Op handen gedragen

The demise of Prince Claus in the autumn of 2002 grieved many people deeply, whether out of sincere sympathy for our sovereign's husband or as a result of the overwhelming media attention. In Op handen gedragen, people are followed who in one way or another are involved in the memorial ceremony and interment of Claus's body. The people concerned, from the flower decorator, the undertaker, the reporter of seniors' radio Nootdorp and the Orange Society from Katwijk to the German ambassador and journalist and royal family expert Maartje van Weegen, are followed during the ten days between the decease and the solemn moment of the interment in the tomb. This yields surprising images behind the scenes of the NOS newscast, of a florist looking for single-leaved white gerberas without black hearts, of rehearsals with a coffin in the church and recordings at the house of Juliana's former chamberlain, esquire Van Eysinga and his wife, who despite their personal ties with the royal family are forced to follow the service and entombment on TV.