FUTURE
How I Became the Victim of a Dutch Prince and Survived
He was nominated ‘Slumlord of the Year’
Yes, I live in a monarchy. It’s is normal for me. But I can imagine that for a lot of other people, it’s not so normal. I live in The Netherlands. And our royal family is kind of cool. They dance with famous Dutch DJs and get kissed on the cheek.
But because our monarchy is so normal, their relatives have jobs. Or they are entrepreneurs. And there’s also a healthy amount of resistance from our Dutch citizens to all of them, King and Queen included.
The title of this story might be a little deceiving though. I’m not a victim. And I’ll never be one. I’m a strong woman, standing tall and speaking my truth. And that I only manage to survive, is also not true.
But the Prince and I do clash. That’s true.
In what way? I’ll tell you all about it.
Cool Royal Family
Our royal family is kind of cool. They meet with normal people like you and me. King Willem Alexander and his wife, Queen Maxima, have three daughters. The Princesses Catherina-Amalia, Alexia, and Ariane.
On the 27th of March, we traditionally celebrate King’s Day. Our King Willem Alexander dances on the beats of famous Dutch DJs like Tiesto, Nicky Romero, Fedde Le Grand, and Dash Berlin.
Queen Maxima sometimes receives a kiss on the cheek.
If you wanna check out the dance moves of our king, just check this film when he joined DJ duo Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano in Chicago. The cheeky one with the headphone is our King Willem.
Monarch and Family
Our royal family is bigger than just The King, Queen, and three Princesses. And one of those relatives is an entrepreneur and real estate developer. Prince Bernhard Lucas Emmanuel of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven. Shortly addressed as Prince Bernard Junior.
So, how do this Prince and I clash?
I’m homeless. And homelessness is definitely a problem in our country. From 2009-2018, the figures for homelessness have doubled. Around 39,300 people are officially homeless now. But that’s not the whole story. There are many more people who cannot afford a home.
We have something that’s called anti-squatting. It’s legally squatting by occupying empty buildings for low rent. This is huge in our country! Young people wanting to leave their parents’ house do it. Students do it. And I did it a few years ago because I couldn’t afford a regular house.
It decreases the official figures of homelessness, but that doesn’t make it okay. Conditions are primitive and you can be without a home within one month’s notice when a new purpose for the empty building is found.
Two years ago, I found another solution. A campsite to reside in a cold caravan. We aren’t allowed to live here legally, though. We need to have a second home on the couch of a relative or friend. Otherwise, we’d become illegal. Otherwise, we can’t pay taxes and have a business, as I do.
Are people like me homeless? Or are they living the freedom lifestyle? It’s a bit of both. We cannot afford a regular home. And we like to live flexibly. But the fact is that anti-squatting and campsite living changes the true homelessness figures of people who cannot afford a home.
Slumlord
In 2017, Prince Bernhard Jr was nominated by one of our political parties to be ‘Slumlord of the Year’.
Privately and business-wise he owns around 600 properties in the Netherlands. Houses, but also offices and shopping malls. Furthermore, he is a joint-owner of the Formula 1 Racing Circuit in Zandvoort.
And recently, a political party named a new tax-law-proposal after him. The ‘Prins Bernard Belasting’ (belasting=tax). The new law states that real estate owners have to pay extra taxes when they rent out more than five houses.
Of course, Prins Bernard became angry. He countered that he and his business partner hadn’t bought any new properties since 2006. And that all the houses he bought already had tenants in them. It was legal what he did. He hadn’t withdrawn houses from the open market.
Also, their investments made sure that 1,000 new houses were built in Amsterdam by transforming office space into homes. That these homes are too expensive for normal people to live in, he fails to mention.
He says it’s just how business works…
But does it? Isn’t there another way when we think with our hearts and are prepared to share what we don’t exactly need for the basic needs of our family?
His royal name will have been a factor in his business success for sure. And he got this name for free. Just by being born into this royal family.
Is it fair that he lives a super-luxury life created with his royal name? While other families cannot afford a small home of their own just because they weren’t born with a silver spoon in their mouths?
Entrepreneurship
My view on politics is neither left nor right. I see a big future for entrepreneurs to make the new world happen. But I’m also sure that we have to find our hearts to get there.
In our current economic system, you have to have money to make new money. You have to be sneaky and ruthless to make new money. You have to spend a lot of your time on money-matters to make a decent living.
Not all of us want that. We have more important things to do than just think about money. Raise children. Care for elderly relatives. Be changemakers. Important values to create in a society. But never paid for in our current economy.
Is that fair when the resources that we create our business with belong to us all? They are given to us by our immensely wise and abundant planet Earth. Couldn’t we start to think of new ways to distribute the common value created with what we are given for free?
A royal name? And earth’s resources?
Give a bit back to the Earth? A bit to other People? Fair Share?
It’s not impossible. We can definitely change the human systems if we start thinking with our hearts. If we start creating multiple values instead of just money.
If our governments and businesses start collaborating, creating symbiosis like in nature. And if we are prepared to optimize all integrated values instead of maximizing one money-stream for one person.
Luckily, in our country, bottom-up initiatives are sprouting up like daisies in a lush field. Our government doesn’t understand it yet. Our businesses don’t grasp the opportunities of creating 1+1=3 yet. But I have active hope we’ll get there.
How about in your country? I’d love to read about it in the comments.
Thank you, Mike, for adding your wise energy to my words.
Want to connect? You can find me somewhere on our beautiful planet, with my hands in the soil and my eyes gazing at the stars. Or find me via Linktree.
© Désirée Driesenaar
