greet hofmans (23 june 1894, amsterdam &ndash; 16 november 1968, amsterdam) was a faith healer and "hand layer". for nine years she was a friend and advisor of queen juliana, often residing at palace soestdijk. she became the former dutch queenâs confidante in the 1950s, but was removed from the royal court after an affair that in the netherlands is often referred to by her name the greet hofmans affaire. == court crisis 1948â1956 == hofmans was introduced at the dutch royal court on the initiative of prince bernhard in 1948 to treat the eye sickness of princess marijke christina. this illness arose after juliana was infected with rubella during the pregnancy. hofmans developed a great influence on the queen, encouraging pacifist ideas. in the period of the cold war this caused a crisis in the royal household. reputedly it reached the point where it threatened the marriage of juliana and bernhard. this crisis, which lasted to 1956, split the dutch court into two camps. on the one side were juliana and other admirers of hofmans. on the other side were her husband prince bernhard, his supporters and the children of him and juliana, including the later dutch queen, beatrix. outside the netherlands, a great deal was written and speculated about the hofmans affair. on 13 june 1956 an article appeared in the german magazine der spiegel subtitled "zwischen kÃ¶nigin und rasputin", literally meaning "between queen and rasputin"."die gesundbeterin : staatskrise - zwischen kÃ¶nigin und rasputin", in: der spiegel, vol. 1956, nr. 24, p. 31-36 reportedly it was bernhard who provided the information for the article, by which means he hoped to have hofmans removed from the court. == beel commission 1956 ==  the cabinet of willem drees banned the import of the edition of the german magazine and on 28 june 1956 appointed a commission of enquiry of former ministers louis beel and gerbrandy and former governor-general of the dutch east indies a. w. l. tjarda van starkenborgh stachouwer, the beel commission. the outcome was the termination of hofmans' contacts with the court and the reorganisation of the royal household. through the secrecy imposed on the official side and the self-censorship of the netherlands press, the hofmans affair took on a life of its own. some have speculated that the affair was simply a mask for a looming divorce of the royal couple. hofmans retained until her death followers of the higher circles, who saw in her the personification of the ideal life: sober, peaceful, free of self-interest, and directed at the fellow man. others viewed her however as 
1894_births 1968_deaths Cancer_deaths_in_the_Netherlands Faith_healers People_from_Amsterdam