Netherlands' Princess Margriet born in OttawaThe Second World War forged a number of very stong ties between the Netherlands and Canada: "At the same time, the people of Canada and the Netherlands, take comfort in the knowledge that out of the anguish and horror of war there developed warm and powerful bonds of friendship which still endure." (Veterans' Affairs Canada web-site)
Royal history is made in Ottawa on Jan. 19, 1943, when Dutch Princess Juliana gives birth to her daughter Margriet Francisca at the city's Civic Hospital. The first royal baby to ever be born in North America, the historic birth helped forge a bond between Canada and the Netherlands that endures to this day. This CBC Television clip looks back at the momentous delivery that captured the attention of war weary Canadians.
Crown Princess Juliana and her two small daughters arrived in Canada in June 1940, a month after they fled the Netherlands in the wake of the German army invasion. The heir to the Dutch throne, Juliana lived in exile in Ottawa for four years and became a fixture in the capital city's social circles. After learning of Juliana's pregnancy, the Canadian government proclaimed the hospital's maternity suite "extraterritorial" so that the royal baby would have full Dutch citizenship.
A gift of 100,000 tulip bulbs
The Dutch royal family had fled their country in 1940 and found a safe haven in Ottawa during the Second World War. Princess Juliana, the only heir to the Dutch throne, and her children initially made a home at Rideau Hall then at Stornoway House, where they would stay for four years.
It wasn't until August 1945 that Princess Margriet arrived in a newly liberated Holland.
Later that same year, as a symbol of gratitude both for Ottawa's hospitality and Canada's vital role in liberating the Netherlands from the Nazis, Princess Juliana sent Ottawa 100,000 tulip bulbs and a promise to deliver 20,000 bulbs every year of her life.
Lasting legacy
In Canada, Princess Margriet's lasting legacy remains in the form of the Canadian Tulip Festival. Thanks to the initial gift of tulips from the royal family back in 1945, the annual tulip bloom has become one of Ottawa's greatest spring attractions.
The festival officially began in 1953 and it has continued to grow in size ever since. Recent displays have seen more than one million flowers in bloom.
In 1995, Princess Margriet returned to Ottawa to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands.
The 2008 Canadian Tulip Festival runs from May 2-19. Admission is free.
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