When the Netherlands was invaded during the WW2 Dutch Princess Juliana and her family had to flee. In 1940 princess Juliana and her two daughters safely arrived to Canada which was an allied country and a safe place for them. They were given a warm welcome in Ottawa where they continued to live during the war. In 1943 Princess Juliana gave birth to Princess Margriet and Canadian government temporarily declared the maternity ward of Ottawa Civic Hospital to be extra-territorial. Therefore it was unaffiliated with any jurisdiction and an international territory. It was done to ensure the newborn would derive her citizenship only from her mother, thus making her solely Dutch. It was an important decision in case the baby was a boy. The newborn baby girl was named after Marguerite, a flower worn during the war as a symbol of resistance to Nazi Germany.
In the Nazi occupied Netherlands Dutch people were having many hardships and finally in 1945 their misery came to an end when allies advanced across the country to which Canadians played a significant role. After the war Dutch people and Princess Juliana expressed their gratitude by sending thousands of tulip bulbs to Canada which became an annual tradition. Every year Dutch royal family and the people of Netherlands send 10000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa and gifted bulbs are planted in two flower beds; one at the Ottawa hospital and one at Queen Juliana gift bed in Commissioner's park.
Comments
Post a Comment