She has already had a failed marriage, now another follows: after 16 years together, the Dutch Princess Margarita and Tjalling ten Cate announce their final separation. It’s not the first time that the 50-year-old has caused such a scandal in her home country.
In her homeland she is considered a scandalous aristocrat, and her first marriage made headlines for months. Now Princess Margarita of the Netherlands, ex-Queen Beatrix’s 50-year-old niece, has announced her second divorce.
Photographer Patrick Van Katwijk, a close family friend, said on Instagram: “Princess Margarita and Tjalling ten Cate have announced their divorce.” He quoted the royal couple as saying: “After a wonderful time of more than 16 years together, in which we have shared joys and sorrows, each of us will now go our own way.” The two daughters, 14-year-old Julia and Paola, who is two years younger, will be taken care of together.
Margarita had given the yes word to the lawyer ten Cate in May 2008. Before that, she was married to entrepreneur Edwin de Roy van Zuydewijn from 2001 to 2006. He had messed with the Dutch royal family during the marriage and caused a scandal that became known in Holland as the “Margarita Affair”.
Among other things, Van Zuydewijn accused the royal family and the Dutch secret service of obstructing the work of his company and tapping telephone calls. As a result, Margarita was not allowed to attend the wedding of her cousin, King Willem-Alexander. She was also not wanted at the funeral of her uncle, Prince Claus of the Netherlands.
(This article was first published on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.)
