H.R.H. Princess Margriet of the Netherlands recorded a special video message, in honour of the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands.
Today, 75 years ago, the Netherlands was liberated. It's our Liberation Day and since last year it is also Dutch Heritage Day in Canada.
The Dutch family had been living in Canada since June 1940 after the occupation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany. The maternity ward of Ottawa Civic Hospital in which Princess Margriet was born was temporarily declared to be extraterritorial by the Canadian government. Making the maternity ward outside of the Canadian domain caused it to be unaffiliated with any jurisdiction and technically international territory. This was done to ensure that the newborn would derive her citizenship from her mother only, thus making her solely Dutch, which could have been very important if the child had been male, and as such, the heir of Princess Juliana. It is a common misconception that the Canadian government declared the maternity ward to be Dutch territory. Since Dutch nationality law is based primarily on the principle of jus sanguinis it was not necessary to make the ward Dutch territory for the Princess to become a Dutch citizen if the parent is Dutch. Since Canada followed the rule of jus soli, it was necessary for Canada to disclaim the territory temporarily so that the child would not become a Canadian citizen.
A special message from H.R.H. Princess Margriet of the Netherlands:
浏览附件Kingdom of the Netherlands in Canada.mp4
Today, 75 years ago, the Netherlands was liberated. It's our Liberation Day and since last year it is also Dutch Heritage Day in Canada.
The Dutch family had been living in Canada since June 1940 after the occupation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany. The maternity ward of Ottawa Civic Hospital in which Princess Margriet was born was temporarily declared to be extraterritorial by the Canadian government. Making the maternity ward outside of the Canadian domain caused it to be unaffiliated with any jurisdiction and technically international territory. This was done to ensure that the newborn would derive her citizenship from her mother only, thus making her solely Dutch, which could have been very important if the child had been male, and as such, the heir of Princess Juliana. It is a common misconception that the Canadian government declared the maternity ward to be Dutch territory. Since Dutch nationality law is based primarily on the principle of jus sanguinis it was not necessary to make the ward Dutch territory for the Princess to become a Dutch citizen if the parent is Dutch. Since Canada followed the rule of jus soli, it was necessary for Canada to disclaim the territory temporarily so that the child would not become a Canadian citizen.
A special message from H.R.H. Princess Margriet of the Netherlands:
浏览附件Kingdom of the Netherlands in Canada.mp4
