Queen Wilhelmina used drugs during Second World War

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands used the drug perventine, now better known as crystal meth, during the Second World War. It is reported by Marcel Verburg, who is a legal historian, in his new book about the history of the Ministry of Justice during the years 1940 to 1945. ¹

He is not the first to report the drug use, but he is the first to draw significant attention to it. Cees Fasseur, who died earlier this year, also mentioned it. The drug use may account for the radical change in Wilhelmina’s style of government, which was once attributed to her Romanov ancestors. It is possible that Queen Wilhelmina made strange decisions or delayed decisions as a result of the drug use.

During the war, perventine was sometimes used by soldiers for exhaustion, and it was also used as pain medication.

1.  Geschiedenis van het ministerie van Justitie 1940-1945 by Marcel Verburg