Princess Laurentien turns 60

Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, the sister-in-law of King Willem-Alexander, turns 60 years old today.

Born on 25 May 1966 in Leiden, Petra Laurentien Brinkhorst is the daughter of the former Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Laurens Jan Brinkhorst and Jantien Brinkhorst-Heringa.

She grew up in Groningen and the Hague before moving abroad for her father’s job to Tokyo, Japan. Laurentien later studied history at the University of Groningen and obtained a bachelor’s degree in political science from Queen Mary College, University of London. Afterwards, she earned a master of journalism degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Laurentien married Prince Constantijn (the youngest son of Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus) in 2001. They have three children: Countess Eloise (b. 2002), Count Claus-Casimir (b. 2004) and Countess Leonore (b. 2006). The Prince and Princess are members of the Dutch Royal House, but their children are not. However, they are members of the Royal Family but do not undertake royal engagements.

The Princess regularly undertakes engagements on behalf of the Crown. Princess Laurentien is passionate about literature and has received prizes for her work in combating illiteracy. She served as UNESCO Special Envoy on Literacy for Development from 2009 to 2020 and created Stichting Lezen en Schrijven (the Reading and Writing Foundation) in 2004. As an author, she published several children’s books focusing on climate change.