There was a difference of twenty-seven years between his father and mother. As a young man he preferred the out-door life, riding and hunting; but his expectation of being a country squire came to an end when, in The Hague on 7 February 1901, he married Wilhelmina, Queen of The Netherlands.
However, the marriage between the kind, simple and generous prince and the proud and authoritarian Queen was not an easy one. Neither an intellectual, nor given an official position, he involved himself with the Red Cross, Life-saving and the boy scouts.
Although an affectionate father, in his sad and lonely life he may have fathered some illegitimate children. From Mecklenburg he received an annuity but this stopped in 1918 and from then onwards he was completely dependent on his wife.
Aged only fifty-eight, he died from a heart-attack in The Hague on 3 July 1934. For his funeral, in Delft on 14 July 1934, the colour white was adopted for mourning.
 

Source: Leo van de Pas