"Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (June 29, 1911 – December 1, 2004) born Count Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, was Prince Consort to the late Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, and father of the current monarch, Queen Beatrix
He helped found the Rotary International and was one of two founders of the Bilderberg Group an international grouping, with its composition varying slightly, meeting yearly in order to discuss the idea of future European unity in the context of transatlantic relations. He also founded the top secret Dutch BVD (now AIVD) -organization. While some people in the Netherlands were given a (perhaps daily) glance at what Bernhard actually did during his life, most people were in fact rather ignorant about him, although some knew that he had received a highly advanced training in industrial espionage during his years in Germany, or even tended to glamorize him.
In the 1930s, with the rise of Adolf Hitler, Prince Bernhard's younger brother Aschwin publicly declared his support for the Nazi Party. Prince Bernhard was trained as a fighter pilot and was later made an officer of the German Reiter SS Corps (SS Cavalry Corps). The Prince eventually went to work for the German chemical company, IG Farben. After a period of training, he became Secretary to the Board of Directors at the Paris office in 1935. Because he was a Protestant and a Royal, Bernhard was acceptable to Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands as a suitable husband for her daughter, Princess Juliana. However, Bernhard's appropriateness as the consort of the future Queen would later become a matter of public debate."
American Buddha (need to Login) adds: "Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands joined the SS during the early 1930s. He then joined the board of an I.G. subsidiary, Farben Bilder, from which he took the name of his postwar supersecret policy making group, the Bilderbergers. Farben executives played an important role in organizing the Circle of Friends for Heinrich Himmler, although it was initially known as Keppler's Circle of Friends, Keppler being the chairman of an I.G. subsidiary. His nephew, Fritz J. Kranefuss, was the personal assistant to Heinrich Himmler. Of the forty members of the Circle of Friends, which provided ample funds for Himmler, eight were executives of I.G. Farben or of its subsidiaries."
Reformed-theology.org also knows: "At the outbreak of war in 1939 VOWI employees were ordered into the Wehrmacht but in fact continued to perform the same work as when nominally under I.G. Farben. One of the more prominent of these Farben intelligence workers in N.W. 7 was Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, who joined Farben in the early 1930s after completion of an 18-month period of service in the black-uniformed S.S."
and notes: "Bernhard is today better known for his role as chairman of the secretive, so-called Bilderberger meetings. See U.S. Congress, House of Representatives, Special Committee on Un-American Activities, Investigation of Nazi Propaganda Activities and Investigation of Certain other Propaganda Activities. 73rd Congress, 2nd Session, Hearings No. 73-DC-4. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1934), Volume VIII, p. 7525." More here
Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands - personal background and his part in starting the Bilderberg Conferences a very extensive page with the whole story regarding Dutch involvement in world politics.
"it is interesting to note that the current queen, Beatrix, is one of the few permanent members of the Bilderberg group, and very respected in those high level circles that discuss what should happen to the world. The secretary general of the group is a Dutch economic professor, Victor Rosenboom, and has been put in charge by Beatrix of teaching Maxima Zorreguieta the finer points of Dutch society, such as the world renowned Dutch policies of repressive tolerance.
The Dutch monarchy is a powerful party in global high-circles and represents Dutch transnationals, such as Shell, Unilever and Philips on the forefront of developments in globalization. The Dutch tend to be a favorite for international posts because of their pseudo-neutrality, always wearing the coat of political correctness and compromise. Recent example is the appointment of ex prime minister Ruud Lubbers as UN high commissioner for refugees. In the eighties and early nineties he was the responsible cabinet leader for closing the borders, disallowing refugees to work, the Schengen and Maastricht treaties."
See the 2006 Participant list, lots of famous names....