THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
HRH Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, who has died aged 44, was second in line to the Dutch throne until being excluded from the line of succession by his choice of a wife; for the past 18 months he had been in a coma after being buried by an avalanche at an Austrian ski resort.
In the summer of 2003 Prince Friso announced his engagement to Mabel Wisse Smit, a beautiful and intelligent blonde who was known for her work in the promotion of human rights. Soon afterwards, however, it was claimed that, 15 years earlier, she had been in a relationship with a Dutch mobster and international drug dealer called Klaas Bruinsma.
The claim was made by one of Bruinsma’s former bodyguards, who said that his boss and Mabel had been lovers — and that she had been the only woman allowed on board Bruinsma’s yacht. Miss Smit strenuously denied the allegations, saying that she had been merely an acquaintance of Bruinsma; she admitted that she had spent the night on his yacht on several occasions, but denied that there had been a sexual relationship, insisting that she had known him for only a few months and broke off contact after she found out how he made his money. They had, she said, shared a passion for sailing.
Miss Smit had been an expert on the Balkans at the UN, and promoted the cause of human rights for the Open Society Institute, funded by George Soros. She had been vetted by the Dutch secret service and approved as a suitable bride.
Shortly after becoming engaged, however, she issued a statement saying that she had known Bruinsma — who was shot dead in a gangland killing in 1991 — for a few months while she was a student, but had broken with him when she learned of “the practices he engaged in”.
» | The Daily Telegraph | Monday, August 12, 2013
Related »
