By Baron Henri Estramant.
His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands issued a Royal Order on 16 December 2015 granting the “Honorary Cross of the House Order of Oranje” (Erekruis van de Huisorde van Oranje) to drs. Coen baron Schimmelpenninck van der Oije.
The Honorary Cross (badge on a ribbon to be worn on the left chest) was bestowed upon Baron Coen for his services as “Chamberlain to H.M. The King” which he left behind on 31 December 2015. The order was presented to him officially on 12 January at Noordeinde Palace.
Baron Coen Schimmelpenninck van der Oije (Amsterdam, 17 July 1943) is a son of the late Baron Cornelis Schimmelpenninck van der Oije and Countess Johanna van Limburg Stirum. From 1985 he was director of the Municipal Archives of the City of Rotterdam and since 1994 likewise for the Historic Museum Rotterdam. Also in 1994 he was appointed chamberlain to then Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Schimmelpenninck van der Oije moreover served as director of the Maritime Museum Rotterdam from 2006.
Between 1991 and 2015 Baron Coen was the chairman of the High Council of the Dutch Nobility (Hoge Raad van Adel) an institution still attached to the Netherlands State, and advising in matters concerning the nobility as well as heraldry. His successor since 11 May 2015 is former top diplomat, Jonkheer Johan Pieter de Savornin Lohman (b. ‘s-Gravenhage, 27 February 1948).
For more information:
Dutch orders of chivalry: www.onderscheidingen.nl/nl/medailles/orden/ho.html
High Council of the Dutch Nobility (Hoge Raad van Adel): http://www.hogeraadvanadel.nl/home
