Prince Friso Laid to Rest on Friday

Prince Johan Friso, who died on Monday, was laid to rest in a small cemetery in Lage Vuursche, a village in the province of Utrecht. The cemetery is located almost directly opposite to the Drakensteyn Castle, where Friso spent his childhood. Flags around the country were lowered to half-staff in the prince's honor. The hearse, from which the flower-covered coffin was visible, left Huis Ten Bosch Palace in The Hague on Friday just before 9.00 a.m. and arrived in Lage Vuursche before 10.00 a.m., nu.nl reports. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"25851","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-4848 ","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"164","height":"300","alt":"Prince Friso Laid to rest on Friday"}}]] H G Cladder/wikimedia.org At 3.00 p.m., a private service led by Reverend Carel ter Linden started the funeral. Shortly before the service began, the members of The Royal Family walked from the Drakensteyn Castle to Stulp Church, where the service was held. Princess Beatrix led the walk. Luana and Zaria, the two daughters of Prince Friso and Princess Mabel, and Mabel herself walked behind Princess Beatrix. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima along with their children Amalia, Alexia and Ariane, followed. As reported by nu.nl, there were also a small number of relatives and close friends presented at the funeral. The Norwegian King Harald, godfather of Friso, was at the service, as well as Herman Tjeenk Willink. Among the attendees was Youri Albrecht, the director of De Balie in Amsterdam and a college friend of Friso. At around 4.30 p.m., the close relatives of the deceased were walking back from the Stulp Church. King Willem-Alexander and Prince Constantijn , Friso’s brothers, along with four friends of the Prince carried the coffin of Prince Friso from the church to the graveyard. Images of the funeral were released at 6.00 p.m. Prince Friso is the first deceased member of The Royal Dutch family who is buried. His ancestors were laid in The Royal Vault.   Remembrance In the funeral, Maaike Outboter, the finalist of a TV program De beste singer-songwriter van Nederland sang the song Dat Ik Je Mis. Theologian and poet Huub Oosterhuis, who is also a friend of The Royal Family, contributed a poem. During the service, Reverend Carel ter Linden said that the prince was "always perfectly sincere." “He was a very direct person and often had strong opinions. And the more familiar he felt with his surroundings - I am now also thinking about the male community of the family in which he grew up - the more direct he could be,” he stated. Friends of Friso told ter Linden that the arrival of Luana and Zaria changed him.  '’He enjoyed the togetherness with his daughters. He did anything with them:  playing games and reading books with Luana, building technical things like planes and volcanoes with Zaria. And with both of them:  treasure hunting.   [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"17560","attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-4864 ","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"283","height":"218","alt":"Half-Staff"}}]] Dutch flag at half-staff outside Amsterdam's Mövenpick Hotel (photo: Zack Newmark) No Incident There were hundreds of visitors who came to Lage Vuursche to especially witness the funeral. There were also about as many journalists standing. The village was also filled with police and military. Nevertheless, the police were'' very satisfied'' because no one was arrested, there was no incident and also no traffic.  All road blocks in Lage Vuursche were removed at the beginning of the evening. The only way through the forest village from Hilversum was closed from 8.00 a.m., so the guests could come to the castle in privacy. "As expected, it was a dignified day and it ran peacefully," said a spokesman.