Veronique Renard

Véronique Françoise Caroline Renard (born 26 May 1965 in Jutphaas, the Netherlands) is a Dutch author and visual artist. She is also known as Pantau, a name that was adopted after meeting the Dalai Lama at an audience at his home in McLeodganj, Dharamsala, India in 2000. The name Pantau (also written in Roman as Phentok) means "to be helpful" or "beneficial". Pantao (Chinese: 蟠桃; pinyin: pántáo) is also a Chinese name for a flat, small peach, reputed to be food for Taoist fairies.

Early life

Renard was raised and educated in the Netherlands. She is the daughter of Annie Garda Van Unen (born 1931), a former senior accountant of the Breda Candy Company FAAM, and Wilhelmus (Wim) Gerardus Renard (1931–2009), a businessman who founded the REACS Company in 1956. Renard is a descendant of the German composer/conductor Paul Albin Stenz who was awarded the Gold Medal of Orange-Nassau by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. One year prior to his death in 1918 he was naturalized as a Dutch citizen. Renard's grandfather, Johannes (Paul) Renard was a cityscape painter in Rotterdam. Renard speaks (in order of fluency) Dutch, English, German, French, Thai and Tibetan.