Dutch Prince weds minister's daughter

Prince Constantijn, right, and Laurentien Brinkhorst are showered with flower petals after their wedding in The Hague on Thursday

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands -- Prince Constantijn married his partner of five years in an intimate civil ceremony on Thursday.

Laurentien Brinkhorst, daughter of Dutch agriculture minister, married the prince in a brief service attended by the Dutch royal family, Prime Minister Wim Kok and other members of the Dutch cabinet.

The couple are to renew their vows on Saturday in a lavish church ceremony before 1,000 guests including royalty from Japan, Belgium and Sweden.

Constantijn is the youngest son of the Netherlands' Queen Beatrix and specialised in civil law at Leiden University. He now works for the European commission.

The bride's mother has known the Queen since their time at college together.

Large crowds of well-wishers, many sporting plastic orange crowns, gathered outside the registry office despite the rain.

Constantijn is the first of the Queen's three sons to marry. His older brother, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, is due to wed his Argentine fiancée Maxima Zorreguieta early next year.

The wedding comes amid media speculation that the Labour Party (PvdA) has to limit the Dutch royal house to the monarch and closest heirs to the throne, Reuters said.