Johan Friso, the bespectacled Dutch prince who avoided the limelight and gave up his position in line to the throne after getting entangled in a scandal with his bride-to-be, died yesterday, 18 months after a skiing accident that left his brain gravely injured. He was 44.

A Dutch prince is in intensive care after being buried in an avalanche when he skied off piste in an Austrian ski resort.

Prince Johan Friso, the second son of Queen Beatrix, married human rights activist Mabel Wisse Smit today without the approval of the Dutch government, giving up his claim to the throne for love.

Dutch prince Johan Friso will marry human rights activist Mabel Wisse Smit without the endorsement of the Dutch parliament, effectively relinquishing his claim to the throne, the government said today.