Bernhard Lucas Emmanuel, Prince of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven, was born on 25 December 1969 in Nijmegen. Prince Bernhard has three brothers: Prince Maurits, born in 1968, Prince Pieter-Christiaan, born in 1972, and Prince Floris, born in 1975.
Image: © RVD - Jeroen van der Meyde
Prince Bernhard
Education
Prince Bernhard studied economics for a year at Georgetown University in Washington DC, USA. In 1995 he graduated in economics from the University of Groningen.
Marriage and family
The Prince married Annette Sekrève in Utrecht on 6 July 2000. In 2026 Prince Bernhard and Annette Sekrève divorced. Prince Bernhard and Princess Annette have three children: Isabella, born in 2002, Samuel, born in 2004, and Benjamin, born in 2008. By Royal Decree the children bear the surname Van Vollenhoven.
Work
Prince Bernhard is self-employed. His fields of interest include AI. While at university he set up his own business, Ritzen Couriers, with friends and went on to found Shop.nl and Clockwork. Until 2026 he was a member of the management team of Levi9 IT Services, a partner in Pinnacle real estate development in Amsterdam and joint shareholder in the Circuit Zandvoort race track. The Prince also founded Waterdream, which builds and designs aluminium boats, and set up Lymph&Co, a fund that promotes fundamental research into lymphoma.