ON THIS DAY

January 19, 1943

Princess Margriet of the Netherlands was born at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. Her family was living in exile in Ottawa during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. To ensure that the infant would have full Dutch citizenship, the Canadian government declared the hospital’s maternity ward to be “extraterritorial.” As a thank-you, the Dutch royals sent thousands of tulip bulbs to Ottawa. This gift continues as part of the annual Canadian Tulip

Festival.