Prince Bernhard, who died two weeks ago, shocked Holland yesterday by revealing in interviews published posthumously that he had fathered two illegitimate daughters.

The prince also said his late wife, Juliana, had almost abdicated in the mid-1950s as a result of a scandal involving a faith healer, which brought the couple close to divorce.

The Dutch national daily De Volkskrant published 29 pages of secret interviews.

The prince, who died aged 93, said his marital problems with Queen Juliana were the catalyst for an affair with an American woman and the birth of his first illegitimate daughter Alicia, now 50.

His second daughter is Alexia Grinda-Lejeune, 37, whose mother was the 1960s French pin-up Helene Grinda. His wife "accepted" his affairs and became a loving "granny" to his illegitimate daughters.

Prince Bernhard has four legitimate daughters, of whom the eldest, Beatrix, became Queen in 1980.