Dutch prince gives up throne to wed

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.

The government refused to support the marriage after the couple acknowledged misleading the government over Wisse Smit’s relationship with a known gangster more than a decade ago.

Friso is second in line for the Dutch throne after his elder brother, crown prince Willem Alexander.

The Dutch parliament, which bears responsibility for the royal house, must approve his marriage in order for the couple formally to join the royal family.

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said at a press conference his government could not support Wisse Smit as a member of the royal family because during her vetting process the couple gave the government “incomplete and incorrect information, which has damaged confidence” in her.

Balkenende said his decision was made at the request of the couple, who announced their engagement in June and plan to marry in the spring.

At the centre of the controversy is the nature of Wisse Smit’s relationship with a figure from the Dutch underworld during her college years.

Wisse Smit initially said she had only a passing acquaintance with Klaas Bruinsma, a druglord who was killed in a gangland liquidation in 1991.

But she later confessed she had regular contact with Bruinsma and accompanied him on several overnight trips on his boat, though she denied any romantic relationship.