Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld

Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld
Prince Bernhard in 1976
Prince consort of the Netherlands
Tenure	6 September 1948–30 April 1980
Born	Count Bernhard of Biesterfeld (1911-06-29)29 June 1911 Jena, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, German Empire
Died	1 December 2004(2004-12-01) (aged 93) University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Kingdom of the Netherlands
Burial	11 December 2004 Nieuwe Kerk, Delft, Netherlands
Spouse	Juliana of the Netherlands ​ ​ (m. 1937; died 2004)​
Issue Detail	Queen Beatrix Princess Irene Princess Margriet Princess Christina
Names German: Bernhard Leopold Friedrich Eberhard Julius Kurt Karl Gottfried Peter Prinz zur Lippe-Biesterfeld Dutch: Bernhard Leopold Frederik Everhard Julius Coert Karel Godfried Pieter, Prins van Lippe-Biesterfeld
House	Lippe-Biesterfeld
Father	Prince Bernhard of Lippe
Mother	Baroness Armgard von Sierstorpff-Cramm
Religion	Church of Lippe (1911–1937) Dutch Reformed Church (1937–2004)
Occupation	Military officer, aviator, conservationist, nonprofit director
Signature
Political party	Nazi Party (1933–1937)

Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (later Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands; 29 June 1911 – 1 December 2004) was Prince of the Netherlands from 6 September 1948 to 30 April 1980 as the husband of Queen Juliana. They had four daughters together, including Beatrix, who was Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 to 2013.

Bernhard belonged to the German princely house of Lippe-Biesterfeld and was a nephew of the last sovereign prince of Lippe, Leopold IV. From birth he held the title Count of Biesterfeld; his uncle raised him to princely rank with the style of Serene Highness in 1916. He studied law and worked as an executive secretary at the Paris office of IG Farben. In 1937 he married Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, and was immediately given the title Prince of the Netherlands with the style of Royal Highness. Upon his wife's accession to the throne in 1948, he became prince consort.

Bernhard was an early member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) and served as an officer in the Schutzstaffel. He switched his political allegiance to the Allies after the invasion of the Netherlands. Until his death, Bernhard denied being a NSDAP member or holding a NSDAP membership card. He was respected for his performance as a combat pilot and his activities as a liaison officer and personal aide to his mother-in-law, Queen Wilhelmina, during the conflict, and for his work during post-war reconstruction. During the war, he was part of the London-based Allied war planning council, and saw limited active combat service as honorary wing commander in Royal Air Force (RAF), flying both fighter and bomber planes. He was also an honorary general officer in the Dutch army and was an observer in negotiating the terms of surrender of Nazi forces in the Netherlands. Officially for proven bravery, leadership and loyalty during his wartime efforts, he was appointed a Commander of the Military William Order, the Netherlands' oldest and highest honour. After the war he was made honorary air marshal of the RAF by Queen Elizabeth II. In 1969, Bernhard was awarded the Grand Cross (Special Class) of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. He became entangled in the so-called 'Lockheed Bribery Scandal' in 1976 for having secretly promoted the sale of their airplanes and of Northrop's for money, and was degraded from all his military functions with a lifelong ban on wearing any military uniform.

Bernhard helped found the World Wildlife Fund (WWF, later renamed World Wide Fund for Nature), becoming its first president in 1961. In 1970, along with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and other associates, he established the WWF's financial endowment "The 1001: A Nature Trust". In 1954, he was a co-founder of the international Bilderberg Group, which has met annually since then to discuss corporate globalisation and other issues concerning Europe and North America. He was forced to step down from both groups after being involved in the Lockheed Bribery Scandal in 1976.