Prince Jaime, Count of Bardi

Prince Jaime Bernardo of Bourbon-Parma, Count of Bardi, Duke of San Jaime (born 13 October 1972) is the second son and third child of Princess Irene of the Netherlands and Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma. Currently he is a Dutch diplomat.

Early life

Prince Jaime was born in Nijmegen. He has a twin sister, Princess Margarita, who was born one minute earlier. Besides his twin sister the prince has one older brother Prince Carlos, the heir apparent to the headship of the House of Bourbon-Parma, and one younger sister Princess Carolina. Prince Jaime was born six weeks prematurely and stayed with his sister in a couveuse at the hospital. Jaime was baptised by Cardinal Bernardus Johannes Alfrink with Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands as his godfather.

In 1981 his parents decided to divorce. Together with his mother and her siblings he then moved to the Soestdijk Palace (Baarn), the then residence of the queen of the Netherlands. He lived at the palace for a number of years with his grandparents, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard, the prince consort.

Education and career

Prince Jaime studied International relations at the Brown University in the United States. After finishing this study he subsequently obtained a M.A. degree in International Economics and Conflict Management at the Johns Hopkins University. During this study he performed an internship at the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Red Cross.

He now works for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. His first roles were as the prime secretary of the Netherlands Embassy in Bagdad, before becoming a political advisor to the peace mission in Pol-e Khomri in the Baghlan Province in the northern part of Afghanistan. In the summer of 2007 he was appointed a member of the cabinet of the European Commissioner Neelie Kroes. He is now back in The Hague at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Other activities

Prince Jaime has also worked as an interviewer for the documentary series "Africa, War is Business". In the documentary he investigated and explained how a country that is very rich in raw materials, can be dominated by poverty and conflict. In the series he visited Sierra Leone and its diamond fields, Liberia to see how an export embargo on its hardwood is carried out, before finishing the series in the DR Congo where he goes on a night patrol in the war torn East of the country, an area rich in gold and cobalt. In the documentary possible solutions are displayed from the perspective of the international community. [cite web |url=http://www.fataltransactions.org/News/2006/Africa-War-is-Business-The-complete-series |title=Africa: War is Business - The complete series |accessdate=2008-07-21 |date=2006-09-05 |publisher=Fatal Transactions ]

The prince regularly performs representative tasks for the royal house of the Netherlands and the Ducal house of Bourbon-Parma. He is regularly present as a representative at royal marriages, baptismal ceremonies, and funerals.

Ennoblement

Already a ducal prince from birth, his father bestowed the substantive title "Conte di Bardi" (Count of Bardi) upon him on 2 September 1996, [cite book |title=Almanach de Gotha |edition=182nd |year=1998 |publisher=Almanach de Gotha |isbn=0953214206 |pages=55] as well as the Carlist title "Duque de San Jaime" (Duke of San Jaime) on 28 September 2003. [cite web |url=http://www.borbonparma.org/docs/sar.html |title=Palabras de S.A.R. el Príncipe Don Carlos Hugo de Borbón Parma en al acto de imposición de cruces de la Orden de la Legitimad Proscrita, celebrado el domingo día 28 de septiembre de 2003 en Arbonne |accessdate=2008-07-21 |publisher=House of Bourbon-Parma ] In 1996 he was incorporated into the Dutch Nobility by Queen Beatrix, with the highest noble title "Prins de Bourbon de Parme" (Prince of Bourbon-Parma) [cite web |url=http://www.hogeraadvanadel.nl/veertiende_adelslijst.pdf |title=The 14th list of nobility determined by royal decree on 9 June 2004 (Stb.307) Website of the High Council of Nobility in the Netherlands] and styled "Zijne Koninklijke Hoogheid" (His Royal Highness). He doesn't officially belong either to the House of Orange-Nassau or the Dutch Royal House. As a grandson of Queen Juliana and nephew of the present queen Beatrix, he is, however, still a member of the extended Dutch Royal Family.

Chancellor

Prince Jaime is the Grand Chancellor of the Italian dynastic chivalric order "Ordine del Merito di San Lodovico" (English: Order of the Saint Louis for Civil Merit). The order was founded in 1836 by Charles II, Duke of Parma, his ancestor and who was the King of Etruria, Duke of Lucca, and Duke of Parma. The order consists of five degrees and is awarded to the members of the ducal house and praiseworthily citizens of Parma.

References

External links

* [http://www.borbonparma.org/ Official website of the House of Bourbon-Parma]

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