Princess Laurentian said today in her conversation with RTL News that she was affected by these allegations. And she clearly shows it during the conversation. The princess breaks down several times and tears flow.

Helps to benefit parents

Today, exactly one year after founding the Equality Recovery Foundation, Laurentian tells her story. The organization helps parents affected by the benefits case. It mediates between the Treasury Department and affected families to help them recover financially and emotionally from the suffering they have endured.

There was a lot of buzz about the approach the foundation was using for this purpose. Parents were enthusiastic about it, but the initial test of about three hundred files did not immediately convince the Ministry of Finance. According to the administration, this method would be expensive and there were doubts about its feasibility on a large scale.

Ultimately, the ministry agreed last July to continue this approach and help affected parents.

It was not long after the cabinet decision The newspaper AD published an article which stated that Princess Laurentian was accused of inappropriate behavior by ministry officials. According to these officials, there was intimidation during the call.

I touched

Several reports were reportedly made to the Finance Ministry on an anonymous basis. The Equal Remuneration Foundation denied the allegations, calling them “defamatory.” The Finance Ministry then said in its response that “temperatures sometimes ran high” in the collaboration between the ministry and the Princess Laurentian Foundation. Some employees had made verbal reports. The spokesperson would not say how much or whether there had been any inappropriate behavior.

Princess Laurentian insists that she never sat alone anywhere. “There were always several people in the meeting room, so whatever happened, there had to be enough witnesses,” she says.

She says the conversations between the victims and ministry officials were emotional, but she insists that despite the emotions, they never crossed the line. “No, no. And that was within everyone’s bounds.”

No investigation

She has not personally heard anything about the complaints since the meetings or after the announcement. “You don’t know where they come from,” she told RTL News. She is also unaware of any formal investigation into misconduct against her at the finance ministry. “I have no idea.” She says she has not been heard from nor told that such an investigation is underway. “I don’t know what to defend myself against.”

Laurentian was affected by the events. “This is who I am. My identity is my professionalism. If you are treated like one person, I will become a different person. This affects me.”

She also previously presented a video message explaining the work of the foundation:

Now she is stepping down as board chair because the noise is getting in the way of the organization’s mission. “It’s getting in the way of that shared mission.” That’s what makes it so upsetting to her, because she’s always been very clear about her role. “I’ve never been in trouble in 20 years. It may be inappropriate, but I’ve been boring for 20 years.”

King Willem Alexander

She says she was never asked to stop. Not by her brother-in-law, King Willem-Alexander, nor by Prime Minister Dick Schoff. Not even by her husband, Prince Constantijn.

According to her, her status as a princess was never a problem. She says it didn’t make the royal family more vulnerable. “Everyone is thinking about it now. But there are also people who say, ‘How lovely that someone from the royal family is doing this.’ The polarization of opinion is reflected in this way now. I want to get out of that.”

be happy

There’s another reason: “I also want to rest, I also want to do my job. I also want to be a happy person.”

So the fact that she is leaving now affects her. Because the parents’ confidence in settling their suffering is once again being hit hard. Laurentian will step down as chairman, but he will remain active in the organization. In a background role, she remains committed to solving the problem.