It was far too dangerous for the Princess to return to her home country. The ocean was filled with German U-boats. If the baby was born in Canada, they would be born on foreign soil which meant they would disqualify them form the royal succession under Dutch law.
In December 1942 Canadian lawyers drafted a special proclamation under the War Measures Act as a solution to this problem. The document declared that whatever room Princess Juliana gave birth in would be temporarily extraterritorial. That meant that legally cease to be Canadian territory for the duration of the birth. It was no territory at all. It was a "mobile extraterritorial bubble" for the duration of the birth.
On January 18,1943, Princess Juliana checked into the Ottawa Civic Hospital. Four rooms were prepared for the royal family. One for the princess, one for the baby, one for the nurse and one for security. The rooms overlooked Holland Avenue. They decorated the hallway with Dutch flags. The next day Princess Margriet was born. For the brief period of childbirth that hospital room belonged to no nation. It existed in legal limbo, not Canadian, nor Netherlands, not anywhere. This meant that the newborn Princess Margriet's citizenship came solely through her mother, by blood, making her exclusively Dutch despite being born thousands of miles away in Canada.
In true Canadian fashion, they went even further. The day after the birth the Peace Tower in Ottawa rang with Dutch songs. The Netherlands flag was raised over Parliament, which is the only time a foreign flag has flown there.
This birth gave the Netherlands hope. They received word by secret radio announcement. They were starving under oppression of the Nazi invasion. To hear the news of the baby princess born safely in Canada was a symbol to them that the monarchy would survive.
Canadian forces played a major role in liberating the Netherlands, and the Dutch people never forgot it. When the war ended in 1945 and Princess Juliana returned to her home she wanted to show Canada her appreciation. She sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa. This was the beginning of a tradition. In 1946 she sent 20,500 bulbs with a specific request to create a display at the hospital that Margriet was born. She promised to send 10,000 bulbs every year after that. The Dutch Bulb Growers Association added another 10,000 bulbs annually, making it 20,000 each year. For 81 years the gift has arrived, 20,000 appreciation tulip bulbs. The tulips are planted in two special beds in Ottawa. One at the Civic hospital and the other at the Commissioners Park, called the Queen Juliana Gift Bed. They are in shades of pink and purple, Julianna's favorite colors.
Ottawa calls itself the Tulip Capital of North America with over 1 million tulips. For Canada's 150th, Dutch growers created a special tulip to resemble the Canadian maple leaf. Princess Margriet, now 83 years old has visited Canada many times and calls it her second home. The hospital room that she was born in still exists. The tulips that bloom every year for the last 81 years is a reminder of the "Thank You" they received from a Netherland Princess so long ago.
This little gem of a story was posted on Facebook by Penny. I loved it, so much so, I had to share it. This has to be one of the most heartwarming stories in Canadian history. I don't think I have ever heard the story of the princess's birth and the gift of tulips that followed. It is such a beautiful story of two nations uniting over one wee baby. I remember the Canadian tulips, and I thought how stunning they were and how appropriate for such a celebration. I never even considered that they were part of royalty giving back. They are so much more meaningful to me now.
One of Princess Diana's quotes was "Everyone needs to be valued. Everyone has the potential to give something back". Princess Diana also known as the people's princess, always spoke from the heart. She was an example of Royally giving back in the many ways in which she tried to change lives. She went to places that royalty had never been with the hopes that she could make someone feel loved and for that brief moment make a difference.
The Monarch in any country, has protocol that they are expected to follow. I can't even imagine what it was like for the Royal members of the Netherlands fleeing to survive. I think this story is clearly an indication that "where there is a will, there is a way". In a time of despair what better country than Canada to be safe from war, as they wrapped their arms around the Princess and her family.
With life comes times where we are in a position where we have to believe "where there is a will, there is a way". Those moments of despair where we have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and push forward. We put our will into something to see a way to get through it. In many ways we are royally giving back to ourselves.
The next blog will be on May 24th.
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