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Thursday, 15 February 2001
 AMSTERDAM -- Prince Johan Friso of the Netherlands is not gay, the Dutch government announced Wednesday to the stunned amusement of Amsterdam's lesbian and gay community.
The handsome Prince Friso has become something of a gay icon in Amsterdam, his popularity rivaling that of the adored Queen Beatrix. Pictures of the Prince and Queen adorn gay bars and pubs throughout the capital, and whether it be truth or merely wishful thinking, gay rumors about the 32-year-old unmarried prince have circulated for years.
Part of his popularity in the community has come from the good natured manner in which he shrugged off the rumors. But his mood soured when the prince reportedly learned his younger brother Constantijn was favored by his mother to be next in line to the throne, owing to her belief that the rumors were true.
The Dutch government, therefore, took the highly unusual step of acknowledging and refuting questions about the prince's sexual orientation. "He's fed up with these rumors," government spokesman Eef Brouwers told Reuters. "He's not a homosexual."
Speculation about who should be named next in line to the Dutch throne have been running thick through Amsterdam. The news agency say that most expected the heir to the throne, the Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, to marry his Argentine girlfriend, Maxima Zorreguieta.
Some have questioned however, whether Willem-Alexander will damage his chances of becoming the Dutch king if he marries Maxima because of her father's close ties to the military junta that ran Argentina's "dirty war."
-- Editor
Source : Obtained from
datalounge.com
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