Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

Her Majesty Queen Beatrix with her dog Chip. (RVD/photo Raymond Rutting)

Every spring, Ottawa, the Capital of Canada, explodes with the color of millions of tulips in full bloom. They start near the parliament buildings and spread out from there… along Rideau canal and through the parks and streets. This amazing display had its beginnings just after the end of World War 2. In 1945, the Dutch Royal Family and the people of the Netherlands donated 120,000 tulip bulbs in gratitude for the part Canadian troops played in the liberation of Holland. This gratitude extended to the safe haven Canada provided to Princess Juliana and her daughters, including the present Queen of the Netherlands…Her Majesty Queen Beatrix. Canadians and the people of Holland have shared a strong bond ever since. It is reinforced each year in early May, when a vast array of tulips with names like Orange Princess, Angelique, Dreaming Maid and Fringed Elegance appear in Ottawa, 3 million strong.

Princess Juliana in Ottawa with her 3 daughters. (Government of Canada)

Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was only two years old when she and her family were forced to flee from their homeland during World War 2. The year was 1940 and the Nazis had just invaded Holland and were looking to capture and assassinate the Dutch Royal Family. Beatrix's mother, Princess Juliana, and father, Prince Bernhard, escaped to the United Kingdom along with their children, the Princesses Beatrix and Irene, and Queen Wilhelmina. But their safe haven was short-lived. Because of the heavy bombing taking place in England, Princess Juliana secretly boarded a Dutch ship and fled to Canada with her two young daughters. They were welcomed at Stornaway, the official residence of the Leader of the Opposition Party in Canada. This house would serve as their home-in-exile while the war raged in Holland. It was a terrible time in Holland that saw thousands of civilians, Jews, resistance fighters and members of the Dutch military arrested, killed, tortured and sent to concentration camps. After years of occupation by Germany, many in Holland were left to starve and were reduced to, among other things, digging up tulip bulbs to eat.

Tulip field in the Netherlands. (www.growingtulips.com)

In Canada, Princess Beatrix and her sister, Princess Irene, attended nursery and primary school at Rockcliffe Park Public School along with the children of politicians and ambassadors. Shielded from the horrors she had left behind, the future Queen was able to enjoy a relatively normal childhood. In her new Canadian home there would be skiing (water and snow), sledding, horseback riding, swimming and sailing. Other famous alumni of Rockcliffe include the children of Prime Minister Trudeau, current Prime Minister Stephen Harper and actor Matthew Perry. Princess Juliana did what many war wives of the time did: she helped with the war effort by knitting for the soldiers, raised money by working in a second-hand store and did whatever she could to keep up the morale of her people. She also acted as her mother's representative and her people's ambassador, travelling in Canada, the United States and the Netherlands Antilles, visiting military troops and generating support for the effort to win the war. On January 19, 1943, Princess Juliana, heir to the Dutch Throne, gave birth to a third daughter, Princess Margriet at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. The Canadian Government proclaimed the hospital's maternity suite "extraterritorial" so that the baby would be born on Dutch territory and have full Dutch citizenship. The baby's name meant "daisy", a flower chosen by Queen Wilhelmina as a symbol of resistance and hope in the Netherlands. This was the first royal baby ever to be born in North America. (Copy and paste the following URL into your web browser to see archival footage from the Canadian Broadcast Corporation of this historical event.

Canadian Troops Liberating Holland

According to Canadian Governmental Archives, by April 28, 1945, "German military leaders knew that the end was near. A truce was negotiated and food began to reach the starving civilian population (of Holland). General Johannes Blaskowitz, commander of the occupation forces, surrendered to Lieutenant-General Foulkes of the 1st. Canadian Army Corps on May 5, 1945. The war in the Netherlands was finally over. After five years in hiding, the red, white and blue national flag reappeared in the towns and villages, as did the orange banners of the House of Orange representing the Dutch Royal Family. By the thousands, Canadian soldiers laid down their arms and began to rebuild houses, dikes and bridges. Canadian military physicians attended to civilians and many troops provided help to the population so cruelly affected by the war. Seven thousand Canadian soldiers had died in the campaign to liberate the Netherlands and the Dutch were eager to show their gratitude. Children gathered wildflowers to place on the graves of the fallen soldiers. Romance bloomed amid the aftermath of war and lasting bonds were formed between Canadians and the Dutch people. Many of these romances ended in marriage. The Canadian Government paid the passage to Canada for more than 1,800 Dutch war brides and some 400 children."

Tulips blooming on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. (canadacool.com)

The Dutch Royal family was re-united in their homeland in the late summer of 1945. Many magnificent gifts were given to Canada and her people by the grateful citizens of Holland and its Royal Family, but none so lasting and spectacular as the tulips. The National Capital Commission, part of the Canadian Government, oversees the planting and maintenance of what has now reached close to 3 million tulips that have been gifted over the past 50 years. This symbol of international friendship between Canada and the Netherlands will live on and delight many generations to come…but also remind us all of the terrible price of war.

Queen Beatrix has taken over the tradition of the tulips to honor the memory of her mother Queen Juliana, who died in 2004 at the age of 94 years. The best time to see the tulips blooming in Ottawa and in the Netherlands is the beginning of May when spring is in full bloom.