Princess Margriet and Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven to pay official visit to Canada

Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and her husband Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven will pay an official visit to Ottawa, Canada from Thursday 12 May to Monday 16 May. The visit was originally planned for 2020, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands. Princess Margriet and Professor Van Vollenhoven will meet Canadian Governor General Mary Simon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Veterans Affairs Lawrence MacAulay and other dignitaries. They will also speak with veterans who took part in the liberation of the Netherlands during the Second World War, and visit the Canadian War Museum. More generally, the visit will focus on the Netherlands’ relations with Canada, the country where Princess Margriet was born during the war.

Princess Margriet and Professor Van Vollenhoven will start their visit on Thursday 12 May by planting a bed of Princess Margriet tulips at Stornoway, the house where the Dutch royal family stayed during the war. A meeting will follow with MPs who are members of the Canada-Netherlands Friendship Group. Later that day there will be a meeting with representatives of the Canadian Red Cross; Princess Margriet is honorary chair of the Netherlands Red Cross. 

On Friday 13 May Princess Margriet and Professor Van Vollenhoven will join Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson in viewing an exhibition at City Hall on the Dutch royal family’s life in Canada during the Second World War. Later the Princess, accompanied by Prime Minister Trudeau, will unveil a plaque at Beechwood National Military Cemetery in honour of General Charles Foulkes, who took part in the negotiations in Wageningen in 1945 on the German capitulation. After the unveiling there will be a meeting with the Prime Minister in the Beechwood grounds. That evening a reception will be held for guests from Ottawa’s Dutch community and Canadians who have a special bond with the Netherlands. 

On Saturday 14 May Princess Margriet will open the Canadian Tulip Festival, an annual event in which tulips are on display around the city to commemorate Canada’s role in the liberation of the Netherlands. After an inspection of the troops, the Princess will deliver a brief speech. She and Professor Van Vollenhoven will then be given a tour of different parts of the festival. 

They will end their trip on Monday morning 16 May with a visit to the War Museum, where they will meet Minister of Veterans Affairs Lawrence MacAulay. At the museum they will view an exhibition and lay a wreath. Princess Margriet and Professor Van Vollenhoven will then meet there with veterans and representatives of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and the Royal Canadian Legion. A meeting with Governor General Simon will conclude their visit to Ottawa. 

Government Information Service, no. 131