If that miserable avalanche hadn’t happened on February 17, 2012, Prince Friso would be celebrating his 54th birthday this year. At home in London with his wife Mabel and daughters Luana and Zaria. Perhaps his mother, Princess Beatrix, flew to the British capital to give her son a big kiss. Perhaps his brothers Willem-Alexander and Constantijn would have called him or sent him a cheerful text message.
Just smile when someone says something nice
Maybe, maybe, maybe… We’ll never know, because Friso died almost nine years ago, on August 12, 2013, in The Hague at his mother’s home at Huis ten Bosch from the effects of the brain damage he sustained. He had been in a coma for a year and a half. First in Innsbruck, then in London, finally in The Hague. The brilliant middle son of Beatrix and Claus, who successfully completed three academic studies, spent his last months in a minimally conscious state. That is, the patient can open his eyes and occasionally give a sign of consciousness. For example, by following a mirror with his eyes. Or just laugh when he hears a song or someone says something nice to him.
The words of an intensely sad brother
During the commemoration meeting for Friso on November 2, 2013, an intensely sad King Willem-Alexander spoke beautiful words: “Silence after the storm, time to commemorate who Friso was and also to celebrate who Friso is. Friso as a brother, Friso as a family man. It was unimaginable that that wonderful time would end with such a blow for all of us.”
