Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands

Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (later Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands; 29 June 1911 – 1 December 2004) was a German nobleman who was Prince of the Netherlands from 6 September 1948 to 30 April 1980 as the husband of Queen Juliana. They were the parents of four children, including Beatrix, who was Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 to 2013.

Bernhard belonged to the princely House of Lippe-Biesterfeld and was a nephew of the Principality of Lippe's last sovereign Leopold IV. From birth he held the title Count of Biesterfeld; his uncle raised him to princely rank with the style of Serene Highness in 1916. He studied law and worked as an executive secretary at the Paris office of IG Farben. In 1937 he married Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, and was immediately given the title Prince of the Netherlands with the style of Royal Highness. Upon his wife's accession to the throne in 1948, he became the prince consort of the Netherlands.

Despite being a member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) and serving as an officer in the Schutzstaffel while he was in Germany, Bernhard supported the Allies of World War II after the outbreak of war in 1939. He was respected for his performance as a combat pilot and his activities as a liaison officer and personal aide to Queen Wilhelmina during the conflict, and for his work during post-war reconstruction. During the war, he was part of the London-based Allied war planning council, and saw active combat service as honorary wing commander in Royal Air Force (RAF), flying both fighter and bomber planes. He was also an honorary general officer in the Dutch army and involved in negotiating the terms of surrender of German forces in the Netherlands. For proven bravery, leadership and loyalty during his wartime efforts, he was appointed a Commander of the Military William Order, the Netherlands' oldest and highest honour. After the war he was made honorary air marshal of the RAF by Elizabeth II. In 1969, Bernhard was awarded the Grand Cross (Special Class) of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Bernhard helped found the World Wildlife Fund (WWF, later renamed World Wide Fund for Nature), becoming its first president in 1961. In 1970, along with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and other associates, he established the WWF's financial endowment "The 1001: A Nature Trust". In 1954, he was a co-founder of the international Bilderberg Group, which has met annually since then to discuss corporate globalisation and other issues concerning Europe and North America. He was forced to step down from both groups after being involved in the Lockheed Bribery Scandal in 1976. In October 2023 Bernhard's original NSDAP membership card was discovered in his old residence. Until his death Bernhard denied being a NSDAP member or holding a NSDAP membership card.