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NETHERLANDS

Hundreds welcome Dutch royals in Lübeck

King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands started a two-day visit to Germany on Thursday morning with a trip to Lübeck.

Published: 19 March 2015 14:47 CET
Hundreds welcome Dutch royals in Lübeck
Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. Photo: DPA

Hundreds of people turned out at the city's Rathausmarkt square to see the royal pair meet state minister-president Torsten Albig.

They were also greeted by city mayor Bernd Saxe, who accompanied them as they met members of the crowd.

Afterwards they entered the town hall, where they signed the town's “Golden Book” of visitors.

Willem-Alexander and Maxima will spend Thursday and Friday in Germany, along with Foreign Trade Minister Lilianne Ploumen and a delegation of 50 Dutch businesses.

The royal couple had just come from a one-day stop in Denmark, where they were also hoping to boost trade links.

Thursday afternoon's schedule includes a stop in Hamburg, where they will take part in a three-way discussion on energy policy.

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ROYALS

How a German castle has sparked civil war in Monaco’s royal family

Prince Ernst August of Hanover, the husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, is suing his son to win back control of a German castle and prevent it from falling into public hands, a court has said.

Published: 17 February 2021 08:49 CET
How a German castle has sparked civil war in Monaco's royal family
Marienburg Castle in Lower Saxony pictured during the recent snow. Photo: DPA

Ernst August, 66, gave his son the fairytale-like Marienburg castle and several other properties between 2004 and 2007, but now wants them back citing  “gross ingratitude”, the district court of Hanover said in a statement on Tuesday.

It is the latest public spat to hit the aristocratic family, whosepatriarch has over the years been nicknamed “the party prince” and even “the brawling prince” over his jetset lifestyle and drunken escapades.

According to the court statement, Ernst August filed a lawsuit at the end of last year seeking to revoke the gifts of Marienburg Castle, the Calenburg manor house and a royal property in Herrenhausen.

He accuses his son, Ernst August junior, of acting against his wishes and going behind his back by offering Marienburg Castle to the state of Lower Saxony as public property – partly because of the huge costs of maintaining the mid-19th century Gothic-style building.

READ ALSO: Just one sixth of Germans want own monarchy back

The plaintiff, who lives in Austria, also accuses his son of improperly appropriating artworks and antiques owned by the family.

Ernst August senior estimates the total value of the disputed properties and items at some five million euros, the court said.

Ernst August junior, 37, told German news agency DPA that the case had no merit, saying all the arguments raised “have already been invalidated out-of-court in the past”.

He said the deal struck to transfer ownership of Marienburg Castle to the regional authorities of Lower Saxony was “legally secure”.

“There's nothing that stands in the way of the long-term preservation of Marienburg as a central cultural monument of Lower Saxony, open to all,” he said.

The court has not yet set a date for a hearing.

Ernst August senior has been feuding for years with his son over the family's royal properties.

So severe was the spat that he declined his official consent to his son's 2017 marriage to Russian-born fashion designer Ekaterina Malysheva and stayed away from the wedding.

Princess Caroline, who has been separated from her husband since 2009, did attend the nuptials.

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