Posted by Eleonore
on 29/9/2009, 9:55:33, in reply to "Book on marriage crisis by Cees Fasseur"
213.194.44.30
Like I said in the beginning of this year, I read the book around Christmas, my opinion of this book is that it is very unbalanced.
Mr. Faseur has obviously tried very hard to please the one person who gave him access to the Royal Archives and we know in which camp she was at the time...
I read the book through three glasses: as someone who is interested in royalty, a political scientist and as a student (at the time, graduated three weeks ago) in State and Administrative Law.
I have not found anything in the book that has proven beyong 'reasonable doubt' that Queen Juliana was strongly influenced by Greet Hofmans. The messages Ms. Hofmans got from 'above' were too hazy and too vague to steer a strong personality like Juliana (who was every inch as stubborn as her mother and daughter in my opinion) into a direction not to her liking.
The book was unbalanced and unfair and has made me decide to avoid books of Cees Faseur for the future. The man is not only the not 'the objective scientist' that he pretends to be, he is also totally incapable of writing in an interesting manner, it was dry, boring and at points it was the best sleeping medicin I ever had.
--Previous Message--
: I'm reading the book by C. Fasseur about the
: Hofmans Crisis. I can say that I am shocked
: by the way things were going on at the
: Court.
:
: The portraits of both the Queen and the
: Prince had nothing new under the sun. What
: was new -for me- was the absolute côterie
: around the Queen. I had never expected that
: it would be so strong.
:
:
:
: I'm still reading it (part III).
:
: Best part so far was the speech which Queen
: Juliana gave during a banquet for the
: 18-years old Princess Beatrix. Already on
: that age the Princess was characterized with
: virtues which would become exemplaric for
: her kingship.
:
: Page 274
: [...]
: No one else than the Queen herself was more
: aware of her human shortcomings (or was it
: her human abound?). When the Government
: offered a Banquet in the Royal Palace
: Amsterdam for the occasion of the eighteenth
: birthday of Princess Beatrix, the Queen
: spoke in affected words: "The lack of
: any conflict between duty and character is a
: circumstance for which you, dearest Trix,
: can not be grateful enough."
:
:
:
:
: -------------------------------------------------
:
: Example of a 'message from beyond' by Mrs
: Hofmans to Queen Juliana, date 29 February
: 1956, found as an attachment to the Beel
: Report, stored in the Royal House Archives:
:
: 1. The Queen does not want the Prince of
: present, but the man from 1936.
: 2. Before the elections the Queen should
: receive the Ministers in The Hague and
: request them to explain to her what they
: have done, and what not, during their term
: in office. Then the Queen should summon Mr
: Drees [the Premier] and announce to him:
: Much satisfying has been done but also much
: dissappointing. This last especially about
: binding elements. Then the Queen should ask
: the media, how they are oriented about the
: relationship of the Netherlands towards
: other countries and if they feel she [the
: Queen] is sufficiently informed by Foreign
: Affairs. After this [according Ms Hofmans]
: Her Majesty would have higher and more
: authority and her power would, especially
: for foreign countries, have much more
: profile. At last the Queen should give a
: major 'atomic speech'.
: 3. The Queen should not discuss anymore with
: the Government without consulting Ms Hofmans
: on beforehand.
:
: According footnote 69: 'See the dossier
: 'Messages from Beyond' in the Royal House
: Archives, G94-4. With pencil was written:
: "To Queen herself by mediation of
: Hofmans"
:
: Walraven Baron van Heeckeren van Molencaten,
: the secretary of the Queen (and completely
: in the spell of Hofmans as well) made a
: communiqué which should make public what the
: Queen wants to do.
:
: On the last moment the Queen's Cabinet, by
: director Marie-Anne Tellegen (anti-Hofmans)
: tackled this publication but the Queen went
: on with what Hofmans has messaged her: 14 of
: the 16 ministers and 3 of the 6
: state-secretaries were summoned to see the
: Queen between 20 March and 13 April 1956.
: These audiences took place at the summer
: retreat De Ruygenhoek in the dunes of
: Scheveningen. To the disappointment of Van
: Heeckeren van Molencaten no any rumour was
: given to these audiences. Ms Van Tellegen,
: the director of the Queen's Cabinet, even
: succeed to keep the dates of these meetings
: secret for Van Heeckeren, the Queen's
: secretary.
:
: In the Council of Ministers of 26 March 1956
: there were fierce protests against the way
: the Queen acted. Premier Willem Drees was
: sick, therefore vice-Premier Louis Beel was
: the chair. According the notes of the
: secretary there were words as "[We]
: have enough of it! First her [American]
: speeches and now this again." Drees
: remembered that his vice-Premier "quite
: acted with his heart" [in a
: conversation with the Queen] against this
: royal demarche because Beel knew that all
: this was based on 'messages from beyond' by
: Ms Hofmans. Premier Drees was not aware of
: that on that moment.
:
:
: