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The question raised by the charges is why would the prince risk his royal position for a paltry $1 million. The House of Orange is reputed to be one of the richest families in the world, owning, among other things, a sizable share of Royal Dutch/Shell. In addition, the prince receives an annual tax-free salary of about $300,000 (Queen Juliana gets $1.5 million). The guessing games sparked by last week's disclosures produced only fanciful theories of possible motivation. According to the "For the Panda" theory, if the prince received money, he probably gave it to one of his favorite charities, most likely the World Wildlife Fund. But fund officials say the prince has never donated more than $10,000 of his own money. Less charitable is the "Dutch Treat" theory, which speculates that Queen Juliana, having heard rumors of Bernhard's philandering, began keeping a close eye on the family coffers. And then there is the "Bum Rap" theory. This holds that the prince never actually received the funds, which were pocketed by Meuser or another middleman.
The prince last week again denied he had received any money from Lockheed and said he welcomed "an inquiry into the affair." At week's end the relaxed and smiling prince arrived with Queen Juliana at the Amsterdam Hilton for a World Wildlife Fund black-tie ball. Its goal: to raise money for the endangered turtles of the Galápagos Islands.