Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (; ; 19 April 1876 – 3 July 1934) was Prince of the Netherlands from 7 February 1901 until his death in 1934 as the husband of Queen Wilhelmina. He remains the longest-serving Dutch consort.

Biography

Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was born on 19 April 1876 in Schwerin. He was the youngest son of Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and his third wife, Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.

On 6 February 1901, Henry was created a Prince of the Netherlands and the next day, 7 February, married Queen Wilhelmina in The Hague. Their only child together, Princess Juliana, was born in 1909.

Henry became the 279th Knight Grand Cross of the Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword, and in 1924, he was appointed as the 1,157th Knight of the Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece.

He died in The Hague, Netherlands, on 3 July 1934, aged 58.

Scouting Henry successfully merged the two Dutch Boy Scout organisations Nederlandse Padvinders Organisatie (NPO, Netherlands Pathfinder Organisation) and the Nederlandse Padvinders Bond (NPB, Netherlands Pathfinder Federation) on 11 December 1915 to form De Nederlandse Padvinders (NPV, The Netherlands Pathfinders). He became the Royal Commissioner of that organisation and he asked Jean Jacques Rambonnet to become chairman in 1920.

Extramarital relationships

Prince Henry was known to have had numerous extra-marital affairs. It is rumored that he fathered between three and ten illegitimate children; however, firm proof remains elusive, except for Albrecht Willem Lier, known as the above-noted Pim Lier (22 July 1918 – 9 April 2015). During her widowhood, Queen Wilhelmina paid monthly allowances to three known ex-mistresses: Julia Cervey in Geneva (ƒ200 per month), Wilhelmine Steiner in Zurich (ƒ500 per month), and Mien Lier-Wenneker (1887–1973), in The Hague (ƒ500 per month). Mien Abbo-Wenneker (later Lier-Wenneker), gave birth to a total of six children; the older two, sisters Christina Margaretha Abbo and Edith Abbo (later Sheep-Abbo) were ostensibly the daughters of Mien's first husband, Dhr. Abbo, but strongly rumored to have been fathered by Prince Henry. In 1919, Mien married Lieutenant Jan Derk Lier, a former aide-de-camp to Prince Henry. A grant of one hundred thousand guilders was arranged for Lt. Lier from the State by police chief François van 't Sant, whom Queen Wilhelmina engaged to verify the facts of her husband's extramarital relationships and children. This, plus a monthly allowance to the Lt from the state of one thousand guilders, was in return for his commitment to "the three children of HRH".

The male parent of the remaining three children was not verified as being either Prince Henry or Lt. Lier. Subsequent to their birth, no additional allowance was settled on the family; in fact, the monthly allowance of one thousand guilders to Lt. Jan Derk Lier was halved by van't Sant after a short period, although the allowance to his wife continued.

Honours and awards German decorations

Ancestry