July 25, 2023 • 45 mins
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was raised like a fairy tale princess — but she would reign over one of the most tumultuous periods in European history and she would attempt to lead her people while in exile after the Nazis invaded her country.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim
and Mild from Aaron Manky Listener discretion advised. On July
twenty eighth, nineteen forty, the BBC began broadcasting a new
radio show, Radio Aranhe or Orange, was a fifteen minute
(00:26):
long program. Each episode began with the words radio Orange
here the voice of a combatant Netherlands. The show provided
timely reports on war developments, and it implored the Dutch
population not to comply with occupying forces. The show even
(00:48):
included encrypted messages meant for the resistance in the Netherlands.
The program was hosted by voices of Dutch resistance in exile, authors, journalists, historians, performers,
including the journalist A Den Dullard, who had begun publishing
(01:08):
reports warning against the impending rise of fascism back in
nineteen thirty seven. The show also featured the Jewish singer
Jetty Pearl performed songs on the show mocking the Nazis.
She would later join the Women's Auxiliary Corps of the
Royal Netherland Army. But perhaps Pearl's most shining accomplishment is
(01:33):
that after the war, she became the first singer to
perform in the first ever Eurovision Song Contest. Despite Pearl's
holding of that prestigious title, Radio Orange had a recurring
speaker with another, possibly even more impressive title, Queen of
(01:55):
the Netherlands. This war is about giving the war the
world a guarantee that those who want goodwill not be
prevented from accomplishing it, Queen Wilhelmina spoke now translated in
that first broadcast. Those who believe that the spiritual values
(02:16):
acquired by mankind can be destroyed by the edge of
the sword must learn to realize their vanity. Brute violence
cannot deprive people of their convictions. Radio Orange was so
popular amongst the Dutch population that in May nineteen forty three,
(02:38):
German authorities ordered Dutch citizens to hand in their radios.
Many did not comply, and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum
has a photo in their archives of a group of
Dutch resistance members and the Jews that they were protecting,
all crowded together around a contraband radio. Though Queen Wilhelmina
(03:04):
didn't appear in every broadcast, her speeches on the program
were so influential that, even beyond being a leader during
that time, she became a major symbol of resistance for
the Dutch people. Though these radio broadcasts were a major
and lasting moment in her reign, World War.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Two was far from the first.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Event that Wilhelmina led the Dutch people through.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
After her father's death.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
In eighteen ninety, she had become queen at only ten
years old. A wartime queen twice over, Wilhelmina reigned during
an era of great monarchical influence, the likes of which
we will almost certainly never see again, and influence she did.
(03:57):
I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is noble blood. The majority
of our detailed information on Wilhelmina's life comes from the
woman herself. Her nineteen fifty nine memoir, the aptly titled
(04:19):
for a monarch book, Lonely but Not Alone, opens with
her earliest memories and concludes with the end of her reign.
Because retirement is relatively rare among monarchs, this book is
incredibly unique as a retrospective. We rarely get to read,
(04:40):
in a monarch's own words, their reflections and opinions on
their entire reign as a whole. It's not Prince Harry's
spare levels of juicy, but it's still a rare and
insightful look into the thoughts and feelings of being a
royal book having all the markings of an autobiography, Wilhelmina
(05:04):
warns the reader against that very classification quote. The reader
should not expect to find here a political or historical
account or an autobiography. She writes, such works are concerned
with other aspects of life. I shall invite the reader
to follow me on a higher plane. What sort of
(05:26):
higher plane you might be wondering? Supernatural romance? A Kafka
esque interrogation of the self alas no, Wilhelmina meant more straightforwardly,
the subject of this book is God's guidance of our
people in past, present, and future. The memoir does devote
(05:47):
much of its time to the role of Christianity in
Wilhelmina's life and reign, but her notion that it doesn't
serve as a history or autobiography says more about wilhelmi
then the text itself. Chapter one, titled Father and Mother,
opens with the line let me begin by saying that
(06:10):
I still possess my father's walking stick, with which I
was always allowed to play when we went out for
a stroll. If the world is not too strong for
the uncertain steps of a child at the age of
three or four. Wilhelmina goes on to recount that she
and her father had a daily hour of play, beginning
(06:34):
at five o'clock in the evening, which was but one
slice of life in what seems to have been the
idealized princess girlhood. The bits and pieces she described sound
straight out of a story book. Wilhelmina remembers sledding with
her mother, her father buying the three of them matching
(06:56):
fur coats for the winter. A chalet that I am
imagine as a child sized version of the Marie Antoinette
Queen's Hamlet was built for Wilhelmina in the gardens, with
a dovecot, a duck pond, a playground, and a donkey
to ride. She remembers the estate's gun maker, who for
(07:17):
her acted as the quote good fairy, mending her broken
toys like Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker, And in perhaps the
most stereotypical memory of a young princess's life, she joyfully
recalls her father announcing that Shetland ponies would be arriving
(07:38):
for her quote no less than four in number. Above all,
she describes a closeness with her parents that's often missing
in other accounts of royal life. The family lived between
the newer Deaned Palace in the Hague and Hetloo Palace
built by the House of Orange in Appledorn, which was
(07:58):
primarily used as a summer residence. This was the life
of the only child of King William the Third and
his second wife, Queen Emma. However, Princess Wilhelmina was not
initially raised to be a queen. When the widowed King
(08:20):
William married Emma, his second wife, in eighteen seventy nine,
two of three sons he had still lived, the marriage
was not intended to produce an air. In fact, the
existing heirs were older than their new stepmother. The king
was forty one years older than his twenty one year
(08:42):
old bride. Apparently, Emma was the fifth woman he tried
to marry after the death of his wife. Following a
French opera singer whom the government pressured him to break
up with his own niece, the Princess of Denmark and
Emma's older sister. Sounds like the making of an incredible
(09:04):
season of The Bachelor nineteenth century edition. Despite the lack
of political incentive, Emma did give birth to a child,
a daughter, Wilhelmina, in eighteen eighty. By this point, another
of the king's sons had died of typhus, which meant
(09:26):
that will Helmina was third in line to inherit the throne.
You might be thinking third in line she only had
one more living, older brother, but there was a semisalic
system in place at the time. Basically it meant men first,
so Wilhelmina was behind her uncle and her father's remaining son.
(09:48):
But Wilhelmina's uncle would die when she was just one
years old, and her half brother died when she was four,
which rapidly changed the importance not only a Wilhelmina's role,
but also of her mother's. This was increasingly true as
it became clear that William would likely not live to
(10:10):
see his daughter, his only remaining heir, reach adulthood. In
eighteen eighty seven, just before his seventieth birthday, William fell ill.
Wilhelmina recalls that during his last few years he hardly
left the house, No longer able to take the strolls
(10:33):
with his daughter that she had opened her book with.
While Wilhelmina's mother cared for her father, Wilhelmina spent more
time than ever with her governess, Miss Winter, who would
be a major influence on her life.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Quote.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
She herself did not hide for anybody or evade anyone.
She was a bold woman, Wilhelmina writes of her. The
night that we will Wilhelmina's father died, Wilhelmina was sleeping
in her mother's bed, waiting for her to return from
her father's side. But when her mother did appear in
(11:10):
the doorway, it was with the news that her father
was gone. From that moment on, Wilhelmina reflected, many things changed.
My undisturbed playing had come.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
To an end.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
It was eighteen ninety and the ten year old princess,
who had been gifted Shetland ponies, had become Queen of
the Netherlands. Overnight after the funeral, Emma was sworn in
as regent and the family relocated permanently to court at
the Hague. Life became what Wilhelmina describes as quote, permanently
(11:51):
semi official. It was only when she was alone with
her mother, that she could fully be a child again.
Beyond that, Wilhelmina wrote, we were denied many innocent pleasures
for the sake of convention, which could also function as
the tagline for many episodes of this show. Wilhelmina writes,
(12:14):
I shall from now on refer to these conditions as
the cage. The name speaks for itself. One felt hedged
in and longed for freedom. It is the great irony
that has plagued royal families for generations. All the wealth,
power and privilege in the world, and a self designed
(12:39):
gilded cage to perform the same restrictive, monotonous motions. And
As a child queen with her mother in charge, Wilhelmina's
duties mostly consisted of royal visits and public appearances in
(13:00):
between her studies. Those events were highly important in restoring
the Dutch population's good opinion of the monarchy, which had
been unfavorable for years before.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
They took a liking to.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Emma's greater emphasis on a connection to her people, a
notion that Wilhelmina would continue. The story goes that in
Wilhelmina's first public appearance as the ten year old monarch.
She asked her mother, MoMA, do all these people belong
to me? No, my child, the regent queen replied, it
(13:37):
is you who belong to all these people. When it
came to Wilhelmina's studies, she was devout in her Christianity
from an early age, and on top of her religious education,
she learned foreign languages and the sciences, but those lessons
eventually ceased in favor of a focus on Him, my
(14:00):
story and geography. Her education reaffirmed her belief of her
status as living within the cage.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
In her notes at the time.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
She expressed her frustration with the government handling of the
Boer War, a conflict in which the self governing Dutch
settlers of the Boer Republics resisted annexation by Great Britain.
The government did not fulfill the urge in their hearts,
she wrote at the time, referring to the people, and
(14:32):
I felt that the public wished to see me openly
revealing my sympathy for our kinsmen. How could I as
the head of state. These feelings shaped the young queen's politics.
She remained pro bore and anti British for life. In
another particular, anecdote, she notes being moved after learning about
(14:56):
the laws and religions in the Dutch East India modern
day Indonesia. She was quote stirred to pity by accounts
of human sacrifices made to appease evil spirits, and quote
took a warm interest in the efforts to spread the
gospel among these poor people, another very classic royal sentiment.
(15:22):
When Wilhelmina was nearly fifteen, she and her mother traveled
to England to.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Meet the then fifty eight.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Year old Queen Victoria and her family. In Victoria's diary,
she wrote, quote, the young Queen, who will be fifteen
in August, still has her hair hanging loose. She is
very slight and graceful, has fine features, and seems to
be very intelligent and a charming child. She speaks English
(15:52):
extremely well and has very pretty manners. There was a
composite photo made of the two of them at the
time to commemorate this historic visit. In the photo, Willhelmina
looks like a witch brought the American girl doll Samantha
to life, and Queen Victoria looks like the same witch
(16:14):
cursed her to sleep with her eyes open. I'll put
the photo on the Noble Blood Instagram and Patreon. Like England,
the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy with a parliament where
the monarch acts as head of state, but a prime
(16:35):
minister wheeled greater political power. In her teenage years, Wilhelmina's mother,
as acting ruler, began to take her along to the
States General to.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Prepare for her role.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Will Helmina recalls that at the very moment when she
turned eighteen, she signed her first official papers, and with
that her reign began. She was formally sworn in a
few days later on September sixth, eighteen ninety eight. She
describes these early years of her tenure as a state
(17:11):
of limbo. Quote, behaving like a grown up, becoming reigning
queen is not the same thing as attaining one's full maturity,
she reflects fairly wisely, in my opinion, she understood she
gave off the illusion of being grown up. But in
her words, she was conscious of avoid in her existence,
(17:34):
which was going to be filled up only very slowly.
Not a girl, not yet a woman in this moment.
In her memoir, Wilhelmina takes a moment to note that
in the summer of eighteen ninety eight, her coming of
age coincided with the national exhibition of women's work put
(17:55):
on by the first Dutch women's organization, Tetzelshad, which is
still operating today.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
It was an event styled after.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
The World's Fair, which displayed art and handicrafts by Dutch women,
along with speeches, lectures, and performances. It was considered a
major moment in Dutch first wave feminism, and when Devrau
or the Woman was held as a follow up exhibition
(18:25):
in nineteen thirteen, the Queen attended twice. Wilhelmina doesn't comment
on the content of the conference, noting diplomatically that it
would be quote outside her scope, but her choice to
mention it despite that signifies that it must have had
an impact on her self perception during this adolescent era
(18:49):
of self actualization. The next major phase in that journey
was her engagement and marriage. In February of nineteen oh one,
less than two years after her official personal reign began,
Wilhelmina married Duke Henrik of Mecklenburg Schwerin. Their relationship can
(19:13):
perhaps best be described in the words of the tagline
of Greta Gerwig's barbie. She's everything, He's just ken. In
her memoir, she describes neither her engagement nor her husband
with even the slightest hint of romance, but she notes
that he liked hunting and boats, that he was kind
(19:36):
and helpful, and always accompanied by his faithful dot sound Helga.
He appears so infrequently in her memoir that we may
as well get it out of the way now that
he was known as a frequent adulterer and fathered a
child with a mistress. While Henrik may not have inspired
(19:57):
a great passion in her life, Wilhelmina recount that the
marriage itself catalyzed a major turning point in regards to
her perceptions of her own freedom. It seems that realizing
she didn't even have the freedom to act as a
traditional wife if she wanted to.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Stirred something greater.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
In her quote, I sought and found my freedom of action,
not always without causing shocks my inner freedom I had
achieved years before. We took less and less notice of
the conventions of the cage and went our own way,
arousing a great deal of friction and criticism end quote.
(20:41):
The friction she mentions, appears to have been between herself
and the nation's politicians, not her husband, Politicians who did
not appreciate the queen having much of anything to say,
especially considering her pro Bore politics, which is actually slightly
leading name for people in this context who opposed the
(21:04):
Bore War, which was a colonial war happening in South Africa.
The people, however, felt more kinship with the monarchy than
they had for many many years. Wilhelmina was more on
the side of the people than the politicians. The next
major event in Wilhelmina's personal life is not discussed in
(21:26):
her memoir at all, the birth of a stillborn son
in nineteen o two. Four years later, her second pregnancy
would also end with a miscarriage. For the people whose
job it was to worry about these things, there was
increasing anxiety as to what would happen if the queen
did not produce an air But in April nineteen o nine,
(21:50):
the couple's daughter, Juliana, was born healthy. I must leave
it to the reader to imagine our parental happiness at
her arrival after we had waited eight years, Wilhelmina writes.
The mother daughter relationship would go on to mirror the
closeness of Wilhelmina and her own mother, and even when
(22:11):
writing as an old woman, Wilhelmina's memoir is constantly interjected
at random times with references to Juliana and her life.
Even as queen, Wilhelmina writes that she devoted every bit
of time she could to being a mother to her
only child. But only a few short years after Juliana's birth,
(22:34):
Wilhelmina's role as queen would take on new urgent levels
of responsibility. Those with an inside knowledge of politics had
long foreseen that the world would be plunged into a
war of unprecedented horror, Wilhelmina writes. She recalls that in
(22:59):
the early day days after Germany declared war on Russia
in nineteen fourteen, actions were taken with the intent of
minimizing national anxiety, like Wilhelmina taking a normal train from
Amsterdam back to the Hague. Even though the matter required
some urgency. The Netherlands maintained the policy of neutrality that
(23:22):
they had held since eighteen thirty, but the army still
had to be mobilized as an act of deterrence. There
was a march as the garrison from the Hague deported,
and Wilhelmina made a grand show of patriotism, holding Juliana
on her shoulders as the royal family, saying the national
(23:43):
anthem with the cheering crowds. As a woman, Wilhelmina could
not act as supreme commander of the armed forces, but
she still performed regular inspections of the army and navy,
not only to make sure that things were up to
the standards she wanted to set, but to reinforce morale
(24:04):
and set an example of endurance and tenacity. There's a
story that before the war began, the last German emperor,
Kaiser Wilhelm the second, boasted to the young queen, quote,
my guards are seven feet tall, and yours are only
shoulder high to them. Wilhelmina smiled politely and replied, quite true,
(24:28):
your majesty, your guards are seven feet tall, but when
we open our dykes, the water is ten feet deep.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
A good comeback.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
She understood the country's spiritual and psychological needs for a
leader and knew that.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
It was a role that she had to fulfill. Quote.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
A war makes special demands. The confidence that was sufficient
in peacetime is no longer enough. Confidence was the word
that echoed in me constantly. My thinking and acting were
long dominated by the thought I had to earn it end.
Just three days after Germany declared war on Russia on
(25:12):
August fourth, nineteen fourteen, Germany invaded Belgium, The Netherlands began
to accept Belgian refugees, and the Dutch began to learn
firsthand of the cruelty that people were being subjected to.
Wilhelmina notes that it was hard to remain neutral for
(25:32):
those four years, but neutrality is not an emotional stance,
but a political one. At heart, man is never neutral,
she reflected, despite no further divulgences, at least in her
writing as to which way her heart was leaning at
the moment. As it became clear that Germany was going
(25:56):
to lose the war and the war was approaching its end,
a surprising guest star returns to our story Kaiser Wilhelm
with the German war effort of failure. The Kaiser was
forced to abdicate in nineteen eighteen, marking the end of
the German Empire and the beginning of the German Republic.
(26:17):
Wilhelmina says she'll never forget the November morning, when she
woke to the news that the Kaiser had crossed their
borders into the province of Limburg. First, the news came
to her from the government, and it was soon followed
by a telegram from the Kaiser himself, attempting to explain
his actions. Wilhelmina did not seem fond of the Kaiser
(26:42):
before the war, and the sentiment would continue. At first,
she questioned if his decision to flee his country was
an attempt to prevent needless bloodshed, but it soon became
clear that he was only out to save his own
behind quote. His habit of listening to the councils of
(27:03):
these advisers, who had neither the statesmanship nor the courage
which the situation demanded, had been his undoing.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
She wrote.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Despite her seemingly negative personal feelings towards the man, the
Dutch government allowed him to stay. Wilhelmina herself invited his
wife to join him in the Netherlands, not out of hospitality, apparently,
but out of the expectation that she would be a
good influence on her husband. Their son, the Crown Prince,
(27:36):
soon followed. The Allied governments, of course, attempted to extradite
the man and his son, but by virtue of the
netherlands neutrality and right of asylum, they refused. Despite this
and their neutrality, the Netherlands was still a founding member
of the New League of Nations. The revolution happening next
(28:02):
door stirred what Wilhelmina calls commotion in some groups of
the population, and notes that there were a tense few days.
That's all the credence she gives to Red Week the
unsuccessful Dutch Socialist revolution of nineteen eighteen, and while her
(28:24):
language is minimizing, it was quite literally only a few
days long. On October eleventh, the Dutch royal family was
relocated to the Hague for safety as talk of a
revolution grew, but by October thirteenth it was apparently clear
that the revolution was dead. Wilhelmina reflects on her personal
(28:48):
life during the four years of the First World War
as an essential time in her spiritual growth. She recalls
conversations with two older acquaintances, both of whom felt that
the war had disillusioned them about humanity. The Queen notes
that she was moved by their feelings, but also pitied
(29:10):
them as the strength of her faith prevented her from
the emptiness that they were experiencing, in fact, the emptiness
that so many in Europe and around the world were
feeling in the aftermath of the destruction of the First
World War. Wilhelmina now saw in her words that the
(29:30):
loneliness she had been plagued with from the minute she
became a young queen was her quote opportunity with God,
and she would fill her quiet moment with religious text
and spiritual reflection.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Quote.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
In spite of all the worries the war caused us,
my personal problems were gradually solved. Thus the end of
the First World War was also the end of a
period in my life. That's what we in the business
call some positive personal framing. She also acknowledges that by
(30:07):
the time the war ended, she was no longer the
young queen. At thirty eight, she felt she was approaching
middle age. As to how the First World War changed
her as a ruler, Wilhelmina emphasized a need to adapt
to public displays of the monarchy. There should be no
(30:28):
more ostentation, she wrote, My conduct should always correspond with
people's profound feelings about life. There should be contact with
all classes of the population in their working, thinking, and feeling.
The war also presented her with the novel idea that
her staff had quote rights as well as duties, and
(30:51):
she essentially established an HR for them. There's no good
way to transition from that to the next thing that
I want to mention, which is that, while it's hard
to find sourcing on this fact, apparently Wilhelmina's business acumen
during the interwar period led her to become the world's
(31:13):
first female billionaire in dollars. This is not something will
Helmina herself talks about in her writing, so I don't
want to claim this as concrete fact, but we do
know that Wilhelmina had significant, if possibly not that significant,
personal wealth. She also learned how to paint. That brings
(31:35):
us to nineteen thirty eight. Wilhelmina notes that as early
as he was appointed, she apparently had no doubt in
her mind that Hitler would establish a dictatorship. She followed
closely as he invaded Austria then Czechoslovakia. She writes of
(31:56):
living in the knowledge that they were headed toward catastrophe.
Knowing Hitler's sights were set on Europe as a whole.
After British and the French declared war in nineteen thirty nine,
the Netherlands once again declared neutrality. Still they knew it
(32:16):
was only a matter of time before an attack, which
arrived months later in May nineteen forty. Wilhelmina spent the
night of May ninth in an air raid shelter, and
at four a m the Germans crossed the border. The
Hague was the source of an attack in the morning,
(32:37):
and it was becoming clear that the royal family could
no longer stay. Juliana, now grown, and her children left first.
Wilhelmina attempted to stay, and quote rang up the King
of England one night and asked for assistance. She writes
that she could hear the war approaching from her shelter,
(32:59):
and on the morning of May thirteenth, the commander in
chief advised that the Queen leave the Hague. She agreed
and hurriedly packed a few belongings and left with a
few others, including her head of security. The first place
they attempted to go was the Hook of Holland.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
A town in the southwest.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
Corner of the country, but bombs began to drop over
the town. As soon as they arrived. The group was
able to find a British destroyer ready to set sail,
and they attempted to go to the town of Zealand
in Flanders, but the British ship captain wasn't able to
make contact with the town. With no knowledge of what
(33:41):
they might be sailing into, the decision was made to
go instead to England. Of course, I was fully aware
of the shattering impression that my departure would make it home,
she reflected, but I considered myself obliged for the sake
of the country to accept the risk of appear to
have resorted to ignonymous flight. Wilhelmina was greeted in London
(34:08):
by her daughter Juliana and by King George, who invited
her to stay as a guest of the palace with
himself and the Queen of England. Juliana, however, would leave
with her children for Canada when it became clear that
Wilhelmina's stay in England would be indefinite. She purchased a
house for herself in Eton Square.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
She tells the reader.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
It was here that I met the first Engelin Varda,
which the book's translator note was the word used for
a Dutch person who had escaped to England, where I
heard the first broadcast of Radio Orange and received the
first letters from Juliana. And it was here that I
accustomed myself to exile. As to the experience of being
(34:55):
a queen in exile, Wilhelmina expresses that above all else,
she needed to maintain iron clad self control, which is
an ironic fate. Following the rigidity she once detested in
her eyes, Any decision making capabilities would be lost once
she gave rein to emotions and human pity. As a
(35:18):
ruler abroad, she sought to continue her rule, but a
government in exile couldn't function the same as one at home.
Military plans were kept secret from her, and much of
her work at this time was to keep in contact with.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
Fellow heads of state.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
The Battle of Britain soon began, and work was often
interrupted by the sirens urging citizens to make their way
to shelters. By September, Wilhelmina began to take her work
to the shelter daily at half past six and stay
there until the morning. Wilhelmina eventually moved to a house
(35:58):
in the country, then a new place in London in
Chester Square. The Eton Square House was set up by
the government as a home for England varters. During this
dark time, Wilhelmina felt booyed by the support of Dutch
people abroad seeking to aid their homeland. A collection of
(36:20):
funds was raised to support the war effort, and the
Queen often received letters of support from those abroad and
those still in her occupied homeland. Many even attempted to
encode secret messages to inform her of the situation at home,
and while Wilhelmina appreciated their efforts, she feared for the
(36:42):
safety of anyone trying to smuggle her messages. For the
first few months in exile, she was completely cut off
from the news in the Netherlands and the England Vard
connections to resistance groups at home became her major source
of information. In her writing, she holds them in great regard.
(37:03):
Many of those anglandvarters were resistance members who had fled
when it had become clear that they would soon be
unable to continue to fight at home, and so they
had come to join the forces in London. Wilhelmina note
that the Dutch abroad formed a community in London something
like a large village where everyone knew everyone. She worked
(37:26):
to establish a Dutch center to centralize information and resources,
as well as to further her own connection with the expats.
The opening of the center was the first time the
queen wore a Marguerite or daisy brooch, which would become
a symbol of Dutch resistance. She wanted the Dutch in
(37:48):
Britain to have an identifiable symbol of solidarity, and she
chose the daisy for something quote immaculate white, an expression
of sorrow and vope, and an object within everyone's reach.
Juliana's daughter, born during the war, was given the name Marguerite.
(38:11):
The British government sought to aid the Dutch community by
opening Netherlands House, a meeting place for both communities, where
social meetings, lectures, and musical gatherings were held. Wilhelmina herself
was often in attendance. She learned through these lectures that
the people were quote not only longing for liberation, but
(38:35):
also a new era. Liberation should not mean a return
to the old conditions. During this time, engelend Vards would
come to their office and share with her their visions
of the future and Wilhelmina held a conference specifically for
Dutch university students in Britain to share their experiences with
(38:58):
student resistant movement. Their ideas were so influential, in fact,
that Wilhelmina planned to oust the Prime Minister and build
a new cabinet entirely formed by resistance members who had
lived in the occupied state through the war. She writes
that she shared the people's ideas about future policies with
(39:21):
the current Prime Minister and informed him that she wanted
to be the one to lead the charge when it
came to reforms. This was the catalyst for Radio Orange,
which began this episode. My broadcast speeches were not only
concerned with the new Times, the Queen reflects, they also
(39:41):
aimed at inspiring and stiffening resistance against the oppressor and
at informing the nation of the government's policy.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
Her desired effect.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
Was achieved, As mentioned at the top of the episode,
Radio Orange was extremely popular among the people, and the
Queen was more popular than ever. Her New York Times
obituary shares an anecdote in which churchgoers in the fishing
town of Huisen sang one verse of the Dutch national
(40:15):
anthem Wilhelmus von Naussai on the queen's sixtieth birthday, but
the Nazis had explicitly forbidden any celebrations of the Queen's birthday,
and the town paid a fine of sixty thousand guilders.
In nineteen forty two, after the attack on Pearl Harbor,
(40:36):
Wilhelmina traveled to the United States for a national tour
at the invitation of President Roosevelt. She greatly admired both
the President himself as well as the First Lady, namely
for her independence in addition to her devotion to her husband.
During this trip, Wilhelmina became the first queen to address Congress.
(41:00):
Back in England, Wilhelmina also began to meet more frequently
with Churchill, who once called her the only real man
among the governments in exile. Wilhelmina finally returned to the
Netherlands in nineteen forty five, when she crossed the Dutch
border on foot. The reception from her people was incredibly warm.
(41:23):
While there were certainly those who resented the queen for leaving,
by and large, the Dutch citizens were thrilled at their
queen's return. In her later years after the war, Wilhelmina
opted for life in the countryside and could often be
seen doing what the Dutch liked to do best, riding
her bike. Her reign would only continue three more years.
(41:48):
In nineteen forty eight, she abdicated as her health began
to fail. Juliana had already briefly taken over her monarchical
duties at the end of nineteen forty seven, but now
she was officially to be sworn in as queen. How
numerous were and are my reasons for gratitude, Wilhelmina reflects
(42:09):
my confidence in Juliana's warm feelings for the people we
both loved so much, and in her devotion to the
task that was awaiting her. Then also the fact that
my office was transferred to her during my lifetime, and
that I might have the opportunity to see some of
her reign. Really, there is no room, Wilhelmina wrote, for
(42:32):
sadness in my heart. Her reign was fifty seven years
and two hundred and eighty six days. Wilhelmina did get
to see over a decade of her daughter's reign before
she died of cardiac arrest at Hetloo Palace. At the
age of eighty two. At her request, the royal family
(42:54):
held a white funeral, a symbol of the Queen's faith,
which signified her belief that death was only the beginning
of eternal life. That's the story and tumultuous long life
of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. But stick around after
(43:16):
a brief sponsor break for a.
Speaker 3 (43:18):
Little sweet fact. A book called Sweets, A.
Speaker 1 (43:30):
History of Candy might not be the place you'd expect
to find royal history, but in the section devoted to
the Netherlands, author Tim Richardson notes the candy that's quote
most Dutch of all, the Wilhelmina Mint. In eighteen ninety two,
the head of the Dutch candy company Fortune asked the
(43:51):
young Queen Wilhelmina if he could name his new peppermint
after her as a celebration of her twelfth birthday. Queen
Regent Emma wrote a reply on behalf of her daughter,
saying that it's fine and she leaves it entirely up
to him, a very diplomatic answer. He went ahead with
the idea and produced a line of candies featuring Wilhelmina's
(44:15):
portrait on each mint. The peppermints were such a hit
with the Royal family that Fortune received the predicate of
Purveyor to the Royal Household in eighteen ninety six. It's
a title that the candy company still holds to this day.
(44:41):
Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and
Mild from Aaron Manki. Noble Blood is created and hosted
by me Dana Shchwort, with additional writing and researching by
Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodnes.
The show is edited and produced by Noemi Griffin and
(45:04):
rima Il Kahali, with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive
producers Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more
podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim
and Mild from Aaron Manky Listener discretion advised. On July
twenty eighth, nineteen forty, the BBC began broadcasting a new
radio show, Radio Aranhe or Orange, was a fifteen minute
(00:26):
long program. Each episode began with the words radio Orange
here the voice of a combatant Netherlands. The show provided
timely reports on war developments, and it implored the Dutch
population not to comply with occupying forces. The show even
(00:48):
included encrypted messages meant for the resistance in the Netherlands.
The program was hosted by voices of Dutch resistance in exile, authors, journalists, historians, performers,
including the journalist A Den Dullard, who had begun publishing
(01:08):
reports warning against the impending rise of fascism back in
nineteen thirty seven. The show also featured the Jewish singer
Jetty Pearl performed songs on the show mocking the Nazis.
She would later join the Women's Auxiliary Corps of the
Royal Netherland Army. But perhaps Pearl's most shining accomplishment is
(01:33):
that after the war, she became the first singer to
perform in the first ever Eurovision Song Contest. Despite Pearl's
holding of that prestigious title, Radio Orange had a recurring
speaker with another, possibly even more impressive title, Queen of
(01:55):
the Netherlands. This war is about giving the war the
world a guarantee that those who want goodwill not be
prevented from accomplishing it, Queen Wilhelmina spoke now translated in
that first broadcast. Those who believe that the spiritual values
(02:16):
acquired by mankind can be destroyed by the edge of
the sword must learn to realize their vanity. Brute violence
cannot deprive people of their convictions. Radio Orange was so
popular amongst the Dutch population that in May nineteen forty three,
(02:38):
German authorities ordered Dutch citizens to hand in their radios.
Many did not comply, and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum
has a photo in their archives of a group of
Dutch resistance members and the Jews that they were protecting,
all crowded together around a contraband radio. Though Queen Wilhelmina
(03:04):
didn't appear in every broadcast, her speeches on the program
were so influential that, even beyond being a leader during
that time, she became a major symbol of resistance for
the Dutch people. Though these radio broadcasts were a major
and lasting moment in her reign, World War.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Two was far from the first.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Event that Wilhelmina led the Dutch people through.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
After her father's death.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
In eighteen ninety, she had become queen at only ten
years old. A wartime queen twice over, Wilhelmina reigned during
an era of great monarchical influence, the likes of which
we will almost certainly never see again, and influence she did.
(03:57):
I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is noble blood. The majority
of our detailed information on Wilhelmina's life comes from the
woman herself. Her nineteen fifty nine memoir, the aptly titled
(04:19):
for a monarch book, Lonely but Not Alone, opens with
her earliest memories and concludes with the end of her reign.
Because retirement is relatively rare among monarchs, this book is
incredibly unique as a retrospective. We rarely get to read,
(04:40):
in a monarch's own words, their reflections and opinions on
their entire reign as a whole. It's not Prince Harry's
spare levels of juicy, but it's still a rare and
insightful look into the thoughts and feelings of being a
royal book having all the markings of an autobiography, Wilhelmina
(05:04):
warns the reader against that very classification quote. The reader
should not expect to find here a political or historical
account or an autobiography. She writes, such works are concerned
with other aspects of life. I shall invite the reader
to follow me on a higher plane. What sort of
(05:26):
higher plane you might be wondering? Supernatural romance? A Kafka
esque interrogation of the self alas no, Wilhelmina meant more straightforwardly,
the subject of this book is God's guidance of our
people in past, present, and future. The memoir does devote
(05:47):
much of its time to the role of Christianity in
Wilhelmina's life and reign, but her notion that it doesn't
serve as a history or autobiography says more about wilhelmi
then the text itself. Chapter one, titled Father and Mother,
opens with the line let me begin by saying that
(06:10):
I still possess my father's walking stick, with which I
was always allowed to play when we went out for
a stroll. If the world is not too strong for
the uncertain steps of a child at the age of
three or four. Wilhelmina goes on to recount that she
and her father had a daily hour of play, beginning
(06:34):
at five o'clock in the evening, which was but one
slice of life in what seems to have been the
idealized princess girlhood. The bits and pieces she described sound
straight out of a story book. Wilhelmina remembers sledding with
her mother, her father buying the three of them matching
(06:56):
fur coats for the winter. A chalet that I am
imagine as a child sized version of the Marie Antoinette
Queen's Hamlet was built for Wilhelmina in the gardens, with
a dovecot, a duck pond, a playground, and a donkey
to ride. She remembers the estate's gun maker, who for
(07:17):
her acted as the quote good fairy, mending her broken
toys like Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker, And in perhaps the
most stereotypical memory of a young princess's life, she joyfully
recalls her father announcing that Shetland ponies would be arriving
(07:38):
for her quote no less than four in number. Above all,
she describes a closeness with her parents that's often missing
in other accounts of royal life. The family lived between
the newer Deaned Palace in the Hague and Hetloo Palace
built by the House of Orange in Appledorn, which was
(07:58):
primarily used as a summer residence. This was the life
of the only child of King William the Third and
his second wife, Queen Emma. However, Princess Wilhelmina was not
initially raised to be a queen. When the widowed King
(08:20):
William married Emma, his second wife, in eighteen seventy nine,
two of three sons he had still lived, the marriage
was not intended to produce an air. In fact, the
existing heirs were older than their new stepmother. The king
was forty one years older than his twenty one year
(08:42):
old bride. Apparently, Emma was the fifth woman he tried
to marry after the death of his wife. Following a
French opera singer whom the government pressured him to break
up with his own niece, the Princess of Denmark and
Emma's older sister. Sounds like the making of an incredible
(09:04):
season of The Bachelor nineteenth century edition. Despite the lack
of political incentive, Emma did give birth to a child,
a daughter, Wilhelmina, in eighteen eighty. By this point, another
of the king's sons had died of typhus, which meant
(09:26):
that will Helmina was third in line to inherit the throne.
You might be thinking third in line she only had
one more living, older brother, but there was a semisalic
system in place at the time. Basically it meant men first,
so Wilhelmina was behind her uncle and her father's remaining son.
(09:48):
But Wilhelmina's uncle would die when she was just one
years old, and her half brother died when she was four,
which rapidly changed the importance not only a Wilhelmina's role,
but also of her mother's. This was increasingly true as
it became clear that William would likely not live to
(10:10):
see his daughter, his only remaining heir, reach adulthood. In
eighteen eighty seven, just before his seventieth birthday, William fell ill.
Wilhelmina recalls that during his last few years he hardly
left the house, No longer able to take the strolls
(10:33):
with his daughter that she had opened her book with.
While Wilhelmina's mother cared for her father, Wilhelmina spent more
time than ever with her governess, Miss Winter, who would
be a major influence on her life.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Quote.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
She herself did not hide for anybody or evade anyone.
She was a bold woman, Wilhelmina writes of her. The
night that we will Wilhelmina's father died, Wilhelmina was sleeping
in her mother's bed, waiting for her to return from
her father's side. But when her mother did appear in
(11:10):
the doorway, it was with the news that her father
was gone. From that moment on, Wilhelmina reflected, many things changed.
My undisturbed playing had come.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
To an end.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
It was eighteen ninety and the ten year old princess,
who had been gifted Shetland ponies, had become Queen of
the Netherlands. Overnight after the funeral, Emma was sworn in
as regent and the family relocated permanently to court at
the Hague. Life became what Wilhelmina describes as quote, permanently
(11:51):
semi official. It was only when she was alone with
her mother, that she could fully be a child again.
Beyond that, Wilhelmina wrote, we were denied many innocent pleasures
for the sake of convention, which could also function as
the tagline for many episodes of this show. Wilhelmina writes,
(12:14):
I shall from now on refer to these conditions as
the cage. The name speaks for itself. One felt hedged
in and longed for freedom. It is the great irony
that has plagued royal families for generations. All the wealth,
power and privilege in the world, and a self designed
(12:39):
gilded cage to perform the same restrictive, monotonous motions. And
As a child queen with her mother in charge, Wilhelmina's
duties mostly consisted of royal visits and public appearances in
(13:00):
between her studies. Those events were highly important in restoring
the Dutch population's good opinion of the monarchy, which had
been unfavorable for years before.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
They took a liking to.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Emma's greater emphasis on a connection to her people, a
notion that Wilhelmina would continue. The story goes that in
Wilhelmina's first public appearance as the ten year old monarch.
She asked her mother, MoMA, do all these people belong
to me? No, my child, the regent queen replied, it
(13:37):
is you who belong to all these people. When it
came to Wilhelmina's studies, she was devout in her Christianity
from an early age, and on top of her religious education,
she learned foreign languages and the sciences, but those lessons
eventually ceased in favor of a focus on Him, my
(14:00):
story and geography. Her education reaffirmed her belief of her
status as living within the cage.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
In her notes at the time.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
She expressed her frustration with the government handling of the
Boer War, a conflict in which the self governing Dutch
settlers of the Boer Republics resisted annexation by Great Britain.
The government did not fulfill the urge in their hearts,
she wrote at the time, referring to the people, and
(14:32):
I felt that the public wished to see me openly
revealing my sympathy for our kinsmen. How could I as
the head of state. These feelings shaped the young queen's politics.
She remained pro bore and anti British for life. In
another particular, anecdote, she notes being moved after learning about
(14:56):
the laws and religions in the Dutch East India modern
day Indonesia. She was quote stirred to pity by accounts
of human sacrifices made to appease evil spirits, and quote
took a warm interest in the efforts to spread the
gospel among these poor people, another very classic royal sentiment.
(15:22):
When Wilhelmina was nearly fifteen, she and her mother traveled
to England to.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Meet the then fifty eight.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Year old Queen Victoria and her family. In Victoria's diary,
she wrote, quote, the young Queen, who will be fifteen
in August, still has her hair hanging loose. She is
very slight and graceful, has fine features, and seems to
be very intelligent and a charming child. She speaks English
(15:52):
extremely well and has very pretty manners. There was a
composite photo made of the two of them at the
time to commemorate this historic visit. In the photo, Willhelmina
looks like a witch brought the American girl doll Samantha
to life, and Queen Victoria looks like the same witch
(16:14):
cursed her to sleep with her eyes open. I'll put
the photo on the Noble Blood Instagram and Patreon. Like England,
the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy with a parliament where
the monarch acts as head of state, but a prime
(16:35):
minister wheeled greater political power. In her teenage years, Wilhelmina's mother,
as acting ruler, began to take her along to the
States General to.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Prepare for her role.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Will Helmina recalls that at the very moment when she
turned eighteen, she signed her first official papers, and with
that her reign began. She was formally sworn in a
few days later on September sixth, eighteen ninety eight. She
describes these early years of her tenure as a state
(17:11):
of limbo. Quote, behaving like a grown up, becoming reigning
queen is not the same thing as attaining one's full maturity,
she reflects fairly wisely, in my opinion, she understood she
gave off the illusion of being grown up. But in
her words, she was conscious of avoid in her existence,
(17:34):
which was going to be filled up only very slowly.
Not a girl, not yet a woman in this moment.
In her memoir, Wilhelmina takes a moment to note that
in the summer of eighteen ninety eight, her coming of
age coincided with the national exhibition of women's work put
(17:55):
on by the first Dutch women's organization, Tetzelshad, which is
still operating today.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
It was an event styled after.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
The World's Fair, which displayed art and handicrafts by Dutch women,
along with speeches, lectures, and performances. It was considered a
major moment in Dutch first wave feminism, and when Devrau
or the Woman was held as a follow up exhibition
(18:25):
in nineteen thirteen, the Queen attended twice. Wilhelmina doesn't comment
on the content of the conference, noting diplomatically that it
would be quote outside her scope, but her choice to
mention it despite that signifies that it must have had
an impact on her self perception during this adolescent era
(18:49):
of self actualization. The next major phase in that journey
was her engagement and marriage. In February of nineteen oh one,
less than two years after her official personal reign began,
Wilhelmina married Duke Henrik of Mecklenburg Schwerin. Their relationship can
(19:13):
perhaps best be described in the words of the tagline
of Greta Gerwig's barbie. She's everything, He's just ken. In
her memoir, she describes neither her engagement nor her husband
with even the slightest hint of romance, but she notes
that he liked hunting and boats, that he was kind
(19:36):
and helpful, and always accompanied by his faithful dot sound Helga.
He appears so infrequently in her memoir that we may
as well get it out of the way now that
he was known as a frequent adulterer and fathered a
child with a mistress. While Henrik may not have inspired
(19:57):
a great passion in her life, Wilhelmina recount that the
marriage itself catalyzed a major turning point in regards to
her perceptions of her own freedom. It seems that realizing
she didn't even have the freedom to act as a
traditional wife if she wanted to.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Stirred something greater.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
In her quote, I sought and found my freedom of action,
not always without causing shocks my inner freedom I had
achieved years before. We took less and less notice of
the conventions of the cage and went our own way,
arousing a great deal of friction and criticism end quote.
(20:41):
The friction she mentions, appears to have been between herself
and the nation's politicians, not her husband, Politicians who did
not appreciate the queen having much of anything to say,
especially considering her pro Bore politics, which is actually slightly
leading name for people in this context who opposed the
(21:04):
Bore War, which was a colonial war happening in South Africa.
The people, however, felt more kinship with the monarchy than
they had for many many years. Wilhelmina was more on
the side of the people than the politicians. The next
major event in Wilhelmina's personal life is not discussed in
(21:26):
her memoir at all, the birth of a stillborn son
in nineteen o two. Four years later, her second pregnancy
would also end with a miscarriage. For the people whose
job it was to worry about these things, there was
increasing anxiety as to what would happen if the queen
did not produce an air But in April nineteen o nine,
(21:50):
the couple's daughter, Juliana, was born healthy. I must leave
it to the reader to imagine our parental happiness at
her arrival after we had waited eight years, Wilhelmina writes.
The mother daughter relationship would go on to mirror the
closeness of Wilhelmina and her own mother, and even when
(22:11):
writing as an old woman, Wilhelmina's memoir is constantly interjected
at random times with references to Juliana and her life.
Even as queen, Wilhelmina writes that she devoted every bit
of time she could to being a mother to her
only child. But only a few short years after Juliana's birth,
(22:34):
Wilhelmina's role as queen would take on new urgent levels
of responsibility. Those with an inside knowledge of politics had
long foreseen that the world would be plunged into a
war of unprecedented horror, Wilhelmina writes. She recalls that in
(22:59):
the early day days after Germany declared war on Russia
in nineteen fourteen, actions were taken with the intent of
minimizing national anxiety, like Wilhelmina taking a normal train from
Amsterdam back to the Hague. Even though the matter required
some urgency. The Netherlands maintained the policy of neutrality that
(23:22):
they had held since eighteen thirty, but the army still
had to be mobilized as an act of deterrence. There
was a march as the garrison from the Hague deported,
and Wilhelmina made a grand show of patriotism, holding Juliana
on her shoulders as the royal family, saying the national
(23:43):
anthem with the cheering crowds. As a woman, Wilhelmina could
not act as supreme commander of the armed forces, but
she still performed regular inspections of the army and navy,
not only to make sure that things were up to
the standards she wanted to set, but to reinforce morale
(24:04):
and set an example of endurance and tenacity. There's a
story that before the war began, the last German emperor,
Kaiser Wilhelm the second, boasted to the young queen, quote,
my guards are seven feet tall, and yours are only
shoulder high to them. Wilhelmina smiled politely and replied, quite true,
(24:28):
your majesty, your guards are seven feet tall, but when
we open our dykes, the water is ten feet deep.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
A good comeback.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
She understood the country's spiritual and psychological needs for a
leader and knew that.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
It was a role that she had to fulfill. Quote.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
A war makes special demands. The confidence that was sufficient
in peacetime is no longer enough. Confidence was the word
that echoed in me constantly. My thinking and acting were
long dominated by the thought I had to earn it end.
Just three days after Germany declared war on Russia on
(25:12):
August fourth, nineteen fourteen, Germany invaded Belgium, The Netherlands began
to accept Belgian refugees, and the Dutch began to learn
firsthand of the cruelty that people were being subjected to.
Wilhelmina notes that it was hard to remain neutral for
(25:32):
those four years, but neutrality is not an emotional stance,
but a political one. At heart, man is never neutral,
she reflected, despite no further divulgences, at least in her
writing as to which way her heart was leaning at
the moment. As it became clear that Germany was going
(25:56):
to lose the war and the war was approaching its end,
a surprising guest star returns to our story Kaiser Wilhelm
with the German war effort of failure. The Kaiser was
forced to abdicate in nineteen eighteen, marking the end of
the German Empire and the beginning of the German Republic.
(26:17):
Wilhelmina says she'll never forget the November morning, when she
woke to the news that the Kaiser had crossed their
borders into the province of Limburg. First, the news came
to her from the government, and it was soon followed
by a telegram from the Kaiser himself, attempting to explain
his actions. Wilhelmina did not seem fond of the Kaiser
(26:42):
before the war, and the sentiment would continue. At first,
she questioned if his decision to flee his country was
an attempt to prevent needless bloodshed, but it soon became
clear that he was only out to save his own
behind quote. His habit of listening to the councils of
(27:03):
these advisers, who had neither the statesmanship nor the courage
which the situation demanded, had been his undoing.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
She wrote.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Despite her seemingly negative personal feelings towards the man, the
Dutch government allowed him to stay. Wilhelmina herself invited his
wife to join him in the Netherlands, not out of hospitality, apparently,
but out of the expectation that she would be a
good influence on her husband. Their son, the Crown Prince,
(27:36):
soon followed. The Allied governments, of course, attempted to extradite
the man and his son, but by virtue of the
netherlands neutrality and right of asylum, they refused. Despite this
and their neutrality, the Netherlands was still a founding member
of the New League of Nations. The revolution happening next
(28:02):
door stirred what Wilhelmina calls commotion in some groups of
the population, and notes that there were a tense few days.
That's all the credence she gives to Red Week the
unsuccessful Dutch Socialist revolution of nineteen eighteen, and while her
(28:24):
language is minimizing, it was quite literally only a few
days long. On October eleventh, the Dutch royal family was
relocated to the Hague for safety as talk of a
revolution grew, but by October thirteenth it was apparently clear
that the revolution was dead. Wilhelmina reflects on her personal
(28:48):
life during the four years of the First World War
as an essential time in her spiritual growth. She recalls
conversations with two older acquaintances, both of whom felt that
the war had disillusioned them about humanity. The Queen notes
that she was moved by their feelings, but also pitied
(29:10):
them as the strength of her faith prevented her from
the emptiness that they were experiencing, in fact, the emptiness
that so many in Europe and around the world were
feeling in the aftermath of the destruction of the First
World War. Wilhelmina now saw in her words that the
(29:30):
loneliness she had been plagued with from the minute she
became a young queen was her quote opportunity with God,
and she would fill her quiet moment with religious text
and spiritual reflection.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Quote.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
In spite of all the worries the war caused us,
my personal problems were gradually solved. Thus the end of
the First World War was also the end of a
period in my life. That's what we in the business
call some positive personal framing. She also acknowledges that by
(30:07):
the time the war ended, she was no longer the
young queen. At thirty eight, she felt she was approaching
middle age. As to how the First World War changed
her as a ruler, Wilhelmina emphasized a need to adapt
to public displays of the monarchy. There should be no
(30:28):
more ostentation, she wrote, My conduct should always correspond with
people's profound feelings about life. There should be contact with
all classes of the population in their working, thinking, and feeling.
The war also presented her with the novel idea that
her staff had quote rights as well as duties, and
(30:51):
she essentially established an HR for them. There's no good
way to transition from that to the next thing that
I want to mention, which is that, while it's hard
to find sourcing on this fact, apparently Wilhelmina's business acumen
during the interwar period led her to become the world's
(31:13):
first female billionaire in dollars. This is not something will
Helmina herself talks about in her writing, so I don't
want to claim this as concrete fact, but we do
know that Wilhelmina had significant, if possibly not that significant,
personal wealth. She also learned how to paint. That brings
(31:35):
us to nineteen thirty eight. Wilhelmina notes that as early
as he was appointed, she apparently had no doubt in
her mind that Hitler would establish a dictatorship. She followed
closely as he invaded Austria then Czechoslovakia. She writes of
(31:56):
living in the knowledge that they were headed toward catastrophe.
Knowing Hitler's sights were set on Europe as a whole.
After British and the French declared war in nineteen thirty nine,
the Netherlands once again declared neutrality. Still they knew it
(32:16):
was only a matter of time before an attack, which
arrived months later in May nineteen forty. Wilhelmina spent the
night of May ninth in an air raid shelter, and
at four a m the Germans crossed the border. The
Hague was the source of an attack in the morning,
(32:37):
and it was becoming clear that the royal family could
no longer stay. Juliana, now grown, and her children left first.
Wilhelmina attempted to stay, and quote rang up the King
of England one night and asked for assistance. She writes
that she could hear the war approaching from her shelter,
(32:59):
and on the morning of May thirteenth, the commander in
chief advised that the Queen leave the Hague. She agreed
and hurriedly packed a few belongings and left with a
few others, including her head of security. The first place
they attempted to go was the Hook of Holland.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
A town in the southwest.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
Corner of the country, but bombs began to drop over
the town. As soon as they arrived. The group was
able to find a British destroyer ready to set sail,
and they attempted to go to the town of Zealand
in Flanders, but the British ship captain wasn't able to
make contact with the town. With no knowledge of what
(33:41):
they might be sailing into, the decision was made to
go instead to England. Of course, I was fully aware
of the shattering impression that my departure would make it home,
she reflected, but I considered myself obliged for the sake
of the country to accept the risk of appear to
have resorted to ignonymous flight. Wilhelmina was greeted in London
(34:08):
by her daughter Juliana and by King George, who invited
her to stay as a guest of the palace with
himself and the Queen of England. Juliana, however, would leave
with her children for Canada when it became clear that
Wilhelmina's stay in England would be indefinite. She purchased a
house for herself in Eton Square.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
She tells the reader.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
It was here that I met the first Engelin Varda,
which the book's translator note was the word used for
a Dutch person who had escaped to England, where I
heard the first broadcast of Radio Orange and received the
first letters from Juliana. And it was here that I
accustomed myself to exile. As to the experience of being
(34:55):
a queen in exile, Wilhelmina expresses that above all else,
she needed to maintain iron clad self control, which is
an ironic fate. Following the rigidity she once detested in
her eyes, Any decision making capabilities would be lost once
she gave rein to emotions and human pity. As a
(35:18):
ruler abroad, she sought to continue her rule, but a
government in exile couldn't function the same as one at home.
Military plans were kept secret from her, and much of
her work at this time was to keep in contact with.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
Fellow heads of state.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
The Battle of Britain soon began, and work was often
interrupted by the sirens urging citizens to make their way
to shelters. By September, Wilhelmina began to take her work
to the shelter daily at half past six and stay
there until the morning. Wilhelmina eventually moved to a house
(35:58):
in the country, then a new place in London in
Chester Square. The Eton Square House was set up by
the government as a home for England varters. During this
dark time, Wilhelmina felt booyed by the support of Dutch
people abroad seeking to aid their homeland. A collection of
(36:20):
funds was raised to support the war effort, and the
Queen often received letters of support from those abroad and
those still in her occupied homeland. Many even attempted to
encode secret messages to inform her of the situation at home,
and while Wilhelmina appreciated their efforts, she feared for the
(36:42):
safety of anyone trying to smuggle her messages. For the
first few months in exile, she was completely cut off
from the news in the Netherlands and the England Vard
connections to resistance groups at home became her major source
of information. In her writing, she holds them in great regard.
(37:03):
Many of those anglandvarters were resistance members who had fled
when it had become clear that they would soon be
unable to continue to fight at home, and so they
had come to join the forces in London. Wilhelmina note
that the Dutch abroad formed a community in London something
like a large village where everyone knew everyone. She worked
(37:26):
to establish a Dutch center to centralize information and resources,
as well as to further her own connection with the expats.
The opening of the center was the first time the
queen wore a Marguerite or daisy brooch, which would become
a symbol of Dutch resistance. She wanted the Dutch in
(37:48):
Britain to have an identifiable symbol of solidarity, and she
chose the daisy for something quote immaculate white, an expression
of sorrow and vope, and an object within everyone's reach.
Juliana's daughter, born during the war, was given the name Marguerite.
(38:11):
The British government sought to aid the Dutch community by
opening Netherlands House, a meeting place for both communities, where
social meetings, lectures, and musical gatherings were held. Wilhelmina herself
was often in attendance. She learned through these lectures that
the people were quote not only longing for liberation, but
(38:35):
also a new era. Liberation should not mean a return
to the old conditions. During this time, engelend Vards would
come to their office and share with her their visions
of the future and Wilhelmina held a conference specifically for
Dutch university students in Britain to share their experiences with
(38:58):
student resistant movement. Their ideas were so influential, in fact,
that Wilhelmina planned to oust the Prime Minister and build
a new cabinet entirely formed by resistance members who had
lived in the occupied state through the war. She writes
that she shared the people's ideas about future policies with
(39:21):
the current Prime Minister and informed him that she wanted
to be the one to lead the charge when it
came to reforms. This was the catalyst for Radio Orange,
which began this episode. My broadcast speeches were not only
concerned with the new Times, the Queen reflects, they also
(39:41):
aimed at inspiring and stiffening resistance against the oppressor and
at informing the nation of the government's policy.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
Her desired effect.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
Was achieved, As mentioned at the top of the episode,
Radio Orange was extremely popular among the people, and the
Queen was more popular than ever. Her New York Times
obituary shares an anecdote in which churchgoers in the fishing
town of Huisen sang one verse of the Dutch national
(40:15):
anthem Wilhelmus von Naussai on the queen's sixtieth birthday, but
the Nazis had explicitly forbidden any celebrations of the Queen's birthday,
and the town paid a fine of sixty thousand guilders.
In nineteen forty two, after the attack on Pearl Harbor,
(40:36):
Wilhelmina traveled to the United States for a national tour
at the invitation of President Roosevelt. She greatly admired both
the President himself as well as the First Lady, namely
for her independence in addition to her devotion to her husband.
During this trip, Wilhelmina became the first queen to address Congress.
(41:00):
Back in England, Wilhelmina also began to meet more frequently
with Churchill, who once called her the only real man
among the governments in exile. Wilhelmina finally returned to the
Netherlands in nineteen forty five, when she crossed the Dutch
border on foot. The reception from her people was incredibly warm.
(41:23):
While there were certainly those who resented the queen for leaving,
by and large, the Dutch citizens were thrilled at their
queen's return. In her later years after the war, Wilhelmina
opted for life in the countryside and could often be
seen doing what the Dutch liked to do best, riding
her bike. Her reign would only continue three more years.
(41:48):
In nineteen forty eight, she abdicated as her health began
to fail. Juliana had already briefly taken over her monarchical
duties at the end of nineteen forty seven, but now
she was officially to be sworn in as queen. How
numerous were and are my reasons for gratitude, Wilhelmina reflects
(42:09):
my confidence in Juliana's warm feelings for the people we
both loved so much, and in her devotion to the
task that was awaiting her. Then also the fact that
my office was transferred to her during my lifetime, and
that I might have the opportunity to see some of
her reign. Really, there is no room, Wilhelmina wrote, for
(42:32):
sadness in my heart. Her reign was fifty seven years
and two hundred and eighty six days. Wilhelmina did get
to see over a decade of her daughter's reign before
she died of cardiac arrest at Hetloo Palace. At the
age of eighty two. At her request, the royal family
(42:54):
held a white funeral, a symbol of the Queen's faith,
which signified her belief that death was only the beginning
of eternal life. That's the story and tumultuous long life
of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. But stick around after
(43:16):
a brief sponsor break for a.
Speaker 3 (43:18):
Little sweet fact. A book called Sweets, A.
Speaker 1 (43:30):
History of Candy might not be the place you'd expect
to find royal history, but in the section devoted to
the Netherlands, author Tim Richardson notes the candy that's quote
most Dutch of all, the Wilhelmina Mint. In eighteen ninety two,
the head of the Dutch candy company Fortune asked the
(43:51):
young Queen Wilhelmina if he could name his new peppermint
after her as a celebration of her twelfth birthday. Queen
Regent Emma wrote a reply on behalf of her daughter,
saying that it's fine and she leaves it entirely up
to him, a very diplomatic answer. He went ahead with
the idea and produced a line of candies featuring Wilhelmina's
(44:15):
portrait on each mint. The peppermints were such a hit
with the Royal family that Fortune received the predicate of
Purveyor to the Royal Household in eighteen ninety six. It's
a title that the candy company still holds to this day.
(44:41):
Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and
Mild from Aaron Manki. Noble Blood is created and hosted
by me Dana Shchwort, with additional writing and researching by
Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodnes.
The show is edited and produced by Noemi Griffin and
(45:04):
rima Il Kahali, with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive
producers Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more
podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Host
Dana Schwartz
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