Between 1933 and 1936, Claus attended primary school in Bad Doberan in Mecklenburg and then in Tanganiasha. Upon his return to Germany in 1938, he attended secondary school until 1943 at the Baltenschule in Pomerania. Between August 1943 and January 1944, Claus served as a naval auxiliary near Kiel. He then returned to school and was awarded the (wartime) school-leaving certificate in 1944. Afterwards he entered military service and served in the Reserve Armoured Division No. 6 in Neuruppin from July 1944 until March 1945. He attended Armoured Vehicle Training School at Vilong in Denmark for 3 months and from March until May 1945, Claus served in the 90th Division in Italy, but did not see combat.
He was captured by the Americans near Merano in May and sent to a P.O.W. camp at Ghedi, near Brescia. There he was employed as a driver and interpreter. In September 1945, the Americans transferred him to a U.S. base in the United Kingdom where he worked as an interpreter. Claus was released in December os the same year and returned to Hitzaeken.
Claus, wishing to return to university, had to be cleared by a denazification court that was established by the Allies. Any secondary pupil then was automatically a member of the Nazi youth organisations Jungvolk and Hitlerjugend. Claus was fully cleared.
He later took a special course for ex-servicemen and passed the exams in Luneburg in 1947. Claus entered, by the end of 1948, the Faculty of Law and Political Science of the University of Hamburg. Between 1952 and 1956, he sat through his first and second exams, while gaining necessary practical experience at a number of law courts and in a firm of lawyers in Hamburg. In 1957, Claus passed the exam for entry into the German Foreign Service and passed the Diplomatic Service exam in May of 1958. From May 1958 until March 1961, he was Third and then Second secretary at the German embassy at Cuidad Trujillo (now Santo Domingo) in the Dominican Republic. In April 1961, Claus was sent to Abidjan as Second secretary. He remained in Africa until January 1963. In the same year he was transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bonn, where he worked in the departments responsible for relations with Africa south of the Sahara until August 1965.
On 20 June 1965, Mr. Claus von Amsberg became engaged to the heiress presumptive to the throne of The Netherlands, Princess Beatrix. The marriage was fully consented by both houses of parliament. On the occasion of the wedding, Claus received the title of Royal Highness and Prince of the Netherlands as well as Jonkheer van Amsberg. Three sons were born of this marriage: the heir Willem-Alexander in 1967, Johan Friso in 1968 and the youngest Constatijn in 1969. From this time on, Prince Claus devoted his time and energies to learning the Dutch language and familiarising himself with the Dutch society.
On the 30th April 1980, Queen Juliana signed the Act of Abdication and Princess Beatrix became the new Queen of the Netherlands. Prince Claus, being the devoted husband, stood proudly by his wife as she was enthroned in the Nieuwe Kerk of Amsterdam.
During his wife’s reign, Prince Claus took a particular interest in the preservation of historic buildings, nature conservation, and the environment. He made numerous visits to the public utility organisations, commercial and industrial enterprises and organisations in the commercial sector. The Prince’s commitment to his adopted country is evident by his acceptance of posts ranging from the Special Advisor on Development Corporation to a member of the Board of Directors of both De Nederlandsche Bank N.V. and Royal PTT Nederland. On his 70th birthday, the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development was established.
The prince enjoyed photography, reading and music. He was also keen on golf and tennis. Usually, holidays were spent on their farm in Tuscany and every winter skiing was done in Lech, Austria.
Through the past several years, Prince Claus' health had been the subject of many people’s worries. He was no longer the vibrant and tenacious young man that he once had been. In his place a more frail and weakened man appeared to the Dutch people. But through all the difficulties that Prince Claus endured, his loving wife of 35 years has always stood by his side. It has always been evident that Queen Beatrix loves her country; but what is more evident is that she loved her husband even more. Equally, the Dutch people, after a difficult acception of the Prince, learned not only to respect but also to love the husband of their Queen.
At the end of his life, Prince Claus was definately the most beloved member of the Dutch Royal Family, as it was proved in the warm reception given to him during the wedding of his son The Prince of Oranje with Miss Maxima Zorreguieta, in February 2002. During the months that followed, the worries for the Prince's health sharply increased with successive health scares. The Dutch people was left in alert on several occasions and the rejoicing over a minor recovery would not surpass the anxiety over the Prince's general condition.
On the evening of the 6th October 2002, the long feared news arrived to the Dutch homes through the TV screens and the radio sets: His Royal Highness The Prince Claus, the beloved husband of Her Majesty The Queen of The Netherlands, had died in the Academic Medical Centre of Amsterdam, surrounded by his wife and his three sons, The Prince of Oranje and Princes Johan Friso and Constantjn. The Dutch nation grieved the loss of a man who had been so important for so many different aspects of the country’s life. The Dutch people had learned to respect and love a man who managed to conquer every Dutch’s heart.
To the Official Website of the Dutch Royal Family
