A Deep Bond

 Picking up where I left off yesterday. Crown Princess Juliana of the Netherlands found refuge in Ottawa during the Second World War, while her mother Queen Wilhelmina operated from London to rally the Dutch people. Juliana came with her daughters, while her husband Prince Bernhard, visited frequently.

She and the girls took to the city, and the city took to her, and she worked tirelessly to represent her people and encourage support for the war.

In 1943, another daughter, Princess Margriet, was born. The Canadian government declared the maternity suite extraterritorial to ensure her royal status.

She was baptized at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church; her father and grandmother made the journey overseas to attend, and the service was broadcast on Radio Orange. The photos you see here are by Yousuf Karsh, the Ottawa portrait photographer who became the pre-eminent portrait photographer of the 20th century.

The liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian soldiers deepened the friendship of these two countries- a positive result of war.

Princess Margriet has often visited over the years since to the city where she was born, and has made a point of spending time with Canadian veterans.

Malak Karsh was the brother of Yousuf Karsh, and he chose the landscapes of Canada as his subject for his life's work as a photographer- becoming famous in his own right. It was Malak who proposed the idea of the Tulip Festival, and he is thus considered its founder.

A splash of colour to end this post.