Dutch royal family return to Lech

OHMYGOSSIP — The Dutch royal family have returned to the ski resort of Lech, Austria, a year after Prince Johan Friso’s skiing accident, which has left him in a coma.

The Dutch royal family have returned to the resort of Lech, Austria, a year after Prince Johan Friso’s skiing accident.

The royal family posed for their annual photograph at the start of their traditional week ski break, a year and a day after the prince was trapped in an avalanche, leaving him brain damaged and in a coma.

The photo call was one of the last which will feature Queen Beatrix in her royal role, as she is abdicating in favour of her son, Willem-Alexander, on April 30.

The young princesses of the royal party were encouraged by photographers to throw snowballs, but Williem-Alexander stopped them, quipping: “Don’t throw snowballs at the press or it will follow you all your lives.”

Friso’s wife Mabel and their two children are also in Lech but did not want to be photographed. Before making the trip, Mabel had thanked the media for respecting their privacy.

On Sunday (17.02.13) a local church in Lech held a mass for prince Friso, 44, who remains in a coma in a London hospital.

Last year it was reported the prince had shown “minimal signs of consciousness”, but a statement from the Royal family remained guarded, saying “it will take many months before there is more clarity” about the prince’s chances of recovery.

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