Prins Bernhard: biografie van een publiek personage (discussiedossier over Bernhard. Een verborgen geschiedenis)

Author(s)

  • M. Grever

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18352/bmgn-lchr.7312

Keywords:

Court culture, biography, political culture

Abstract

Prince Bernhard: Biography of a Public Role
In her biography Bernhard. Een verborgen geschiedenis [Bernhard: A Hidden History], Annejet van der Zijl strives to write unaffectedly about a controversial character, and to set out a human portrayal of Bernhard. But has this undertaking succeeded? This dissertation certainly demythologises the jovial prince with the carnation, making for an exciting read – but do we really get to know any more about the prince as a ‘man’? A question all the more relevant as the biography pretty much gives up describing his life after 1945. By placing the emphasis on the revelations – and as Van der Zijl assumes that Bernhard must have changed little between 1945 and 2004 – the story of Bernhard’s life takes on a hermetic quality. Which in turn means this is not so much the story of a human prince, but of a public role.

 

This review is part of the discussion forum 'Een verborgen geschiedenis' (Annejet van der Zijl).

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Published

2011-01-01

Issue

Section

Discussion

How to Cite

Grever, M. (2011). Prins Bernhard: biografie van een publiek personage (discussiedossier over Bernhard. Een verborgen geschiedenis). BMGN - Low Countries Historical Review, 126(2), 82-92. https://doi.org/10.18352/bmgn-lchr.7312