorary chair of the Royal Dutch Touring Club (ANWB) and the Royal Tropical Institute, and patron of the Netherlands Olympic Committee, the Society for the Preservation of Nature Reserves, and the Jewish National Fund, to name but a few.