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Monarchy of the Netherlands

January 19, 2024

"Queen of the Netherlands" redirects here. For the ship, see Queen of the Netherlands (ship).

The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy whose role and position are governed by the Constitution of the Netherlands. Roughly a third of the Constitution explains the succession, mechanisms of accession and abdication to the throne, the roles and duties of the monarch, the formalities of communication between the States General of the Netherlands, and the monarch's role in creating laws.

King of the Netherlands
Koning der Nederlanden
Incumbent
Willem-Alexander
since 30 April 2013
Details
StyleHis Majesty
Heir apparentCatharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange
First monarchWilliam I
Formation16 March 1815; 208 years ago (1815-03-16)
Residence
Websitewww.royal-house.nl

The Kingdom of the Netherlands has been an independent monarchy since 16 March 1815. Its once-sovereign provinces had been intermittently ruled by members of the House of Orange-Nassau and the House of Nassau from 1559, when Philip II of Spain appointed William of Orange as stadtholder, until 1795, when the last stadtholder fled the country.

William of Orange became the leader of the Dutch Revolt and of the independent Dutch Republic. Some of his descendants were later appointed as stateholders by some of the provinces. In 1747, the function of stateholder became a hereditary position in all provinces of the thus "crowned" Dutch Republic. The last stadtholder was William V, Prince of Orange.

Willem-Alexander has been King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013.

Succession edit

The monarchy of the Netherlands passes by right of succession to the heirs of William I (see House of Orange-Nassau).[Cons 1] The heir is determined through two mechanisms: absolute cognatic primogeniture and proximity of blood. The Netherlands established absolute cognatic primogeniture instead of male-preference primogeniture by law in 1983.[clarification needed] Proximity of blood limits accession to the throne to a person who is related to the current monarch within three degrees of kinship. For example, the grandchildren of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands (sister of Princess Beatrix) have no succession rights because their kinship with Beatrix when she was queen, was of the fourth degree (that is, Princess Beatrix is their parent's parent's parents' daughter). Succession is limited to legitimate heirs, precluding a claim to the throne by children born out of wedlock.[Cons 2] If the king dies while his wife is pregnant: the unborn child is considered the heir at that point, unless stillborn – the child is then considered never to have existed. As such, if the preceding king dies while his wife is pregnant with their first child, the unborn child is immediately considered born and immediately becomes the new king or queen. If the pregnancy ends in stillbirth, his or her reign is expunged (otherwise the existence of the stillborn king/queen would add a degree of separation for other family members to the throne and might suddenly exclude the next person in line for the throne).[Cons 3]

If the monarch is a minor, a regent is appointed and serves until the monarch comes of age.[Cons 4][Cons 5] The regent is customarily the surviving parent of the monarch but the constitution stipulates that custody and parental authority of the minor monarch will be determined by law; any person might be appointed as regent, as legal guardian or both.[Cons 6]

There are also a number of special cases within the Constitution. First, if there is no heir when the monarch dies, the States-General may appoint a successor upon the suggestion of the government. This suggestion may be made before the death of the reigning monarch, even by the monarch himself (in case it is clear that the monarch will die without leaving an heir).[Cons 7] Second, some people are excluded from the line of succession. They are:

  • Any heir who marries without the permission of the States-General loses the right of succession.[Cons 8]
  • A person who is or has become truly undesirable or unfit as monarch can be removed from the line of succession by an act of the States-General, upon suggestion of the reigning monarch.[Cons 9] This clause has never been executed and is considered an "emergency exit". An example would be an heir apparent who commits treason or suffers an incapacitating accident.

Accession edit


As with most monarchies, the Netherlands cannot be without a monarch – the constitution of the Netherlands does not recognise a situation in which there is no monarch. This is because there must be a head of state in order for the government to function, as there must be someone who carries out the tasks of the constitutional role of the King/Queen. For this reason, the new monarch assumes the role the moment the previous monarch ceases to hold the throne. The only exception is if there is no heir at all, in which case the Council of State assumes the role of the monarch pending the appointment of a monarch or regent.[Cons 10]

The monarch is expected to execute his duties and responsibilities for the good of the nation. The monarch must therefore swear to uphold the constitution and execute the office faithfully. The monarch must be sworn in as soon as possible after assuming the throne during a joint session of the States-General held in Amsterdam. Article 32 of the Dutch constitution describes a swearing-in in "the capital Amsterdam", which incidentally is the only phrase in the constitution that names Amsterdam as the capital of the Kingdom.[Cons 11] The ceremony is called the inauguration (inhuldiging).

The Dutch monarch is not crowned, although the crown, orb, and sceptre are present at the ceremony-the monarch's swearing of the oath constitutes acceptance of the throne. Also, note that this ceremony does not equal accession to the throne as this would imply a vacancy of the throne between monarchs which is not allowed. The monarch ascends immediately after the previous monarch ceases to reign. The swearing-in only constitutes acceptance in public.

End of a reign edit

The monarch's reign can end in Death or Abdication.

Both of these events cause the regular mechanisms of succession to go into effect.[Cons 12] While the constitution mentions neither possibility explicitly, it does describe what happens after the monarch dies or abdicates. Abdication is a prerogative of the monarch, but it is also irreversible as the person abdicating cannot return to the throne, nor can a child born to a former monarch after an abdication has occurred have a claim to the throne.[Cons 12]

The abdicated monarch is legally a Prince or Princess of the Netherlands as well as a Prince or Princess of Orange-Nassau. After their death, legally the deceased monarch (abdicated or not) has no titles. However, after death, the abdicated monarch is traditionally referred to as king or queen again. For example, Queen Juliana became queen on 4 September 1948 and princess again on 30 April 1980 following her abdication, but has been referred to as Queen Juliana since her death on 20 March 2004.

Temporary loss of royal authority edit

There are two ways in which the monarch, without ceasing to be monarch, can be stripped of his or her royal authority:

Voluntary suspension of royal authority
The monarch temporarily ceases execution of his or her office.
Removal from royal authority
The government strips the monarch of his or her royal authority, as he or she is deemed unfit for their tasks.

These cases are both temporary (even if the monarch dies while not executing his office it still counts as temporary) and are described in detail in the constitution. A monarch can temporarily cease to reign for any reason. This can be at his own request or because the Council of Ministers deems the monarch unfit for office.[Cons 13][Cons 14] Although there can be any reason for the monarch to cede royal authority or be removed from it, both monarch and council are deemed to act responsibly and not leave the execution of the office vacant unnecessarily. Both cases are intended to deal with emergency situations such as physical or mental inability to execute the office of the monarch.

In both cases, an act of the joint States-General is needed to strip the monarch of authority. In the case of the monarch ceding royal authority, the required act is a law. In case of removal, it is a declaration by the States-General. Formally, both require the normal procedure for passing a new law in the Netherlands.[Cons 13][Cons 14] The former case is signed into law by the monarch himself, the latter is not, so technically it is not a law (this is allowed explicitly in the Constitution since the monarch who is being stripped of his authority will probably not agree to sign the act of his removal, and—in the case of the States-General removing a monarch who has become unfit due to mental or physical incapacitation—may not be able to).

Since neither ceding nor removal is permanent, neither triggers succession. Instead, the States-General appoint a regent. This must be the heir apparent if he or she is old enough.[Cons 5] In order for the monarch to resume his duties, a law (which is signed by the regent) must be passed to that effect. The monarch resumes the throne the moment the law of his return is made public.[Cons 13][Cons 14]

The monarch and the government edit

Although the monarch has roles and duties in all parts of the government and in several important places in the rest of society, the primary role of the monarch is within the executive branch of the Dutch government: the monarch is part of the government of the Netherlands.

The role of the monarch within the government of the Netherlands is described in Article 42 of the constitution:[Cons 15]

This article is the basis of the full power and influence of the monarch and makes him beyond reproach before the law, but also limits his practical power, as he can take no responsibility for it.

The first paragraph of Article 42 determines that the government of the Netherlands consists of the monarch and his ministers. The monarch is according to this article not the head of government; the ministers are not answerable to the monarch within the government.[Cons 16][Cons 17] There is no distinction, no dichotomy, no segregation or separation: the monarch and his ministers are the government and the government is one.[ext 1]

This fact has practical consequences, in that it is not possible for the monarch and the ministers to be in disagreement. The government speaks with one voice and makes decisions as a united body. When the monarch acts in an executive capacity, he does so as a representative of the united government. And when the government decides, the monarch is in agreement (even if the monarch personally disagrees). As an ultimate consequence of this, it is not possible for the monarch to refuse to sign into law a proposal of law that has been agreed to and signed by the responsible minister. Such a disagreement between the monarch and his minister is a situation not covered by the constitution and is automatically a constitutional crisis.[ext 1]

The second paragraph of the article, though, is what really renders the monarch powerless. This paragraph states that the monarch is inviolate. He is beyond any reproach, beyond the grasp of any prosecution (criminal or otherwise) for any acts committed or actions taken as monarch. If anything goes wrong, the minister responsible for the topic at hand is responsible for the failings of the monarch. This sounds like it makes the monarch an absolute tyrant, but in fact, the opposite is true: since the ministers are responsible, they also have the authority to make the decisions. The ministers set the course of the government and the country, and the ministers make executive decisions and run the affairs of the state. And since the government is one, the monarch abides by the decision of the ministers. In fact, the monarchs of the Netherlands rarely make any executive decisions at all and practically never speak in public on any subject other than to read a statement prepared by the Prime Minister (since an unfortunate off-the-cuff remark could get a minister into trouble). The practical consequence of this limit on the power of the monarch is that the monarch never makes a decision on his own. Every decision, every decree must be countersigned by the responsible minister(s).[ext 1]

The monarch and the law of the land edit

Technically, the monarch has a lot of practical power. For instance, no proposal of law actually becomes law until signed by the monarch – and there is no legal requirement for the monarch to sign.[Cons 18] In practice, the monarch will always give assent since most proposals of law are made by the government "by or on behalf of the King".[Cons 19] And while proposals of law must be approved by the States-General, a lot of the practical running of the country is done by royal decree (in Dutch: Koninklijk Besluit). These royal decrees are used for all sorts of things, ranging from appointments of civil servants and military officers to clarifications of how public policy is to be executed to filling in the details of certain laws. Royal decrees create ministries,[Cons 20] dissolve the houses of the States-General,[Cons 21] and appoint & fire ministers.[Cons 22]

However, royal decrees are made by the responsible minister. And while the monarch must sign laws and royal decrees before they come into effect, the constitution determines that the responsible ministers and state secretaries must countersign.[Cons 23] That, given the fact that the ministers have the authority, really means that they decide and it is the monarch who countersigns (the minister asks the monarch for permission, that is, royal authority, and as an upholder of the Constitution, the monarch signs first; the minister is politically responsible for the Act and countersigns. This is an Act of the Crown: monarch and minister together). Even that is a formality. Also, while the monarch may technically propose laws ("by or on behalf of the King"), ministerial responsibility means that he never does. And even though the government may refuse to sign a States-General approved proposal into law, this is practically unheard of and the monarch refusing to sign on his own is even rarer (and would cause a constitutional crisis).[ext 2]

There is one special case in which the monarch has, if possible, even less power than normal: the appointment of his ministers. Ministers are appointed by royal decree, which has to be countersigned by the responsible minister. The royal decree to appoint a minister, however, is countersigned by two responsible ministers rather than one: the outgoing minister responsible for the ministry and the Prime Minister.[Cons 24]

Formation of the government edit

Though the powers of the monarch of the Netherlands are limited, he or she does not have a ceremonial role. The monarch has a role relating to the formation of a new government after parliamentary elections.[citation needed] This power is not directed in the constitution.[ext 1]

After the parliamentary election, there follows a period of time in which the leaders of the political parties in parliament seek to form a coalition of parties that can command a majority of the newly elected parliament. The current nationwide party-list system, combined with a low threshold for getting a seat (two-thirds of one percent of the vote), makes it all but impossible for one party to win an outright majority. Thus, the bargaining required to put together a governing coalition is as important as the election itself.

This process of negotiations, which can last anywhere from two to four months (more on occasion), is coordinated in the initial stages by one or more informateurs, whose duty it is to investigate and report upon viable coalitions. After a likely combination is found, a formateur is appointed to conduct the formal coalition negotiations and form a new Council of Ministers (of which the formateur himself usually becomes the Prime Minister). If the negotiations fail, the cycle starts over. The informateurs and formateur in question are all appointed to this task by the monarch. The monarch makes his own decision in this, based on advice from the leaders of the different parties in parliament, as well as other important figures (the speakers of the new parliament and the senate are among them).[ext 1]

There is usually some popular discussion in the Netherlands around the time of these negotiations about whether the authority of the monarch in this matter should not be limited and whether or not the newly elected parliament should not make the appointments that the monarch makes. These discussions usually turn (to varying degrees) on the argument that a decision by a monarch is undemocratic and there is no parliamentary oversight over the decision and the monarch might make use of this to push for a government of his or her liking.

On the other hand, it is somewhat questionable that the monarch really has much opportunity here to exert any influence. The informateur is there to investigate possible coalitions and report on them. He could technically seek "favourable" coalitions, but the political parties involved are usually quite clear on what they want and do not want and the first choice for coalition almost always is the coalition of preference of the largest party in the new parliament. Besides, the monarchs and (particularly) the queens have traditionally known better than to appoint controversial informateurs, usually settling for well-established yet fairly neutral people in the political arena (the deputy chairman of the Dutch Council of State is a common choice). Once a potential coalition has been identified the monarch technically has free rein in selecting a formateur. However, the formateur almost always becomes the next Prime Minister, and in any case, it is a strong convention that a government must command the support of a majority of the House of Representatives in order to stay in office. These considerations mean that the selected formateur is always the party leader of the largest party in the potential coalition.[ext 1]

However, in March 2012 the States-General altered its own procedures, such that any subsequent government formation is done without the monarch's influence.[ext 3] No more than a month later, the government coalition collapsed,[ext 4] triggering early elections in September 2012. As no formal procedures had been outlined as to how a government formation without monarch should take place, it was initially feared the subsequent government formation would be chaotic.[ext 3] However, a new government coalition was formed within 54 days – surprisingly early for Dutch standards.[ext 5] Instead of the monarch, the Speaker of the House of Representatives appointed the informateur – whose function was renamed to 'scout'.[ext 6] After the negotiations, the installation ceremony of ministers – the only duty still left to the monarch – was held in public for the first time in history.[ext 7]

The monarch and the States-General edit

 
The Dutch Court is still known for their old traditions.
 
The throne of the Ridderzaal, from which the Dutch monarch delivers the Throne Speech on Prinsjesdag.

The one branch of government over which the monarch has no control is the legislative branch, formed by the States-General of the Netherlands. This parliamentary body consists of two chambers, the House of Representatives (also commonly referred to as Parliament) and the Senate.[Cons 25]

As in most parliamentary democracies, the States-General are dually responsible for overseeing the government in its executive duties as well as approving proposals of law before they can become as such. In this respect, it is vital for the government to maintain good relations with the States-General and technically the monarch shares in that effort (although the monarch never officially speaks to members of the States-General on policy matters due to ministerial responsibility).[citation needed]

Constitutionally, the monarch deals with the States-General in three areas: lawmaking, policy outlining at the opening of the parliamentary year and dissolution.

Of the three, policy outlining is the most straightforward. The parliamentary year is opened on the third Tuesday of September with a joint session of both houses.[Cons 26] At this occasion the monarch addresses the joint states in a speech in which he sets forth the outlines for his government's policies for the coming year (the speech itself is prepared by the ministers, their ministries and finally crafted and approved by the prime minister). This event is mandated by the constitution in Article 65. Tradition has made more of this occasion than a policy speech though, and the event known as Prinsjesdag has become a large affair with much pomp and circumstance, in which the States-General and other major bodies of government assemble in the Ridderzaal to hear the King deliver the speech from the throne after having arrived from the Noordeinde Palace in his golden carriage. Both in constitutional aspects and in ceremony the event has much in common with both the British State Opening of Parliament and the American State of the Union.

Lawmaking is the area in which the monarch has the most frequent involvement with the States-General (although he still has very little to do with it in practice). Laws in the Netherlands are primarily proposed by the government "by or on behalf of" the monarch (this phrase is repeated often in the constitution).[Cons 18] Technically, this means that the monarch may propose laws in person, hearkening back to the days of the first monarchs of the Netherlands when monarchs really could and did control this. However, this possibility is at odds with ministerial responsibility and modern monarchs have always avoided the issue by never proposing laws personally. The monarch must still sign proposals into law though, as historical deference to the fact that the law of the land is decreed by the monarch.

While the king has no practical involvement anymore in lawmaking other than a signature at the end, one might get a different impression from reading the communications between the government and the States-General regarding such affairs. All communication from the States-General to the government is addressed to the monarch and correspondence in the opposite direction formally from the monarch (it is also signed by the monarch, without a ministerial countersignature – such communication is not a decision or decree, so does not require a countersignature). The formal language still shows deference to the position of the monarch, with a refusal of the States-General to approve a proposal of law for example becoming "a request to the King to reconsider the proposal". The constitution prescribes a number of the forms used:[Cons 27]

  • If the government accepts a proposal of law and signs it into law, the language is that "The King accedes to the proposal".
  • If the government refuses a proposal of law, the language is that "The King shall keep the proposal under advisement".

A law, once passed, is formulated in such a way as to be decreed by the monarch.

The final involvement of the monarch with the States is dissolution. Constitutionally, the government is empowered to dissolve either house of the states by royal decree. This means that a minister (usually the prime minister) makes the decision and the monarch countersigns. The signing of such a royal decree constitutionally implies new elections for the house in question and the formation of a new house within three months of dissolution.[Cons 21]

The constitution prescribes a number of cases in which one or more houses of the States are dissolved (particularly for changes to the constitution); this is always done by royal decree. In addition, traditionally a collapse of the government is followed by dissolution of the House of Representatives and general elections. Before World War II, before it became common to form new governments with each new parliament, it would happen from time to time that a Council of Ministers found itself suddenly facing a new and unfriendly parliament. When the inevitable clash came, it was an established political trick for the Prime Minister to attempt to resolve the problem by dissolving the parliament in name of the monarch in the hope that new elections brought a more favourable parliament (but it was also possible for the trick to backfire, in which case the new, equally hostile and far more angry parliament would suspend the budget to force the resignation of the government).

Even though the monarch never speaks with members of the States-General formally, it was tradition until 1999 that the queen would invite the members of parliament a few times a year for informal talks about the general state of affairs in the country. These conversations were held in the strictest confidence due to ministerial responsibility. The tradition was suspended in 1999 though, after repeated incidents in which MPs divulged the contents of the conversations, despite agreeing not to (and embarrassing the Prime Minister in doing so). In 2009, an attempt was made to resume the tradition, this failed however when Arend Jan Boekestijn disclosed to the press contents of a private conversation he had with the Queen. Boekestinjin resigned shortly after being exposed as the source. [ext 8]

Other functions of the monarch edit

The monarch has several functions in addition to the duties and responsibilities described in previous sections. Some of these are (partly) constitutional; others are more traditional in nature.

The monarch is the head of state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. As such, the monarch is the face of the kingdom toward the world: ambassadors of the Netherlands are emissaries of the monarch, foreign ambassadors represent foreign heads of state to the monarch. It is the monarch that makes official state visits to foreign heads of state as representative of the Netherlands. He or She represents the monarch whose face is shown on Dutch stamps and Dutch euro coins.

Constitutionally, the monarch is the head of the Dutch Council of State.[Cons 28] The council is a constitutional body of the Netherlands that serves two purposes. First, it is an advisory council to the government which advises on the desirability, practicability and constitutionality of new proposals of law.

Second, it is the Supreme court for the Netherlands in matters of administrative law.[Cons 29] The position of the monarch as constitutional head of this Council means two things for the constitutional position of the monarch:[ext 9]

  1. The monarch is constitutionally and directly involved with practically all aspects of lawmaking except approval by the States-General (which is representative of the electorate). From inception of the law through proposal to the States to finally signing into law, the monarch is involved. This involvement is derived from the days when the monarch was an absolute ruler and really made law. Originally, with the creation of the first constitutions, the monarchs strove to maintain power by maximum involvement with all aspects of lawmaking. Over time this has grown into a more advisory role.
  2. The monarch is constitutionally involved with at least part of the judicial branch of government as well.

The role played by the monarch in the council is largely theoretical due to ministerial responsibility. While the monarch is officially chairman of the council, in practice the king never votes in Council meetings and always turns over his responsibility as chair of the meetings to the deputy head of the council. He is still presumed to be part of the discussions, though.[citation needed]

Despite the limitations on the role the monarch may play in the council, his involvement is seen as valuable due to the experience and knowledge that a monarch accrues over the years. Reciprocally, being part of the Council deliberations is considered invaluable training and preparation for the role of monarch, which is why the heir-apparent is constitutionally an observer-member of the council from the time he comes of age.[Cons 28]

The monarch is also the Grand Master of the Dutch orders of knighthoods: the Order of Orange-Nassau,[Law 1] the Order of the Netherlands Lion[Law 2] and the Military William Order.[Law 3]

Lastly, the monarch plays a prominent but equally unofficial role in the running of the country as an adviser and confidant to the government. This duty traditionally takes the form of a weekly meeting between the Prime Minister and the monarch in which they discuss government affairs of the week, the plans of the cabinet, and so on. It is assumed that the monarch exerts most of his influence (such as it is) in these meetings, in that he can bring his knowledge and experience to bear on what he tells the Prime Minister. In the case of Queen Beatrix, several former Prime Ministers have remarked that her case knowledge of each and every dossier is extensive and that she makes sure to be fully aware of all the details surrounding everything that arrives on her desk.[citation needed]

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly for a monarchy, the monarch is not the commander-in-chief of the military of the Netherlands (not even nominally). He was until 1983, but a large overhaul of the constitution that year shifted supreme command of the armed forces to the government as a whole.[Cons 30] In contrast to most monarchies, this required Willem-Alexander to resign from his (brigadier general level) ranks in all military branches when he ascended the throne. At that occasion the special Royal distinctive was created that the king could wear on his uniforms to show his lasting relation with the armed forces. This is however no formal rank.

Remuneration and privileges edit

Stipend edit

Article 40 of the constitution states that the monarch is to receive an annual stipend from the kingdom (in other words wages, except that it cannot be called that since it implies the monarch is employed by the government, but rather it is the opposite). The exact rules surrounding these stipends are to be determined by law, as is the list of members of the royal house who also receive them.[Cons 31]

Under current Dutch law the monarch receives their annual stipend which is part of the annual budget, as do the heir-apparent (if of age), the spouse of the monarch, the spouse of the heir-apparent, the former monarch, and the spouse of the former monarch.[Law 4] In practice, as of June 2019, this means King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, and Princess Beatrix. The monarch receives this stipend constitutionally, the others because they are not allowed to work for anybody due to their positions. For example, the recipients of royal stipends in 2009 were Queen Beatrix (€813,000), Prince Willem-Alexander (the heir-apparent; €241,000) and Princess Máxima (€241,000)).[Law 5] For 2017 the stipends were; for the King €888,000, for the Queen €352,000, and for Princess Beatrix €502,000. These personal stipends are in addition to an allowance for each of those named to meet official expenditure, these were set at €4.6 million for the King, €606,000 for the Queen and just over €1 million for Princess Beatrix.[1]

This stipend is linked to the development of the wages of Dutch civil servants. At the beginning of 2009 there was some upset in the parliament about the cost of the royal house and the lack of insight into the structure of those costs. At the insistence of the parliament the development of the stipends of the royal house members was then linked to the development of the salaries of the Dutch civil servants. During 2009 it was agreed collectively that the civil servants would receive a pay increase of 1%. In September 2009, at the first budget debate in parliament during the economic crisis, it was pointed out to the parliament that their earlier decision meant that the stipend to the queen would now also increase. This in turn was reason for the parliament to be displeased again.

Royal privileges edit

 
Royal Standard

Under the constitution, royal house members receiving a stipend are exempt from income tax over that stipend.[Cons 31] They are also exempt from all personal taxes over assets and possessions that they use or need in the execution of their functions for the kingdom.[Cons 31] The monarch and the heir-apparent are exempt from inheritance tax on inheritances received from members of the royal house.[Cons 31]

The monarch has the use of Huis ten Bosch as a residence and Noordeinde Palace as a work palace. In addition the Royal Palace of Amsterdam is also at the disposal of the monarch (although it is only used for state visits and is open to the public when not in use for that purpose), as is Soestdijk Palace (which is open to the public and not in official use at all at this time).[Law 6]

The monarch has the use of an airplane and a train for state visits (although the airplane is not exclusively reserved for the monarch anymore and the train spends most of its time on display at the Dutch Railway Museum).[ext 10] The monarch also has a small fleet of cars available, on which he may display the royal standard.

Historically the Dutch monarch was protected by law against lèse-majesty. The Netherlands was amongst the last remaining monarchies in Europe to actively prosecute citizens for publicly insulting the reigning sovereign or members of their immediate family,[2][3][4] although the sentences tend to be light. According to Dutch TV, in total 18 prosecutions were brought under the law between 2000 and 2012, half of which resulted in convictions.[5] Lèse-majesty in the Netherlands was formally abolished as of 1 January 2020. However, insulting the Monarch, the Royal Consort, the heir apparent or their consort, or the Regent, is still punishable on the same level as denigrating public officials acting in their official capacity, punishable by up to three months in prison and/or a fine.[6]

Positions of other members of the royal house and royal family edit

The royal family has become quite extensive since the birth of Queen Juliana's children. By consequence so has the Dutch royal house (nominally the collection of persons in line for the throne and their spouses), to the extent that membership of the royal house was limited by a change in the law in 2002.[Law 7]

Despite being a large clan, the family as a whole has very little to do officially with Dutch government or the running of the Netherlands. Constitutionally, an important role is played by the monarch. The heir-apparent is deemed to be preparing for an eventual ascent to the throne, so there are some limited tasks and a number of limits on them (particularly he/she cannot hold a paying job, since this might lead to entanglements later on). Since neither the monarch nor the heir-apparent may hold jobs, they receive a stipend from the government. Their spouses are similarly forbidden from earning an income and receive a stipend as well. But constitutionally that is the whole of the involvement of the royal family with the Dutch government.

In particular, members of the royal house other than the monarch and the heir-apparent have no official tasks within the Dutch government and do not receive stipends. They are responsible for their own conduct and their own income. They may be asked to stand in from time to time such as to accompany the monarch on a state visit if the consort is ill, but this is always a personal favor and not an official duty. In addition, they are not exempt from taxation.

Many members of the royal family hold (or have held) significant positions within civil society, usually functioning as head or spokesperson of one or more charitable organizations, patron of the arts and similar endeavors. Some members of the royal family are also (or have been) avid supporters of some personal cause; Prince Bernhard for instance was always passionate about the treatment of World War II veterans and Princess Margriet (who was born in Canada) has a special relationship with Canadian veterans specifically. As a rule of thumb, the members of the royal family who are contemporaries of Princess Beatrix tend to hold civil society positions as a primary occupation whereas younger family members hold these positions in conjunction with a regular, paying job. A notable exception to this rule is Pieter van Vollenhoven (husband to Princess Margriet), who was chairman of the Dutch Safety Board until his retirement.

As noted earlier, the spouses of the monarch and the heir-apparent are forbidden from holding paying jobs or government responsibilities. This is to prevent any monetary entanglements or undue influences involving the current and future monarchs. These legal limits were not a great problem when they were instituted in the 19th century; The Netherlands had kings and it was considered normal for a married woman to tend the household, raise the family and not to hold any position outside the home. The limits have been more problematic since the early 20th century, when the monarchy of the Netherlands passed to a series of queens and the consorts became men, starting with Prince Hendrik in 1901. The male consorts since then have all either been raised with an expectation of government responsibility (such as Prince Hendrik), or had established careers of their own before marrying the future queen (Prince Bernhard and Prince Claus). Upon marrying into the Dutch royal family they all found themselves severely restricted in their freedom to act and make use of their abilities. All of the male consorts have been involved in some form of difficulty or another (scandals involving infidelity and finances in the cases of Hendrik and Bernhard, deep depression in the case of Claus) and it has been widely speculated (and even generally accepted) that sheer boredom played at least a part in all of these difficulties.

Over time the restrictions on royal consorts have eased somewhat. Prince Hendrik was allowed no part or role in the Netherlands whatsoever. Due to his war efforts, Prince Bernhard was made Inspector General of the Dutch armed forces (although that role was created for him) and was an unofficial ambassador for the Netherlands who leveraged his wartime contacts to help Dutch industry. All that came to a halt in 1976, however, after the Lockheed bribery scandals. Prince Claus was allowed more leeway still after having established himself in Dutch society (he was unpopular at first, being a German marrying into the royal family after World War II); he was eventually given an advisorship within the Ministry for Development Cooperation pertaining to Africa, where he made good use of his experiences as a German diplomat in that continent. Nevertheless, neither Bernhard nor Claus ever fully got over the restrictive nature of their marriages and at the time of the royal wedding in 2002 it was broadly agreed in government circles that Queen Máxima (who had a career in banking before marrying King Willem-Alexander) should be allowed far more leeway if she desires.

Deceased members of the Dutch royal family since William I edit

Death and burial edit

Although Dutch lawmakers have historically favored being very conservative about creating a special legal position for members of the royal house or the royal family, there is one area in which the rules for members of the royal house are very different from those for other Dutch citizens: the area of death and burial.

For Dutch citizens, the rules surrounding death and burial are laid out by the Funeral Services Law (Dutch: Wet op de Lijkbezorging). However, article 87 of this law states the rule doesn't apply to the royal family. The Minister of Internal Affairs can also waive the law for other relatives of the monarch. The reason for this is that the exceptional position of members of the royal house is traditional.

Ever since the burial of William the Silent in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, members of the Orange-Nassau family have favored burial in the same crypt as William. Some members of the family buried elsewhere were even moved there later. However, for health and hygiene reasons, burial in churches was forbidden in the Netherlands by decree of William I in 1829. To allow members of the royal family to be entombed, all Dutch laws on burial have made an exception for the royal house ever since the 1829 decree. The practice was banned before under French occupation but returned after 1815.

The burial of the royal house members is a matter of tradition, circumstance, practicality, and spirit of the times. This is due to the lack of any formal rules whatsoever. The body of a departed member of the royal house is typically placed on display for a few days in one of the palaces to allow the family to say goodbye. Depending on the deceased family member's identity (a monarch, for instance), there may also be a viewing for the public. Then, on the burial day, the body is transported to Delft in a special horse-drawn carriage. The current protocol specifies eight horses for a deceased monarch and six for a dead royal consort, which is relatively new since Prince Hendrik was borne to Delft by eight horses. The current carriage is purple with white trim. This also changed since the burial of Queen Wilhelmina in 1962, when the carriage was white. Currently, members of the Dutch armed forces line the route to Delft, which is also new since the burial of Prince Hendrik, which was a quiet affair.

Once in Delft, the body is placed in the family crypt after a short service. Only members of the family are allowed in the crypt through the main entrance in the church, which only opens for royal funerals (the mayor of Delft has a key to a separate service entrance, which is only allowed to open in the presence of two military police officers and two members of the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service for maintenance).

The monarchy in Dutch society edit

Importance and position within Dutch society edit

The importance and position of the monarchy within Dutch society has changed over time, together with changes in the constitutional position of the monarchy.

The monarchy of the Netherlands was established in 1815 as a reaction to the decline and eventual fall of the Dutch Republic. It was observed at the time that a large part of the decline of the republic was due to a lack of a strong, central government in the face of strong, centrally led competitor nations such as Great Britain and the French kingdom. After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1813 and the resurrection of the Netherlands, it was decided to reform the republic in the Kingdom of the Netherlands with a monarchy rather than the old stadtholder system.

The original monarchy was absolute in nature, with the States-General serving as more of an advisory board without the power to do much against the king. This state of affairs allowed the king great freedom to determine the course of the nation and indeed William I was able to push through many changes that set the nation on the course towards industrialization and wealth. He also established the first Dutch railway system and the Nederlandsche Handel Maatschappij, which would later evolve into the ABN Amro bank. On the other hand, his policies caused great discord with the Southern Netherlands, leading to the Belgian Revolution and a years-long war. A backlash against these policies plus rising fear of early Marxism led to acceptance by William II of a series of reforms, starting with a new constitution in 1848 (which was the start of a continuing series of limitations on royal power).

Direct political power and influence of the king continued until 1890, although it slowly declined in the meantime. Both William I and William II proved quite conservative rulers (although William II was less inclined to interfere with policy than his father was), William I resisted major reforms until eventually conflict with the States-General and his own government forced his abdication. William III's reign was a continuous saga of power struggles between the monarch and the parliamentary government (which he forced out a couple of times), plus major international crises due to the same stubbornness (including the Luxembourg Crisis). As a result, the Dutch government used the succession of William III by a female regent as an opportunity to make a power play and establish government authority over royal authority.

Queen Wilhelmina was not happy with the new situation and made several half-hearted attempts during her reign to reassert authority. She was partly successful in certain areas (being able to push for military rearmament before World War I) but she never succeeded in restoring royal power. She did introduce a new concept to Dutch royalty though: the popular monarch. Establishing her popularity in military circles through her support of Dutch military prior to 1917, she was able to wield her personal popularity to uphold the government against a socialist revolution in November 1918.

Royal power continued to decline until the start of World War II. Forced to flee to London, Queen Wilhelmina established the position of "mother of the Dutch state" through her radio broadcasts into the occupied Netherlands and her support for other Dutchmen evading the Germans and fighting from England. She tried to position her family into more influence by giving Prince Bernhard an important position in the military, but was still relegated to a position of constitutional monarch after the war.

Following Wilhelmina's abdication in 1948, the Orange family seems to have settled for a position of unofficial influence behind the scenes coupled with a role as "popular monarchs" in public. As such the monarchs are practically never seen in public doing their official work (except news footage of state visits and the reading of the government plans on Prinsjesdag) and instead their relationship with the public has become more of a popular and romanticized notion of royalty. Queens Juliana and Beatrix were popularly perceived to have a figurehead role, serving to some extent as "mother of the nation" in times of crises and disasters (such as the 1953 floods). In addition, there is a public holiday called Koningsdag (King's Day, which was Koninginnedag, Queen's Day, before 2014), during which the royal family pays a visit somewhere in the country and participates in local activities and traditions in order to get closer to the people.

Popularity of the monarchy edit

The popularity of the monarchy has changed over time, with constitutional influence, circumstance and economic tides.

When the monarchy was established in 1815, popularity was not a major concern. Still, the Orange family held popular support in around 60% percent of the population following the fall of the French. This changed drastically over the following years as William I's policies alienated the Southern Netherlands, drew the country into civil war and established industries that favored the rich Protestants and not the general populace.

Royal popularity remained relatively low throughout the reign of the kings. William II was conservative, but on the whole did as little to lose popularity as he did to gain it. Economic decline drove most of his popular decline, although popular support for the monarch was still not considered of much import then. William III was unpopular under a wide section of the public.

Royal popularity started to increase with Wilhelmina's ascent to the throne. She pushed for national reforms, was a huge supporter of the armed forces and strove for renewed industrialization. Around 1917 the country was generally divided into two camps: socialists in the cities, royalists elsewhere. This showed in the dividing lines during the failed Troelstra revolution, where Troelstra gained popular support in the larger cities but the countryside flocked to the queen. Wilhelmina was able to muster popular support with a countryside "publicity tour" together with her daughter – this showing of popular support for the queen was instrumental in halting the revolution and stabilizing the government. Still, Wilhelmina remained deeply unpopular in the cities throughout the 1920s and 1930s.

Nationwide support came for Wilhelmina and the monarchy during World War II. Wilhelmina was forced to retreat to London, but refused evacuation all the way to Canada (although princess Juliana was sent there with her children). Wilhelmina regularly held radio broadcasts into the occupied Netherlands and staunchly supported the Dutch troops in exile. She became the symbol for Dutch resistance against the Germans.

History edit

For rulers of the Netherlands before 1795, see Stadtholder and List of rulers of the Netherlands.

Before the Batavian Revolution of 1795, the semi-independent provinces of the Netherlands had chief-executives called stadtholders, who were all drawn from the House of Orange or the House of Nassau by primogeniture. After 1747 the office became formally hereditary in all seven provinces in the House of Orange-Nassau.

The House of Orange-Nassau came from Dietz, Germany, seat of one of the Nassau counties. Their title 'Prince of Orange' was acquired through inheritance of the Principality of Orange in southern France, in 1544. William of Orange (also known as William the Silent) was the first Orange stadtholder (ironically, appointed by Philip II of Spain). From 1568 to his death in 1584, he led the Dutch struggle for independence from Spain. His younger brother, John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, Stadtholder of Utrecht, was the direct male line ancestor of the later Stadtholders of Friesland and Groningen, the later hereditary stadtholders and the first King of the Netherlands.

The Netherlands remained, formally, a confederated republic, even when in 1747 the office of stadtholder was centralized (one stadtholder for all provinces) and became formally hereditary under the House of Orange-Nassau.

The present monarchy was founded in 1813, when the French were driven out. The new regime was headed by Prince William Frederick of Orange, the son of the last stadtholder. He originally reigned over only the territory of the old republic as "sovereign prince". In 1815, after Napoleon escaped from Elba, William Frederick raised the Netherlands to the status of a kingdom and proclaimed himself King William I. As part of the rearrangement of Europe at the Congress of Vienna, the House of Orange-Nassau was confirmed as rulers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, enlarged with what are now Belgium and Luxembourg. At the same time, William became hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg in exchange for ceding his family's hereditary lands in Germany to Nassau-Weilburg and Prussia. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was a part of the Netherlands (until 1839) while at the same time a member state of the German Confederation. It became fully independent in 1839, but remained in a personal union with the Kingdom of the Netherlands until 1890.[7][8][9][10]

Abdication of the throne has become a de facto tradition in the Dutch monarchy. Queen Wilhelmina and Queen Juliana both abdicated in favor of their daughters and William I abdicated in favor of his eldest son, William II. The only Dutch monarchs to die on the throne were William II and William III.

On 30 April 2013 Queen Beatrix, abdicated in favor of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander.

List of hereditary heads of state edit

Main article: List of monarchs of the Netherlands

Religious affiliation edit

The Dutch Royal Family historically have been members of the Dutch Reformed Church. It became the Protestant Church in the Netherlands after its 2004 merger, but some members of the royal family are Roman Catholic. There is no law in the Netherlands stipulating what religion the monarch should be, although the constitution stipulated up to 1983 that marriage to a Catholic meant loss of rights to the throne (the constitutional overhaul of 1983 changed this to a requirement that potential heirs must seek parliamentary approval before marriage in order to retain rights of succession).

Royal finances edit

The royal palaces are the property of the Dutch state and given for the use of the reigning monarch;[11] While the House of Orange-Nassau possesses a large number of personal belongings, items such as paintings, historical artifacts and jewelry are usually associated with the performance of royal duties and/or the decoration of royal residences. As such, these items have a cultural significance beyond that of simple artworks and jewelry, and have therefore been placed in the hands of trusts: the House of Orange-Nassau Archives Trust and the House of Orange-Nassau Historic Collections Trust. Part of the collection is on permanent loan to Het Loo Palace Museum in Apeldoorn and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Queen Juliana sold the remaining royal palaces and put the cultural assets (paintings, antiques, books, etc.) into non-personal trusts.

The crown jewels, comprising the crown, orb and sceptre, Sword of State, royal banner, and ermine mantle have been placed in the Crown Property Trust. The trust also holds the items used on ceremonial occasions, such as the carriages, table silver, and dinner services. Placing these goods in the hands of a trust ensures that they will remain at the disposal of the monarch in perpetuity.[12] The Royal Archives house the personal archives of the royal family.[13] This includes books, photographs, and artworks, as well as the books of the House of Orange-Nassau and the music library. The library was begun in 1813, following the return of the Orange-Nassaus to the Netherlands. King William I allowed the Stadtholder's library to remain part of the Royal Library in The Hague. The library houses a collection of some 70,000 books, journals and brochures. The music library has 6,000 scores, going back to the mid 18th century.

The Royal House Finances Act (1972)[14] as amended in 2008 sets allowances for the King (or Queen Regnant), the Heir to the Throne, and the former sovereign who has abdicated. Provision is also made for their spouses (and in the case of death, for the surviving spouse). The allowances have two components: income (A-component) and personnel and materials (B-component). Annual increases or decreases are provided for: the A component is linked to changes in the annual salary of the Vice-President of the Council of State; the B-component is linked to changes in civil service pay and the cost of living.

In 2009, the government decided that the annual state budget of the Netherlands should show in a transparent way all the costs of the royal house, some of which had previously been borne by various Government Ministries.[15] Three sets of costs are now separately allocated in the annual budget for the royal house (Budget I of the annual State Budget). These are:

  • Allowances paid under the Royal House Finances Act. They comprise the income and personnel and materials components mentioned above.
  • Expenses incurred in the performance of official duties. They include costs which had previously been borne by the budgets of three Government Ministries (Interior, Transport and Water Management, Health and Welfare) and which are now attributed to the Royal budget in the interest of transparency. They also include the costs relating to royal flights and the royal yacht, Groene Draeck.
  • Other expenses relating to the management of the royal house. They relate to expenses for the Government Information Service (AZ/RVD) in connection with the royal house, the cost of the Royal Military Household, the Queen's Cabinet and the travel and other costs incurred by royal visits to overseas provinces and countries within the Dutch Kingdom (former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba).

Costs relating to the security of members of the royal house, state visits, and the maintenance and upkeep of the royal palaces (which are considered to be national monuments) continue to be funded by the budgets of the appropriate Government Ministries and are not included in the budget for the royal house.[16]

According to the State Budget for 2010, the budgetary allocation for the royal house in 2010 is €39.643 million.[17] There are the following categories of expenditure:

  • Allowances paid to the King, Queen Máxima, and the Princess under the Royal House Finances Act. They total some €7.102 million in 2010.
  • Expenses incurred in the performance of official duties. They total some €26.818 million in 2010.
  • Other expenses relating to the management of the royal house. They total some €5.723 million in 2010.

Monarchs of the Netherlands edit

Main article: List of monarchs of the Netherlands
Willem-Alexander of the NetherlandsBeatrix of the NetherlandsJuliana of the NetherlandsWilhelmina of the NetherlandsWilliam III of the NetherlandsWilliam II of the NetherlandsWilliam I of the Netherlands

Wilhelmina (1890–1948) edit

Main article: Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

When Wilhelmina came to the Dutch throne in 1890 at age 10, the throne of Luxembourg went to her very distant agnate (but incidentally also her maternal granduncle), Adolf, former Duke of Nassau. Thus ended the personal union between the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

The 58-year reign of Queen Wilhelmina was dominated by the two World Wars. She married a German prince, Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who was not happy with his unrewarding role of husband-to-the-queen. Wilhelmina's strong personality and unrelenting passion to fulfill her inherited task overpowered many men in position of authority, including ministers, Prime Ministers and her own husband. She is mostly remembered for her role during World War II. The initial disappointment of many Dutch people because of her quick withdrawal to London faded (though it was never forgotten and by some was never forgiven) when she proved to be of great moral support to the people and the resistance in her occupied country, Netherlands. Hendrik and Wilhelmina had one daughter, Juliana, who came to the throne in 1948. They lived in The Hague and in Palace 't Loo (Paleis 't Loo) in Apeldoorn. She died in 1962.

Juliana (1948–1980) edit

Main article: Juliana of the Netherlands

Juliana reigned from 1948 until 1980, and whereas Wilhelmina reigned like a general, Juliana expressed a more motherly character. One of her first official acts was to sign the treaty of independence of the Dutch colony Indonesia. During her reign the monarchy became entangled in two major crises: the Greet Hofmans affair and the Lockheed bribery scandals. In the first it was her involvement in a mystic pacifist group that was a cause for concern. The second crisis announced itself when it became known that, the queen's husband, Prince Bernard von Lippe-Biesterfeld, had taken bribes to advance Lockheed's bid. After an inquiry, the prince was forbidden to perform the military tasks he had performed since 1945, but in this crisis the monarchy itself, nor Juliana's position, was never in doubt. She and Bernhard had four daughters, Beatrix, Irene, Margriet and Christina. After their return from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1945 (where Margriet was born), they lived in the Soestdijk Palace (Paleis Soestdijk) in Soestdijk, about 20 km north-east of Utrecht. She died on 20 March 2004. Her husband Bernhard died on 1 December 2004.

Beatrix (1980–2013) edit

Main article: Beatrix of the Netherlands

The Dutch royal family today is much larger than it has ever been. Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus had three sons: King Willem-Alexander (married to Queen Máxima), Prince Friso (whose widow is Princess Mabel) and Prince Constantijn (married to Princess Laurentien). Her sister Princess Margriet and Pieter van Vollenhoven have four sons, princes Maurits, Bernhard, Pieter-Christiaan and Floris. Princess Margriet is in line to the throne behind King Willem-Alexander's daughters, princesses Catharina-Amalia, Alexia, and Ariane, and his brother Prince Constantijn. Prince Friso lost his right to the throne because no approval was asked for his marriage to Mabel Wisse Smit to the States-General. The two other sisters of Beatrix, Irene and Christina, lost their rights to the throne because their marriages were not approved by the States-General. They both married Roman Catholics and Irene herself converted to Roman Catholicism, which at that time (the 1960s) was still politically problematic. An additional complication which the government wanted to avoid, was that Irene's husband, Prince Carlos-Hugo of Bourbon-Parma (whom she later divorced), was a member of a deposed Italian dynasty who claimed rights to the Spanish throne. Traditionally, Dutch monarchs have always been members of the Dutch Reformed Church although this was never constitutionally required. This tradition is embedded in the history of the Netherlands.

On 28 January 2013, the Queen announced that she would abdicate on 30 April 2013 in favour of her eldest son.

Willem-Alexander (2013–present) edit

Main article: Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands

The current monarch is King Willem-Alexander (born 1967), who has been on the Throne since 30 April 2013. He studied history at the University of Leiden and became actively involved in water management. His wife is Queen Máxima (née Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti), an economics major, whose father was a minister of agriculture in the dictatorial regime under General Videla in Argentina. Because of that their relationship was accompanied by fierce public debate and only officially sanctioned after quiet diplomacy, resulting in Máxima's father agreeing not to be present on their wedding day (2 February 2002). Former minister Max van der Stoel and Prime Minister Wim Kok seem to have played a crucial role in this process.

On 7 December 2003 Princess Máxima gave birth to a daughter: Princess Catharina-Amalia. On 26 June 2005 another daughter was born: Princess Alexia. On 10 April 2007 a third daughter was born, Princess Ariane. They are first, second and third in line to the Dutch throne.

His mother, Queen Beatrix announced that she would be abdicating the Throne on 30 April 2013. On that day, Willem-Alexander became the new King and was sworn in and inaugurated in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, in a session of the States-General.

Heir apparent edit

The heir apparent to the Dutch throne is Amalia, Princess of Orange.

Full title edit

See also: Style of the Dutch sovereign

Most members of the Dutch royal family, in addition to other titles hold (or held) the princely title Prince of Orange-Nassau. The children of Prince Friso and Prince Constantijn are instead counts and countesses of Orange-Nassau. In addition to the titles King/Prince of the Netherlands and Prince of Orange-Nassau, daughters of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld hold another princely title – Princesses of Lippe-Biesterfeld. The children of Queen Beatrix and their male-line descendants, except for the children of King Willem-Alexander, also carry the appellative Honourable (Jonkheer/Jonkvrouw) in combination with the name 'Van Amsberg'.

Queen Juliana, the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, was also a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Since the title can pass only through the male line, Queen Juliana's descendants do not carry the title of Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

The title Prince of the Netherlands is the prerogative of the most important members of the royal house (children of the monarch and of the heir apparent), which is smaller than the royal family. Members of the royal house can lose their membership when they enter into marriage without asking (and receiving) consent from Parliament.

In addition to this, the Dutch Monarch carries a number of subsidiary titles, of more historical than practical note, that have been passed down through the House of Orange-Nassau and represent the accretion of lands and influence by their ancestors:

Duke of Limburg, Count of Katzenelnbogen, Vianden, Diez, Spiegelberg, Buren, Leerdam and Culemborg, Marquis of Veere and Vlissingen, Baron of Breda, Diest, Beilstein, the town of Grave and the lands of Cuyk, IJsselstein, Cranendonk, Eindhoven and Liesveld, Hereditary Lord and Seigneur of Ameland, Lord of Borculo, Bredevoort, Lichtenvoorde, 't Loo, Geertruidenberg, Klundert, Zevenbergen, Hoge and Lage Zwaluwe, Naaldwijk, Polanen, St Maartensdijk, Soest, Baarn and Ter Eem, Willemstad, Steenbergen, Montfort, St Vith, Bütgenbach and Dasburg, Viscount of Antwerp.[18][19]

Probably the most important of these was the Barony of Breda, which formed the core of the Nassau lands in the Netherlands (Brabant) even before they inherited the Principality of Orange in what is now southern France. This was probably followed by the Viscountship/Burgravate of Antwerp, which allowed William the Silent to control a large amount of the politics in that then very important city, followed by the Marquisate of Veere, which allowed William the Silent and his descendants to control the votes of the province of Zeeland.[20][21][22][23][24]

The royal family and the royal house edit

A distinction is made in the Netherlands between the royal family and the Royal House.

The royal family includes people born into the family (and legally recognised as such) or who have married into the family. However, not every member of the royal family is a member of the royal house.

By Act of Parliament, the members of the Royal House are:[25]

  • the monarch (King or Queen);
  • the former monarch (on abdication);
  • the members of the royal family in the line of succession to the throne who are not further removed to the monarch than the second degree of consanguinity;
  • Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
  • the spouses of the above.

Members of the royal house can lose their membership and designation as prince or princess of the Netherlands if they marry without the consent of the Dutch Parliament. This happened to Prince Friso when he married Mabel Wisse Smit. This is written down explicitly in the part of the constitution of the Netherlands that controls the Monarchy of the Netherlands.[25]

Family tree of current members edit

See also: Dutch monarchs family tree
See also: House of Orange-Nassau
Juliana of the NetherlandsPrince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld
Beatrix of the Netherlands*Prince Claus of the Netherlands
(Claus von Amsberg)		Princess Irene^Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma
(div. 1981)		Princess Margriet*^Prof. Pieter van Vollenhoven*^Princess ChristinaJorge Pérez y Guillermo
(div. 1996)
Bernardo Guillermo^Eva Marie Valdez^Nicolás Guillermo^Juliana Guillermo^
Prince Maurits^Princess Marilène^Prince Bernhard^Princess Annette^Prince Pieter-Christiaan^Princess Anita^Princess Aimée^Prince Floris^
The Duke of Parma^The Duchess of Parma^The Countess of Colorno^Tjalling Siebe ten Cate^The Count of Bardi^The Countess of Bardi^The Marchioness of Sala^Albert Brenninkmeijer^
The King*The Queen*Prince FrisoPrincess Mabel**Prince Constantijn*Princess Laurentien*
The Princess of Orange*Princess Alexia*Princess Ariane*Countess Luana**Countess Zaria**Countess Eloise**Count Claus-Casimir**Countess Leonore**
Notes

* Member of the Dutch royal house

** Member of the Royal Family

^ Member of the extended royal family

Members of the royal house edit

According to the official website the members of the royal house are currently:[26]

Members of the royal family edit

According to the official website the royal family consists of the members of the royal house plus other legitimate descendants of Queen Juliana:[27]

Standards edit

The Dutch royal family also makes extensive use of royal standards that are based on their coats of arms. While these are heraldic flags, they are not a person's coat of arms in banner form as the British royal family does. Some examples from the royal family's website are:[25]

  • The standards of the ruling king or queen:
  •  
    Royal Flag of the Netherlands until 1908
  •  
    Current Royal Standard of the Netherlands
  • The standards of the current sons of Princess Beatrix and their wives, and the Princess' husband:
  •  
    Royal Standard of the Princes of the Netherlands (Sons of Queen Beatrix)
  •  
    Standard of Claus von Amsberg as Royal consort of the Netherlands
  •  
    Standard of Princess Máxima of the Netherlands
  •  
    Standard of Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands
  • The standards of the sisters of Princess Beatrix and their children:
  •  
    Standard of the Princesses of the Netherlands (Daughters of Queen Juliana)
  •  
    Standard of the Princes of Oranje-Nassau (Sons of Princess Margriet )
  • The standards of former members of the royal family:
  •  
    Standard of Juliana of the Netherlands as Princess
  •  
    Standard of Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld as Royal consort of the Netherlands
  •  
    Standard of Hendrik of Mecklenburg-Schwerin as Royal consort of the Netherlands
  •  
    Standard of Queen Mother Emma of the Netherlands
  •  
    Standard of Marie of Wied, Princess of the Netherlands

Monograms edit

As most Royal Families, the Dutch royal family also makes use of royal monograms. Some examples from the royal family's website are:[25]

  • The monograms of the ruling kings or queens:
  •  
    King Willem-Alexander
  •  
    Queen Beatrix
  •  
    Queen Juliana
  •  
    Queen Juliana, Variant
  •  
    Queen Wilhelmina
  •  
    William I-III
  •  
    William I
  • The monograms of some members of the royal family;
  •  
    Queen Anna Pavlovna
  •  
    Queen Sophie
  •  
    Queen Emma
  •  
    Queen Emma, Variant
  •  
    Prince Henry
  •  
    Prince Bernhard
  •  
    Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard
  •  
    Prince Claus
  •  
    Queen Máxima
  •  
    Willem-Alexander and Máxima
  •  
    Prince Friso
  •  
    Prince Friso and Princess Mabel
  •  
    Prince Constantijn
  •  
    Princess Laurentien
  •  
    Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien
  •  
    Catharina Amalia, The Princess of Orange

See also edit

Notes edit


References edit

  1. ^ Zaken, Ministerie van Algemene. "I De Koning Rijksbegroting 2017". www.rijksoverheid.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Bankrupt man jailed for insulting queen Beatrix – DutchNews.nl". DutchNews.nl. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  3. ^ . Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  4. ^ "Tweeter get sentenced for Dutch queen diss". NY Daily News. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Dutchman jailed for king 'insult'". BBC News. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  6. ^ Koninkrijksrelaties, Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en. "Wetboek van Strafrecht". wetten.overheid.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  7. ^ Thewes, Guy (2006) (PDF). Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg depuis 1848 (2006), p. 208
  8. ^ "LUXEMBURG Geschiedenis | Landenweb.nl". www.landenweb.net. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  9. ^ . www.cia.gov. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  10. ^ Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 1997
  11. ^ . Archived from the original on 22 June 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2008.
  12. ^ . Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2008.
  13. ^ . Archived from the original on 21 June 2008. Retrieved 29 June 2008.
  14. ^ "Royal House Finances Act 1972".
  15. ^ . Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  16. ^ . Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  17. ^ "Budget for The King 2010". 23 April 2008.
  18. ^ Koninklijkhuis (2013). . Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst (RVD). Archived from the original (web) on 21 June 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013. The King's full official titles are King of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer van Amsberg, Count of Katzenelnbogen, Vianden, Diez, Spiegelberg, Buren, Leerdam and Culemborg, Marquis of Veere and Vlissingen, Baron of Breda, Diest, Beilstein, the town of Grave and the lands of Cuyk, IJsselstein, Cranendonk, Eindhoven and Liesveld, Hereditary Lord and Seigneur of Ameland, Lord of Borculo, Bredevoort, Lichtenvoorde, 't Loo, Geertruidenberg, Klundert, Zevenbergen, Hoge and Lage Zwaluwe, Naaldwijk, Polanen, St Maartensdijk, Soest, Baarn and Ter Eem, Willemstad, Steenbergen, Montfort, St Vith, Bütgenbach and Dasburg, Viscount of Antwerp.
  19. ^ "The Netherlands: Princely and Royal Style: 1813–2013". Archontology.com. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  20. ^ Motley, John Lothrop (1855). The Rise of the Dutch Republic, vol. 2. Harper & Brothers. p. 37.
  21. ^ Young, Andrew (1886). A Short History of the Netherlands (Holland and Belgium). Netherlands: T. F. Unwin. p. 315.
  22. ^ Putnam, Ruth (1895). William the Silent, Prince of Orange: the moderate man of the sixteenth century : the story of his life as told from his own letters, from those of his friends and enemies and from official documents, Volume 1. Putnam. p. 211. viscount of antwerp.
  23. ^ Parker, Geoffrey (2002). The Dutch Revolt. Penguin.
  24. ^ Rowen, Herbert H. (1990). The Princes of Orange: The Stadholders in the Dutch Republic. Cambridge Univ. Press. In 1582 William the Silent purchased the marquisate of Veere and Vlissingen. It had been the property of Philip II since 1567, but had fallen into arrears to the province. In 1580 the Court of Holland ordered it sold. William bought it as it gave him two more votes in the States of Zeeland. He owned the government of the two towns, and so could appoint their magistrates. He already had one as First Noble for Philip William, who had inherited Maartensdijk. This made William the predominant member of the States of Zeeland. It was a smaller version of the countship of Zeeland (& Holland) promised to William, and was a potent political base for his descendants.
  25. ^ a b c d . Archived from the original on 25 March 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  26. ^ Affairs, Ministry of General (18 August 2014). "Members of the Royal House". www.royal-house.nl. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  27. ^ Affairs, Ministry of General (5 October 2015). "Royal family". www.royal-house.nl. Retrieved 28 February 2018.

Constitutional references edit

  1. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 24 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  2. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 25 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  3. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 26 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  4. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 33 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  5. ^ a b (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 37 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  6. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 34 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  7. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 30 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  8. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 28 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  9. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 29 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  10. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Chapter 2: Government (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  11. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 32 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  12. ^ a b (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 27 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  13. ^ a b c (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 35 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  14. ^ a b c (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 36 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  15. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 42 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  16. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 46 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  17. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 45 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  18. ^ a b (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 87 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  19. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 82 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  20. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 44 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  21. ^ a b (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 64 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  22. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 43 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  23. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 47 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  24. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 48 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  25. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 51 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  26. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 65 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  27. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article XIX (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  28. ^ a b (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 74 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  29. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 73 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  30. ^ (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 97 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
  31. ^ a b c d (in Dutch) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 40 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)

References to other laws and related documentation edit

  1. ^ (in Dutch) Wet instelling van de Orde van Oranje-Nassau, law regarding the Order of Orange-Nassau, Article 3
  2. ^ (in Dutch) Wet instelling van de Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, law regarding the Order of the Dutch Lion, Article 3, par. 1
  3. ^ (in Dutch) Wet instelling Militaire Willems-Orde, law regarding the Military William Order, Article 3
  4. ^ (in Dutch) Wet financieel statuut van het Koninklijk Huis Law on the financial statute of the royal house
  5. ^ Vaststelling begroting Huis der Koningin (I) voor het jaar 2009 31700 I 2 Memorie van toelichting Argumentation for the law setting the royal house budget for the year 2009
  6. ^ (in Dutch)Wet op het Kroondomein
  7. ^ (in Dutch) Wet lidmaatschap koninklijk huis Law on membership and titles of the Dutch royal house

External sources edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f Janse de Jonge, E.J.; A.K. Koekkoek; et al. (2000). A.K.Koekkoek (ed.). de Grondwet – een systematisch en artikelsgewijs commentaar [the Constitution – a systematic, article-by-article commentary] (in Dutch) (3rd ed.). W.E.J. TJEENK WILLINK. ISBN 90-271-5106-7.
  2. ^ van Bijsterveld, S. C.; A. K. Koekkoek; et al. (2000). A. K. Koekkoek (ed.). de Grondwet – een systematisch en artikelsgewijs commentaar [the Constitution – a systematic, article-by-article commentary] (in Dutch) (3rd ed.). W.E.J. TJEENK WILLINK. ISBN 90-271-5106-7.
  3. ^ a b "Formeren zonder koningin nog niet zo simpel". NOS. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  4. ^ "Catshuisoverleg is mislukt". NOS. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  5. ^ "Rutte II op weg naar bordes". NOS. 5 November 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  6. ^ "Kamp verkenner in formatie". NOS. 13 September 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  7. ^ "Kabinet-Rutte II beëdigd". NOS. 5 November 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  8. ^ "MP resigns after telling all about the queen". DutchNews.nl. 19 November 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  9. ^ Beers, A.A.L.; A.K. Koekkoek; et al. (2000). A.K.Koekkoek (ed.). de Grondwet – een systematisch en artikelsgewijs commentaar [the Constitution – a systematic, article-by-article commentary] (in Dutch) (3rd ed.). W.E.J. TJEENK WILLINK. ISBN 90-271-5106-7.
  10. ^ . Koninklijkhuis.nl. Archived from the original on 19 October 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2012.

External links edit

  • Official Royal Website: Much information about the monarchy and royal family, and virtual palace tours (texts in Dutch and English)
  • an international anti-monarchy Web directory
  • a guide looking at the recent history and current figureheads of the Dutch monarchy

January 19, 2024
monarchy, netherlands, queen, netherlands, redirects, here, ship, queen, netherlands, ship, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, tone, style, . Queen of the Netherlands redirects here For the ship see Queen of the Netherlands ship This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia See Wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions March 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article may require copy editing for grammar style cohesion tone or spelling You can assist by editing it March 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy whose role and position are governed by the Constitution of the Netherlands Roughly a third of the Constitution explains the succession mechanisms of accession and abdication to the throne the roles and duties of the monarch the formalities of communication between the States General of the Netherlands and the monarch s role in creating laws King of the NetherlandsKoning der NederlandenCoat of arms of the NetherlandsIncumbentWillem Alexandersince 30 April 2013DetailsStyleHis MajestyHeir apparentCatharina Amalia Princess of OrangeFirst monarchWilliam IFormation16 March 1815 208 years ago 1815 03 16 ResidenceRoyal Palace of Amsterdam Noordeinde Palace Huis ten BoschWebsitewww wbr royal house wbr nlThe Kingdom of the Netherlands has been an independent monarchy since 16 March 1815 Its once sovereign provinces had been intermittently ruled by members of the House of Orange Nassau and the House of Nassau from 1559 when Philip II of Spain appointed William of Orange as stadtholder until 1795 when the last stadtholder fled the country William of Orange became the leader of the Dutch Revolt and of the independent Dutch Republic Some of his descendants were later appointed as stateholders by some of the provinces In 1747 the function of stateholder became a hereditary position in all provinces of the thus crowned Dutch Republic The last stadtholder was William V Prince of Orange Willem Alexander has been King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013 Contents 1 Succession 1 1 Accession 1 2 End of a reign 1 3 Temporary loss of royal authority 2 The monarch and the government 3 The monarch and the law of the land 4 Formation of the government 5 The monarch and the States General 6 Other functions of the monarch 6 1 Remuneration and privileges 6 1 1 Stipend 6 1 2 Royal privileges 6 2 Positions of other members of the royal house and royal family 6 2 1 Deceased members of the Dutch royal family since William I 6 2 2 Death and burial 7 The monarchy in Dutch society 7 1 Importance and position within Dutch society 7 2 Popularity of the monarchy 8 History 8 1 List of hereditary heads of state 9 Religious affiliation 10 Royal finances 11 Monarchs of the Netherlands 11 1 Wilhelmina 1890 1948 11 2 Juliana 1948 1980 11 3 Beatrix 1980 2013 11 4 Willem Alexander 2013 present 11 5 Heir apparent 12 Full title 13 The royal family and the royal house 13 1 Family tree of current members 13 2 Members of the royal house 13 3 Members of the royal family 14 Standards 15 Monograms 16 See also 17 Notes 18 References 18 1 Constitutional references 18 2 References to other laws and related documentation 18 3 External sources 19 External linksSuccession editThe monarchy of the Netherlands passes by right of succession to the heirs of William I see House of Orange Nassau Cons 1 The heir is determined through two mechanisms absolute cognatic primogeniture and proximity of blood The Netherlands established absolute cognatic primogeniture instead of male preference primogeniture by law in 1983 clarification needed Proximity of blood limits accession to the throne to a person who is related to the current monarch within three degrees of kinship For example the grandchildren of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands sister of Princess Beatrix have no succession rights because their kinship with Beatrix when she was queen was of the fourth degree that is Princess Beatrix is their parent s parent s parents daughter Succession is limited to legitimate heirs precluding a claim to the throne by children born out of wedlock Cons 2 If the king dies while his wife is pregnant the unborn child is considered the heir at that point unless stillborn the child is then considered never to have existed As such if the preceding king dies while his wife is pregnant with their first child the unborn child is immediately considered born and immediately becomes the new king or queen If the pregnancy ends in stillbirth his or her reign is expunged otherwise the existence of the stillborn king queen would add a degree of separation for other family members to the throne and might suddenly exclude the next person in line for the throne Cons 3 If the monarch is a minor a regent is appointed and serves until the monarch comes of age Cons 4 Cons 5 The regent is customarily the surviving parent of the monarch but the constitution stipulates that custody and parental authority of the minor monarch will be determined by law any person might be appointed as regent as legal guardian or both Cons 6 There are also a number of special cases within the Constitution First if there is no heir when the monarch dies the States General may appoint a successor upon the suggestion of the government This suggestion may be made before the death of the reigning monarch even by the monarch himself in case it is clear that the monarch will die without leaving an heir Cons 7 Second some people are excluded from the line of succession They are Any heir who marries without the permission of the States General loses the right of succession Cons 8 A person who is or has become truly undesirable or unfit as monarch can be removed from the line of succession by an act of the States General upon suggestion of the reigning monarch Cons 9 This clause has never been executed and is considered an emergency exit An example would be an heir apparent who commits treason or suffers an incapacitating accident Accession edit As with most monarchies the Netherlands cannot be without a monarch the constitution of the Netherlands does not recognise a situation in which there is no monarch This is because there must be a head of state in order for the government to function as there must be someone who carries out the tasks of the constitutional role of the King Queen For this reason the new monarch assumes the role the moment the previous monarch ceases to hold the throne The only exception is if there is no heir at all in which case the Council of State assumes the role of the monarch pending the appointment of a monarch or regent Cons 10 The monarch is expected to execute his duties and responsibilities for the good of the nation The monarch must therefore swear to uphold the constitution and execute the office faithfully The monarch must be sworn in as soon as possible after assuming the throne during a joint session of the States General held in Amsterdam Article 32 of the Dutch constitution describes a swearing in in the capital Amsterdam which incidentally is the only phrase in the constitution that names Amsterdam as the capital of the Kingdom Cons 11 The ceremony is called the inauguration inhuldiging The Dutch monarch is not crowned although the crown orb and sceptre are present at the ceremony the monarch s swearing of the oath constitutes acceptance of the throne Also note that this ceremony does not equal accession to the throne as this would imply a vacancy of the throne between monarchs which is not allowed The monarch ascends immediately after the previous monarch ceases to reign The swearing in only constitutes acceptance in public End of a reign edit The monarch s reign can end in Death or Abdication Both of these events cause the regular mechanisms of succession to go into effect Cons 12 While the constitution mentions neither possibility explicitly it does describe what happens after the monarch dies or abdicates Abdication is a prerogative of the monarch but it is also irreversible as the person abdicating cannot return to the throne nor can a child born to a former monarch after an abdication has occurred have a claim to the throne Cons 12 The abdicated monarch is legally a Prince or Princess of the Netherlands as well as a Prince or Princess of Orange Nassau After their death legally the deceased monarch abdicated or not has no titles However after death the abdicated monarch is traditionally referred to as king or queen again For example Queen Juliana became queen on 4 September 1948 and princess again on 30 April 1980 following her abdication but has been referred to as Queen Juliana since her death on 20 March 2004 Temporary loss of royal authority edit There are two ways in which the monarch without ceasing to be monarch can be stripped of his or her royal authority Voluntary suspension of royal authority The monarch temporarily ceases execution of his or her office Removal from royal authority The government strips the monarch of his or her royal authority as he or she is deemed unfit for their tasks These cases are both temporary even if the monarch dies while not executing his office it still counts as temporary and are described in detail in the constitution A monarch can temporarily cease to reign for any reason This can be at his own request or because the Council of Ministers deems the monarch unfit for office Cons 13 Cons 14 Although there can be any reason for the monarch to cede royal authority or be removed from it both monarch and council are deemed to act responsibly and not leave the execution of the office vacant unnecessarily Both cases are intended to deal with emergency situations such as physical or mental inability to execute the office of the monarch In both cases an act of the joint States General is needed to strip the monarch of authority In the case of the monarch ceding royal authority the required act is a law In case of removal it is a declaration by the States General Formally both require the normal procedure for passing a new law in the Netherlands Cons 13 Cons 14 The former case is signed into law by the monarch himself the latter is not so technically it is not a law this is allowed explicitly in the Constitution since the monarch who is being stripped of his authority will probably not agree to sign the act of his removal and in the case of the States General removing a monarch who has become unfit due to mental or physical incapacitation may not be able to Since neither ceding nor removal is permanent neither triggers succession Instead the States General appoint a regent This must be the heir apparent if he or she is old enough Cons 5 In order for the monarch to resume his duties a law which is signed by the regent must be passed to that effect The monarch resumes the throne the moment the law of his return is made public Cons 13 Cons 14 The monarch and the government editAlthough the monarch has roles and duties in all parts of the government and in several important places in the rest of society the primary role of the monarch is within the executive branch of the Dutch government the monarch is part of the government of the Netherlands The role of the monarch within the government of the Netherlands is described in Article 42 of the constitution Cons 15 1 De regering wordt gevormd door de Koning en de ministers 2 De Koning is onschendbaar de ministers zijn verantwoordelijk 1 The government consists of the King and the ministers 2 The King is inviolable the ministers are responsible This article is the basis of the full power and influence of the monarch and makes him beyond reproach before the law but also limits his practical power as he can take no responsibility for it The first paragraph of Article 42 determines that the government of the Netherlands consists of the monarch and his ministers The monarch is according to this article not the head of government the ministers are not answerable to the monarch within the government Cons 16 Cons 17 There is no distinction no dichotomy no segregation or separation the monarch and his ministers are the government and the government is one ext 1 This fact has practical consequences in that it is not possible for the monarch and the ministers to be in disagreement The government speaks with one voice and makes decisions as a united body When the monarch acts in an executive capacity he does so as a representative of the united government And when the government decides the monarch is in agreement even if the monarch personally disagrees As an ultimate consequence of this it is not possible for the monarch to refuse to sign into law a proposal of law that has been agreed to and signed by the responsible minister Such a disagreement between the monarch and his minister is a situation not covered by the constitution and is automatically a constitutional crisis ext 1 The second paragraph of the article though is what really renders the monarch powerless This paragraph states that the monarch is inviolate He is beyond any reproach beyond the grasp of any prosecution criminal or otherwise for any acts committed or actions taken as monarch If anything goes wrong the minister responsible for the topic at hand is responsible for the failings of the monarch This sounds like it makes the monarch an absolute tyrant but in fact the opposite is true since the ministers are responsible they also have the authority to make the decisions The ministers set the course of the government and the country and the ministers make executive decisions and run the affairs of the state And since the government is one the monarch abides by the decision of the ministers In fact the monarchs of the Netherlands rarely make any executive decisions at all and practically never speak in public on any subject other than to read a statement prepared by the Prime Minister since an unfortunate off the cuff remark could get a minister into trouble The practical consequence of this limit on the power of the monarch is that the monarch never makes a decision on his own Every decision every decree must be countersigned by the responsible minister s ext 1 The monarch and the law of the land editTechnically the monarch has a lot of practical power For instance no proposal of law actually becomes law until signed by the monarch and there is no legal requirement for the monarch to sign Cons 18 In practice the monarch will always give assent since most proposals of law are made by the government by or on behalf of the King Cons 19 And while proposals of law must be approved by the States General a lot of the practical running of the country is done by royal decree in Dutch Koninklijk Besluit These royal decrees are used for all sorts of things ranging from appointments of civil servants and military officers to clarifications of how public policy is to be executed to filling in the details of certain laws Royal decrees create ministries Cons 20 dissolve the houses of the States General Cons 21 and appoint amp fire ministers Cons 22 However royal decrees are made by the responsible minister And while the monarch must sign laws and royal decrees before they come into effect the constitution determines that the responsible ministers and state secretaries must countersign Cons 23 That given the fact that the ministers have the authority really means that they decide and it is the monarch who countersigns the minister asks the monarch for permission that is royal authority and as an upholder of the Constitution the monarch signs first the minister is politically responsible for the Act and countersigns This is an Act of the Crown monarch and minister together Even that is a formality Also while the monarch may technically propose laws by or on behalf of the King ministerial responsibility means that he never does And even though the government may refuse to sign a States General approved proposal into law this is practically unheard of and the monarch refusing to sign on his own is even rarer and would cause a constitutional crisis ext 2 There is one special case in which the monarch has if possible even less power than normal the appointment of his ministers Ministers are appointed by royal decree which has to be countersigned by the responsible minister The royal decree to appoint a minister however is countersigned by two responsible ministers rather than one the outgoing minister responsible for the ministry and the Prime Minister Cons 24 Formation of the government editThough the powers of the monarch of the Netherlands are limited he or she does not have a ceremonial role The monarch has a role relating to the formation of a new government after parliamentary elections citation needed This power is not directed in the constitution ext 1 After the parliamentary election there follows a period of time in which the leaders of the political parties in parliament seek to form a coalition of parties that can command a majority of the newly elected parliament The current nationwide party list system combined with a low threshold for getting a seat two thirds of one percent of the vote makes it all but impossible for one party to win an outright majority Thus the bargaining required to put together a governing coalition is as important as the election itself This process of negotiations which can last anywhere from two to four months more on occasion is coordinated in the initial stages by one or more informateurs whose duty it is to investigate and report upon viable coalitions After a likely combination is found a formateur is appointed to conduct the formal coalition negotiations and form a new Council of Ministers of which the formateur himself usually becomes the Prime Minister If the negotiations fail the cycle starts over The informateurs and formateur in question are all appointed to this task by the monarch The monarch makes his own decision in this based on advice from the leaders of the different parties in parliament as well as other important figures the speakers of the new parliament and the senate are among them ext 1 There is usually some popular discussion in the Netherlands around the time of these negotiations about whether the authority of the monarch in this matter should not be limited and whether or not the newly elected parliament should not make the appointments that the monarch makes These discussions usually turn to varying degrees on the argument that a decision by a monarch is undemocratic and there is no parliamentary oversight over the decision and the monarch might make use of this to push for a government of his or her liking On the other hand it is somewhat questionable that the monarch really has much opportunity here to exert any influence The informateur is there to investigate possible coalitions and report on them He could technically seek favourable coalitions but the political parties involved are usually quite clear on what they want and do not want and the first choice for coalition almost always is the coalition of preference of the largest party in the new parliament Besides the monarchs and particularly the queens have traditionally known better than to appoint controversial informateurs usually settling for well established yet fairly neutral people in the political arena the deputy chairman of the Dutch Council of State is a common choice Once a potential coalition has been identified the monarch technically has free rein in selecting a formateur However the formateur almost always becomes the next Prime Minister and in any case it is a strong convention that a government must command the support of a majority of the House of Representatives in order to stay in office These considerations mean that the selected formateur is always the party leader of the largest party in the potential coalition ext 1 However in March 2012 the States General altered its own procedures such that any subsequent government formation is done without the monarch s influence ext 3 No more than a month later the government coalition collapsed ext 4 triggering early elections in September 2012 As no formal procedures had been outlined as to how a government formation without monarch should take place it was initially feared the subsequent government formation would be chaotic ext 3 However a new government coalition was formed within 54 days surprisingly early for Dutch standards ext 5 Instead of the monarch the Speaker of the House of Representatives appointed the informateur whose function was renamed to scout ext 6 After the negotiations the installation ceremony of ministers the only duty still left to the monarch was held in public for the first time in history ext 7 The monarch and the States General edit nbsp The Dutch Court is still known for their old traditions nbsp The throne of the Ridderzaal from which the Dutch monarch delivers the Throne Speech on Prinsjesdag The one branch of government over which the monarch has no control is the legislative branch formed by the States General of the Netherlands This parliamentary body consists of two chambers the House of Representatives also commonly referred to as Parliament and the Senate Cons 25 As in most parliamentary democracies the States General are dually responsible for overseeing the government in its executive duties as well as approving proposals of law before they can become as such In this respect it is vital for the government to maintain good relations with the States General and technically the monarch shares in that effort although the monarch never officially speaks to members of the States General on policy matters due to ministerial responsibility citation needed Constitutionally the monarch deals with the States General in three areas lawmaking policy outlining at the opening of the parliamentary year and dissolution Of the three policy outlining is the most straightforward The parliamentary year is opened on the third Tuesday of September with a joint session of both houses Cons 26 At this occasion the monarch addresses the joint states in a speech in which he sets forth the outlines for his government s policies for the coming year the speech itself is prepared by the ministers their ministries and finally crafted and approved by the prime minister This event is mandated by the constitution in Article 65 Tradition has made more of this occasion than a policy speech though and the event known as Prinsjesdag has become a large affair with much pomp and circumstance in which the States General and other major bodies of government assemble in the Ridderzaal to hear the King deliver the speech from the throne after having arrived from the Noordeinde Palace in his golden carriage Both in constitutional aspects and in ceremony the event has much in common with both the British State Opening of Parliament and the American State of the Union Lawmaking is the area in which the monarch has the most frequent involvement with the States General although he still has very little to do with it in practice Laws in the Netherlands are primarily proposed by the government by or on behalf of the monarch this phrase is repeated often in the constitution Cons 18 Technically this means that the monarch may propose laws in person hearkening back to the days of the first monarchs of the Netherlands when monarchs really could and did control this However this possibility is at odds with ministerial responsibility and modern monarchs have always avoided the issue by never proposing laws personally The monarch must still sign proposals into law though as historical deference to the fact that the law of the land is decreed by the monarch While the king has no practical involvement anymore in lawmaking other than a signature at the end one might get a different impression from reading the communications between the government and the States General regarding such affairs All communication from the States General to the government is addressed to the monarch and correspondence in the opposite direction formally from the monarch it is also signed by the monarch without a ministerial countersignature such communication is not a decision or decree so does not require a countersignature The formal language still shows deference to the position of the monarch with a refusal of the States General to approve a proposal of law for example becoming a request to the King to reconsider the proposal The constitution prescribes a number of the forms used Cons 27 If the government accepts a proposal of law and signs it into law the language is that The King accedes to the proposal If the government refuses a proposal of law the language is that The King shall keep the proposal under advisement A law once passed is formulated in such a way as to be decreed by the monarch The final involvement of the monarch with the States is dissolution Constitutionally the government is empowered to dissolve either house of the states by royal decree This means that a minister usually the prime minister makes the decision and the monarch countersigns The signing of such a royal decree constitutionally implies new elections for the house in question and the formation of a new house within three months of dissolution Cons 21 The constitution prescribes a number of cases in which one or more houses of the States are dissolved particularly for changes to the constitution this is always done by royal decree In addition traditionally a collapse of the government is followed by dissolution of the House of Representatives and general elections Before World War II before it became common to form new governments with each new parliament it would happen from time to time that a Council of Ministers found itself suddenly facing a new and unfriendly parliament When the inevitable clash came it was an established political trick for the Prime Minister to attempt to resolve the problem by dissolving the parliament in name of the monarch in the hope that new elections brought a more favourable parliament but it was also possible for the trick to backfire in which case the new equally hostile and far more angry parliament would suspend the budget to force the resignation of the government Even though the monarch never speaks with members of the States General formally it was tradition until 1999 that the queen would invite the members of parliament a few times a year for informal talks about the general state of affairs in the country These conversations were held in the strictest confidence due to ministerial responsibility The tradition was suspended in 1999 though after repeated incidents in which MPs divulged the contents of the conversations despite agreeing not to and embarrassing the Prime Minister in doing so In 2009 an attempt was made to resume the tradition this failed however when Arend Jan Boekestijn disclosed to the press contents of a private conversation he had with the Queen Boekestinjin resigned shortly after being exposed as the source ext 8 Other functions of the monarch editThe monarch has several functions in addition to the duties and responsibilities described in previous sections Some of these are partly constitutional others are more traditional in nature The monarch is the head of state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands As such the monarch is the face of the kingdom toward the world ambassadors of the Netherlands are emissaries of the monarch foreign ambassadors represent foreign heads of state to the monarch It is the monarch that makes official state visits to foreign heads of state as representative of the Netherlands He or She represents the monarch whose face is shown on Dutch stamps and Dutch euro coins Constitutionally the monarch is the head of the Dutch Council of State Cons 28 The council is a constitutional body of the Netherlands that serves two purposes First it is an advisory council to the government which advises on the desirability practicability and constitutionality of new proposals of law Second it is the Supreme court for the Netherlands in matters of administrative law Cons 29 The position of the monarch as constitutional head of this Council means two things for the constitutional position of the monarch ext 9 The monarch is constitutionally and directly involved with practically all aspects of lawmaking except approval by the States General which is representative of the electorate From inception of the law through proposal to the States to finally signing into law the monarch is involved This involvement is derived from the days when the monarch was an absolute ruler and really made law Originally with the creation of the first constitutions the monarchs strove to maintain power by maximum involvement with all aspects of lawmaking Over time this has grown into a more advisory role The monarch is constitutionally involved with at least part of the judicial branch of government as well The role played by the monarch in the council is largely theoretical due to ministerial responsibility While the monarch is officially chairman of the council in practice the king never votes in Council meetings and always turns over his responsibility as chair of the meetings to the deputy head of the council He is still presumed to be part of the discussions though citation needed Despite the limitations on the role the monarch may play in the council his involvement is seen as valuable due to the experience and knowledge that a monarch accrues over the years Reciprocally being part of the Council deliberations is considered invaluable training and preparation for the role of monarch which is why the heir apparent is constitutionally an observer member of the council from the time he comes of age Cons 28 The monarch is also the Grand Master of the Dutch orders of knighthoods the Order of Orange Nassau Law 1 the Order of the Netherlands Lion Law 2 and the Military William Order Law 3 Lastly the monarch plays a prominent but equally unofficial role in the running of the country as an adviser and confidant to the government This duty traditionally takes the form of a weekly meeting between the Prime Minister and the monarch in which they discuss government affairs of the week the plans of the cabinet and so on It is assumed that the monarch exerts most of his influence such as it is in these meetings in that he can bring his knowledge and experience to bear on what he tells the Prime Minister In the case of Queen Beatrix several former Prime Ministers have remarked that her case knowledge of each and every dossier is extensive and that she makes sure to be fully aware of all the details surrounding everything that arrives on her desk citation needed Perhaps somewhat surprisingly for a monarchy the monarch is not the commander in chief of the military of the Netherlands not even nominally He was until 1983 but a large overhaul of the constitution that year shifted supreme command of the armed forces to the government as a whole Cons 30 In contrast to most monarchies this required Willem Alexander to resign from his brigadier general level ranks in all military branches when he ascended the throne At that occasion the special Royal distinctive was created that the king could wear on his uniforms to show his lasting relation with the armed forces This is however no formal rank Remuneration and privileges edit Stipend edit Article 40 of the constitution states that the monarch is to receive an annual stipend from the kingdom in other words wages except that it cannot be called that since it implies the monarch is employed by the government but rather it is the opposite The exact rules surrounding these stipends are to be determined by law as is the list of members of the royal house who also receive them Cons 31 Under current Dutch law the monarch receives their annual stipend which is part of the annual budget as do the heir apparent if of age the spouse of the monarch the spouse of the heir apparent the former monarch and the spouse of the former monarch Law 4 In practice as of June 2019 this means King Willem Alexander Queen Maxima and Princess Beatrix The monarch receives this stipend constitutionally the others because they are not allowed to work for anybody due to their positions For example the recipients of royal stipends in 2009 were Queen Beatrix 813 000 Prince Willem Alexander the heir apparent 241 000 and Princess Maxima 241 000 Law 5 For 2017 the stipends were for the King 888 000 for the Queen 352 000 and for Princess Beatrix 502 000 These personal stipends are in addition to an allowance for each of those named to meet official expenditure these were set at 4 6 million for the King 606 000 for the Queen and just over 1 million for Princess Beatrix 1 This stipend is linked to the development of the wages of Dutch civil servants At the beginning of 2009 there was some upset in the parliament about the cost of the royal house and the lack of insight into the structure of those costs At the insistence of the parliament the development of the stipends of the royal house members was then linked to the development of the salaries of the Dutch civil servants During 2009 it was agreed collectively that the civil servants would receive a pay increase of 1 In September 2009 at the first budget debate in parliament during the economic crisis it was pointed out to the parliament that their earlier decision meant that the stipend to the queen would now also increase This in turn was reason for the parliament to be displeased again Royal privileges edit nbsp Royal StandardUnder the constitution royal house members receiving a stipend are exempt from income tax over that stipend Cons 31 They are also exempt from all personal taxes over assets and possessions that they use or need in the execution of their functions for the kingdom Cons 31 The monarch and the heir apparent are exempt from inheritance tax on inheritances received from members of the royal house Cons 31 The monarch has the use of Huis ten Bosch as a residence and Noordeinde Palace as a work palace In addition the Royal Palace of Amsterdam is also at the disposal of the monarch although it is only used for state visits and is open to the public when not in use for that purpose as is Soestdijk Palace which is open to the public and not in official use at all at this time Law 6 The monarch has the use of an airplane and a train for state visits although the airplane is not exclusively reserved for the monarch anymore and the train spends most of its time on display at the Dutch Railway Museum ext 10 The monarch also has a small fleet of cars available on which he may display the royal standard Historically the Dutch monarch was protected by law against lese majesty The Netherlands was amongst the last remaining monarchies in Europe to actively prosecute citizens for publicly insulting the reigning sovereign or members of their immediate family 2 3 4 although the sentences tend to be light According to Dutch TV in total 18 prosecutions were brought under the law between 2000 and 2012 half of which resulted in convictions 5 Lese majesty in the Netherlands was formally abolished as of 1 January 2020 However insulting the Monarch the Royal Consort the heir apparent or their consort or the Regent is still punishable on the same level as denigrating public officials acting in their official capacity punishable by up to three months in prison and or a fine 6 Positions of other members of the royal house and royal family edit The royal family has become quite extensive since the birth of Queen Juliana s children By consequence so has the Dutch royal house nominally the collection of persons in line for the throne and their spouses to the extent that membership of the royal house was limited by a change in the law in 2002 Law 7 Despite being a large clan the family as a whole has very little to do officially with Dutch government or the running of the Netherlands Constitutionally an important role is played by the monarch The heir apparent is deemed to be preparing for an eventual ascent to the throne so there are some limited tasks and a number of limits on them particularly he she cannot hold a paying job since this might lead to entanglements later on Since neither the monarch nor the heir apparent may hold jobs they receive a stipend from the government Their spouses are similarly forbidden from earning an income and receive a stipend as well But constitutionally that is the whole of the involvement of the royal family with the Dutch government In particular members of the royal house other than the monarch and the heir apparent have no official tasks within the Dutch government and do not receive stipends They are responsible for their own conduct and their own income They may be asked to stand in from time to time such as to accompany the monarch on a state visit if the consort is ill but this is always a personal favor and not an official duty In addition they are not exempt from taxation Many members of the royal family hold or have held significant positions within civil society usually functioning as head or spokesperson of one or more charitable organizations patron of the arts and similar endeavors Some members of the royal family are also or have been avid supporters of some personal cause Prince Bernhard for instance was always passionate about the treatment of World War II veterans and Princess Margriet who was born in Canada has a special relationship with Canadian veterans specifically As a rule of thumb the members of the royal family who are contemporaries of Princess Beatrix tend to hold civil society positions as a primary occupation whereas younger family members hold these positions in conjunction with a regular paying job A notable exception to this rule is Pieter van Vollenhoven husband to Princess Margriet who was chairman of the Dutch Safety Board until his retirement As noted earlier the spouses of the monarch and the heir apparent are forbidden from holding paying jobs or government responsibilities This is to prevent any monetary entanglements or undue influences involving the current and future monarchs These legal limits were not a great problem when they were instituted in the 19th century The Netherlands had kings and it was considered normal for a married woman to tend the household raise the family and not to hold any position outside the home The limits have been more problematic since the early 20th century when the monarchy of the Netherlands passed to a series of queens and the consorts became men starting with Prince Hendrik in 1901 The male consorts since then have all either been raised with an expectation of government responsibility such as Prince Hendrik or had established careers of their own before marrying the future queen Prince Bernhard and Prince Claus Upon marrying into the Dutch royal family they all found themselves severely restricted in their freedom to act and make use of their abilities All of the male consorts have been involved in some form of difficulty or another scandals involving infidelity and finances in the cases of Hendrik and Bernhard deep depression in the case of Claus and it has been widely speculated and even generally accepted that sheer boredom played at least a part in all of these difficulties Over time the restrictions on royal consorts have eased somewhat Prince Hendrik was allowed no part or role in the Netherlands whatsoever Due to his war efforts Prince Bernhard was made Inspector General of the Dutch armed forces although that role was created for him and was an unofficial ambassador for the Netherlands who leveraged his wartime contacts to help Dutch industry All that came to a halt in 1976 however after the Lockheed bribery scandals Prince Claus was allowed more leeway still after having established himself in Dutch society he was unpopular at first being a German marrying into the royal family after World War II he was eventually given an advisorship within the Ministry for Development Cooperation pertaining to Africa where he made good use of his experiences as a German diplomat in that continent Nevertheless neither Bernhard nor Claus ever fully got over the restrictive nature of their marriages and at the time of the royal wedding in 2002 it was broadly agreed in government circles that Queen Maxima who had a career in banking before marrying King Willem Alexander should be allowed far more leeway if she desires Deceased members of the Dutch royal family since William I edit Prince Ernest Casimir of the Netherlands son of William II died in 1822 Prince Frederik Nicholaas of the Netherlands grandson of William I died in 1834 Queen Wilhelmine first wife of William I died in 1837 King William I Count of Nassau died in 1843 Prince Willem Frederik of the Netherlands grandson of William I died in 1846 Prince Alexander of the Netherlands son of William II died in 1848 King William II son of William I died in 1849 Prince Maurice of the Netherlands son of William III died in 1850 Henrietta Countess of Nassau widow of William I died in 1864 Queen Dowager Anna widow of William II died in 1865 Louise Princess Frederick of the Netherlands wife of Prince Frederick son of William I died in 1870 Queen Louise of Sweden and Norway granddaughter of William I died in 1871 Amalia Princess Henry of the Netherlands first wife of Prince Henry son of William II died in 1872 King Charles XV of Sweden and IV of Norway widower of Princess Louise granddaughter of William I died in 1872 Prince Albert of Prussia husband of Princess Mariane daughter of William I died in 1872 Queen Sophie first wife of William III died in 1877 Prince Henry of the Netherlands 1820 1879 son of William II died in 1879 William Prince of Orange son of William III died in 1879 Prince Frederick of the Netherlands son of William I died in 1881 Marianne Princess Albert of Prussia daughter of William I died in 1883 Alexander Prince of Orange son of William III died in 1884 Marie Princess Henry of the Netherlands widow of Prince Henry son of William II died in 1888 King William III son of William II died in 1890 Sophie Grand Duchess of Saxe Weimar Eisenach daughter of William II died in 1897 Charles Alexander Grand Duke of Saxe Weimar Eisenach widower of Princess Sophie daughter of William II died in 1901 William Prince of Wied husband of Princess Marie granddaughter of William I died in 1907 Marie Dowager Princess of Wied granddaughter of William I died in 1910 Queen Mother Emma widow of William III died in 1934 Prince Consort Henry husband of Wilhelmina died in 1934 Queen Wilhelmina daughter of William III died in 1962 Prince Consort Claus husband of Beatrix died in 2002 Queen Juliana daughter of Wilhelmina died in 2004 Prince Consort Bernhard widower of Juliana died in 2004 Prince Friso of Orange Nassau son of Beatrix died in 2013 Princess Christina of the Netherlands daughter of Juliana died in 2019 Death and burial edit Although Dutch lawmakers have historically favored being very conservative about creating a special legal position for members of the royal house or the royal family there is one area in which the rules for members of the royal house are very different from those for other Dutch citizens the area of death and burial For Dutch citizens the rules surrounding death and burial are laid out by the Funeral Services Law Dutch Wet op de Lijkbezorging However article 87 of this law states the rule doesn t apply to the royal family The Minister of Internal Affairs can also waive the law for other relatives of the monarch The reason for this is that the exceptional position of members of the royal house is traditional Ever since the burial of William the Silent in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft members of the Orange Nassau family have favored burial in the same crypt as William Some members of the family buried elsewhere were even moved there later However for health and hygiene reasons burial in churches was forbidden in the Netherlands by decree of William I in 1829 To allow members of the royal family to be entombed all Dutch laws on burial have made an exception for the royal house ever since the 1829 decree The practice was banned before under French occupation but returned after 1815 The burial of the royal house members is a matter of tradition circumstance practicality and spirit of the times This is due to the lack of any formal rules whatsoever The body of a departed member of the royal house is typically placed on display for a few days in one of the palaces to allow the family to say goodbye Depending on the deceased family member s identity a monarch for instance there may also be a viewing for the public Then on the burial day the body is transported to Delft in a special horse drawn carriage The current protocol specifies eight horses for a deceased monarch and six for a dead royal consort which is relatively new since Prince Hendrik was borne to Delft by eight horses The current carriage is purple with white trim This also changed since the burial of Queen Wilhelmina in 1962 when the carriage was white Currently members of the Dutch armed forces line the route to Delft which is also new since the burial of Prince Hendrik which was a quiet affair Once in Delft the body is placed in the family crypt after a short service Only members of the family are allowed in the crypt through the main entrance in the church which only opens for royal funerals the mayor of Delft has a key to a separate service entrance which is only allowed to open in the presence of two military police officers and two members of the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service for maintenance The monarchy in Dutch society editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed February 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Importance and position within Dutch society edit The importance and position of the monarchy within Dutch society has changed over time together with changes in the constitutional position of the monarchy The monarchy of the Netherlands was established in 1815 as a reaction to the decline and eventual fall of the Dutch Republic It was observed at the time that a large part of the decline of the republic was due to a lack of a strong central government in the face of strong centrally led competitor nations such as Great Britain and the French kingdom After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1813 and the resurrection of the Netherlands it was decided to reform the republic in the Kingdom of the Netherlands with a monarchy rather than the old stadtholder system The original monarchy was absolute in nature with the States General serving as more of an advisory board without the power to do much against the king This state of affairs allowed the king great freedom to determine the course of the nation and indeed William I was able to push through many changes that set the nation on the course towards industrialization and wealth He also established the first Dutch railway system and the Nederlandsche Handel Maatschappij which would later evolve into the ABN Amro bank On the other hand his policies caused great discord with the Southern Netherlands leading to the Belgian Revolution and a years long war A backlash against these policies plus rising fear of early Marxism led to acceptance by William II of a series of reforms starting with a new constitution in 1848 which was the start of a continuing series of limitations on royal power Direct political power and influence of the king continued until 1890 although it slowly declined in the meantime Both William I and William II proved quite conservative rulers although William II was less inclined to interfere with policy than his father was William I resisted major reforms until eventually conflict with the States General and his own government forced his abdication William III s reign was a continuous saga of power struggles between the monarch and the parliamentary government which he forced out a couple of times plus major international crises due to the same stubbornness including the Luxembourg Crisis As a result the Dutch government used the succession of William III by a female regent as an opportunity to make a power play and establish government authority over royal authority Queen Wilhelmina was not happy with the new situation and made several half hearted attempts during her reign to reassert authority She was partly successful in certain areas being able to push for military rearmament before World War I but she never succeeded in restoring royal power She did introduce a new concept to Dutch royalty though the popular monarch Establishing her popularity in military circles through her support of Dutch military prior to 1917 she was able to wield her personal popularity to uphold the government against a socialist revolution in November 1918 Royal power continued to decline until the start of World War II Forced to flee to London Queen Wilhelmina established the position of mother of the Dutch state through her radio broadcasts into the occupied Netherlands and her support for other Dutchmen evading the Germans and fighting from England She tried to position her family into more influence by giving Prince Bernhard an important position in the military but was still relegated to a position of constitutional monarch after the war Following Wilhelmina s abdication in 1948 the Orange family seems to have settled for a position of unofficial influence behind the scenes coupled with a role as popular monarchs in public As such the monarchs are practically never seen in public doing their official work except news footage of state visits and the reading of the government plans on Prinsjesdag and instead their relationship with the public has become more of a popular and romanticized notion of royalty Queens Juliana and Beatrix were popularly perceived to have a figurehead role serving to some extent as mother of the nation in times of crises and disasters such as the 1953 floods In addition there is a public holiday called Koningsdag King s Day which was Koninginnedag Queen s Day before 2014 during which the royal family pays a visit somewhere in the country and participates in local activities and traditions in order to get closer to the people Popularity of the monarchy edit The popularity of the monarchy has changed over time with constitutional influence circumstance and economic tides When the monarchy was established in 1815 popularity was not a major concern Still the Orange family held popular support in around 60 percent of the population following the fall of the French This changed drastically over the following years as William I s policies alienated the Southern Netherlands drew the country into civil war and established industries that favored the rich Protestants and not the general populace Royal popularity remained relatively low throughout the reign of the kings William II was conservative but on the whole did as little to lose popularity as he did to gain it Economic decline drove most of his popular decline although popular support for the monarch was still not considered of much import then William III was unpopular under a wide section of the public Royal popularity started to increase with Wilhelmina s ascent to the throne She pushed for national reforms was a huge supporter of the armed forces and strove for renewed industrialization Around 1917 the country was generally divided into two camps socialists in the cities royalists elsewhere This showed in the dividing lines during the failed Troelstra revolution where Troelstra gained popular support in the larger cities but the countryside flocked to the queen Wilhelmina was able to muster popular support with a countryside publicity tour together with her daughter this showing of popular support for the queen was instrumental in halting the revolution and stabilizing the government Still Wilhelmina remained deeply unpopular in the cities throughout the 1920s and 1930s Nationwide support came for Wilhelmina and the monarchy during World War II Wilhelmina was forced to retreat to London but refused evacuation all the way to Canada although princess Juliana was sent there with her children Wilhelmina regularly held radio broadcasts into the occupied Netherlands and staunchly supported the Dutch troops in exile She became the symbol for Dutch resistance against the Germans History editFor rulers of the Netherlands before 1795 see Stadtholder and List of rulers of the Netherlands Before the Batavian Revolution of 1795 the semi independent provinces of the Netherlands had chief executives called stadtholders who were all drawn from the House of Orange or the House of Nassau by primogeniture After 1747 the office became formally hereditary in all seven provinces in the House of Orange Nassau The House of Orange Nassau came from Dietz Germany seat of one of the Nassau counties Their title Prince of Orange was acquired through inheritance of the Principality of Orange in southern France in 1544 William of Orange also known as William the Silent was the first Orange stadtholder ironically appointed by Philip II of Spain From 1568 to his death in 1584 he led the Dutch struggle for independence from Spain His younger brother John VI Count of Nassau Dillenburg Stadtholder of Utrecht was the direct male line ancestor of the later Stadtholders of Friesland and Groningen the later hereditary stadtholders and the first King of the Netherlands The Netherlands remained formally a confederated republic even when in 1747 the office of stadtholder was centralized one stadtholder for all provinces and became formally hereditary under the House of Orange Nassau The present monarchy was founded in 1813 when the French were driven out The new regime was headed by Prince William Frederick of Orange the son of the last stadtholder He originally reigned over only the territory of the old republic as sovereign prince In 1815 after Napoleon escaped from Elba William Frederick raised the Netherlands to the status of a kingdom and proclaimed himself King William I As part of the rearrangement of Europe at the Congress of Vienna the House of Orange Nassau was confirmed as rulers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands enlarged with what are now Belgium and Luxembourg At the same time William became hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg in exchange for ceding his family s hereditary lands in Germany to Nassau Weilburg and Prussia The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was a part of the Netherlands until 1839 while at the same time a member state of the German Confederation It became fully independent in 1839 but remained in a personal union with the Kingdom of the Netherlands until 1890 7 8 9 10 Abdication of the throne has become a de facto tradition in the Dutch monarchy Queen Wilhelmina and Queen Juliana both abdicated in favor of their daughters and William I abdicated in favor of his eldest son William II The only Dutch monarchs to die on the throne were William II and William III On 30 April 2013 Queen Beatrix abdicated in favor of Crown Prince Willem Alexander List of hereditary heads of state edit Main article List of monarchs of the NetherlandsReligious affiliation editThe Dutch Royal Family historically have been members of the Dutch Reformed Church It became the Protestant Church in the Netherlands after its 2004 merger but some members of the royal family are Roman Catholic There is no law in the Netherlands stipulating what religion the monarch should be although the constitution stipulated up to 1983 that marriage to a Catholic meant loss of rights to the throne the constitutional overhaul of 1983 changed this to a requirement that potential heirs must seek parliamentary approval before marriage in order to retain rights of succession Royal finances editThe royal palaces are the property of the Dutch state and given for the use of the reigning monarch 11 While the House of Orange Nassau possesses a large number of personal belongings items such as paintings historical artifacts and jewelry are usually associated with the performance of royal duties and or the decoration of royal residences As such these items have a cultural significance beyond that of simple artworks and jewelry and have therefore been placed in the hands of trusts the House of Orange Nassau Archives Trust and the House of Orange Nassau Historic Collections Trust Part of the collection is on permanent loan to Het Loo Palace Museum in Apeldoorn and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam Queen Juliana sold the remaining royal palaces and put the cultural assets paintings antiques books etc into non personal trusts The crown jewels comprising the crown orb and sceptre Sword of State royal banner and ermine mantle have been placed in the Crown Property Trust The trust also holds the items used on ceremonial occasions such as the carriages table silver and dinner services Placing these goods in the hands of a trust ensures that they will remain at the disposal of the monarch in perpetuity 12 The Royal Archives house the personal archives of the royal family 13 This includes books photographs and artworks as well as the books of the House of Orange Nassau and the music library The library was begun in 1813 following the return of the Orange Nassaus to the Netherlands King William I allowed the Stadtholder s library to remain part of the Royal Library in The Hague The library houses a collection of some 70 000 books journals and brochures The music library has 6 000 scores going back to the mid 18th century The Royal House Finances Act 1972 14 as amended in 2008 sets allowances for the King or Queen Regnant the Heir to the Throne and the former sovereign who has abdicated Provision is also made for their spouses and in the case of death for the surviving spouse The allowances have two components income A component and personnel and materials B component Annual increases or decreases are provided for the A component is linked to changes in the annual salary of the Vice President of the Council of State the B component is linked to changes in civil service pay and the cost of living In 2009 the government decided that the annual state budget of the Netherlands should show in a transparent way all the costs of the royal house some of which had previously been borne by various Government Ministries 15 Three sets of costs are now separately allocated in the annual budget for the royal house Budget I of the annual State Budget These are Allowances paid under the Royal House Finances Act They comprise the income and personnel and materials components mentioned above Expenses incurred in the performance of official duties They include costs which had previously been borne by the budgets of three Government Ministries Interior Transport and Water Management Health and Welfare and which are now attributed to the Royal budget in the interest of transparency They also include the costs relating to royal flights and the royal yacht Groene Draeck Other expenses relating to the management of the royal house They relate to expenses for the Government Information Service AZ RVD in connection with the royal house the cost of the Royal Military Household the Queen s Cabinet and the travel and other costs incurred by royal visits to overseas provinces and countries within the Dutch Kingdom former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba Costs relating to the security of members of the royal house state visits and the maintenance and upkeep of the royal palaces which are considered to be national monuments continue to be funded by the budgets of the appropriate Government Ministries and are not included in the budget for the royal house 16 According to the State Budget for 2010 the budgetary allocation for the royal house in 2010 is 39 643 million 17 There are the following categories of expenditure Allowances paid to the King Queen Maxima and the Princess under the Royal House Finances Act They total some 7 102 million in 2010 Expenses incurred in the performance of official duties They total some 26 818 million in 2010 Other expenses relating to the management of the royal house They total some 5 723 million in 2010 Monarchs of the Netherlands editMain article List of monarchs of the Netherlands Wilhelmina 1890 1948 edit Main article Wilhelmina of the Netherlands When Wilhelmina came to the Dutch throne in 1890 at age 10 the throne of Luxembourg went to her very distant agnate but incidentally also her maternal granduncle Adolf former Duke of Nassau Thus ended the personal union between the Netherlands and Luxembourg The 58 year reign of Queen Wilhelmina was dominated by the two World Wars She married a German prince Duke Henry of Mecklenburg Schwerin who was not happy with his unrewarding role of husband to the queen Wilhelmina s strong personality and unrelenting passion to fulfill her inherited task overpowered many men in position of authority including ministers Prime Ministers and her own husband She is mostly remembered for her role during World War II The initial disappointment of many Dutch people because of her quick withdrawal to London faded though it was never forgotten and by some was never forgiven when she proved to be of great moral support to the people and the resistance in her occupied country Netherlands Hendrik and Wilhelmina had one daughter Juliana who came to the throne in 1948 They lived in The Hague and in Palace t Loo Paleis t Loo in Apeldoorn She died in 1962 Juliana 1948 1980 edit Main article Juliana of the Netherlands Juliana reigned from 1948 until 1980 and whereas Wilhelmina reigned like a general Juliana expressed a more motherly character One of her first official acts was to sign the treaty of independence of the Dutch colony Indonesia During her reign the monarchy became entangled in two major crises the Greet Hofmans affair and the Lockheed bribery scandals In the first it was her involvement in a mystic pacifist group that was a cause for concern The second crisis announced itself when it became known that the queen s husband Prince Bernard von Lippe Biesterfeld had taken bribes to advance Lockheed s bid After an inquiry the prince was forbidden to perform the military tasks he had performed since 1945 but in this crisis the monarchy itself nor Juliana s position was never in doubt She and Bernhard had four daughters Beatrix Irene Margriet and Christina After their return from Ottawa Ontario Canada in 1945 where Margriet was born they lived in the Soestdijk Palace Paleis Soestdijk in Soestdijk about 20 km north east of Utrecht She died on 20 March 2004 Her husband Bernhard died on 1 December 2004 Beatrix 1980 2013 edit Main article Beatrix of the Netherlands The Dutch royal family today is much larger than it has ever been Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus had three sons King Willem Alexander married to Queen Maxima Prince Friso whose widow is Princess Mabel and Prince Constantijn married to Princess Laurentien Her sister Princess Margriet and Pieter van Vollenhoven have four sons princes Maurits Bernhard Pieter Christiaan and Floris Princess Margriet is in line to the throne behind King Willem Alexander s daughters princesses Catharina Amalia Alexia and Ariane and his brother Prince Constantijn Prince Friso lost his right to the throne because no approval was asked for his marriage to Mabel Wisse Smit to the States General The two other sisters of Beatrix Irene and Christina lost their rights to the throne because their marriages were not approved by the States General They both married Roman Catholics and Irene herself converted to Roman Catholicism which at that time the 1960s was still politically problematic An additional complication which the government wanted to avoid was that Irene s husband Prince Carlos Hugo of Bourbon Parma whom she later divorced was a member of a deposed Italian dynasty who claimed rights to the Spanish throne Traditionally Dutch monarchs have always been members of the Dutch Reformed Church although this was never constitutionally required This tradition is embedded in the history of the Netherlands On 28 January 2013 the Queen announced that she would abdicate on 30 April 2013 in favour of her eldest son Willem Alexander 2013 present edit Main article Willem Alexander of the Netherlands The current monarch is King Willem Alexander born 1967 who has been on the Throne since 30 April 2013 He studied history at the University of Leiden and became actively involved in water management His wife is Queen Maxima nee Maxima Zorreguieta Cerruti an economics major whose father was a minister of agriculture in the dictatorial regime under General Videla in Argentina Because of that their relationship was accompanied by fierce public debate and only officially sanctioned after quiet diplomacy resulting in Maxima s father agreeing not to be present on their wedding day 2 February 2002 Former minister Max van der Stoel and Prime Minister Wim Kok seem to have played a crucial role in this process On 7 December 2003 Princess Maxima gave birth to a daughter Princess Catharina Amalia On 26 June 2005 another daughter was born Princess Alexia On 10 April 2007 a third daughter was born Princess Ariane They are first second and third in line to the Dutch throne His mother Queen Beatrix announced that she would be abdicating the Throne on 30 April 2013 On that day Willem Alexander became the new King and was sworn in and inaugurated in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam in a session of the States General Heir apparent edit The heir apparent to the Dutch throne is Amalia Princess of Orange Full title editSee also Style of the Dutch sovereign Most members of the Dutch royal family in addition to other titles hold or held the princely title Prince of Orange Nassau The children of Prince Friso and Prince Constantijn are instead counts and countesses of Orange Nassau In addition to the titles King Prince of the Netherlands and Prince of Orange Nassau daughters of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of Lippe Biesterfeld hold another princely title Princesses of Lippe Biesterfeld The children of Queen Beatrix and their male line descendants except for the children of King Willem Alexander also carry the appellative Honourable Jonkheer Jonkvrouw in combination with the name Van Amsberg Queen Juliana the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Duke Henry of Mecklenburg Schwerin was also a Duchess of Mecklenburg Schwerin Since the title can pass only through the male line Queen Juliana s descendants do not carry the title of Duke of Mecklenburg Schwerin The title Prince of the Netherlands is the prerogative of the most important members of the royal house children of the monarch and of the heir apparent which is smaller than the royal family Members of the royal house can lose their membership when they enter into marriage without asking and receiving consent from Parliament In addition to this the Dutch Monarch carries a number of subsidiary titles of more historical than practical note that have been passed down through the House of Orange Nassau and represent the accretion of lands and influence by their ancestors Duke of Limburg Count of Katzenelnbogen Vianden Diez Spiegelberg Buren Leerdam and Culemborg Marquis of Veere and Vlissingen Baron of Breda Diest Beilstein the town of Grave and the lands of Cuyk IJsselstein Cranendonk Eindhoven and Liesveld Hereditary Lord and Seigneur of Ameland Lord of Borculo Bredevoort Lichtenvoorde t Loo Geertruidenberg Klundert Zevenbergen Hoge and Lage Zwaluwe Naaldwijk Polanen St Maartensdijk Soest Baarn and Ter Eem Willemstad Steenbergen Montfort St Vith Butgenbach and Dasburg Viscount of Antwerp 18 19 Probably the most important of these was the Barony of Breda which formed the core of the Nassau lands in the Netherlands Brabant even before they inherited the Principality of Orange in what is now southern France This was probably followed by the Viscountship Burgravate of Antwerp which allowed William the Silent to control a large amount of the politics in that then very important city followed by the Marquisate of Veere which allowed William the Silent and his descendants to control the votes of the province of Zeeland 20 21 22 23 24 The royal family and the royal house editA distinction is made in the Netherlands between the royal family and the Royal House The royal family includes people born into the family and legally recognised as such or who have married into the family However not every member of the royal family is a member of the royal house By Act of Parliament the members of the Royal House are 25 the monarch King or Queen the former monarch on abdication the members of the royal family in the line of succession to the throne who are not further removed to the monarch than the second degree of consanguinity Princess Margriet of the Netherlands the spouses of the above Members of the royal house can lose their membership and designation as prince or princess of the Netherlands if they marry without the consent of the Dutch Parliament This happened to Prince Friso when he married Mabel Wisse Smit This is written down explicitly in the part of the constitution of the Netherlands that controls the Monarchy of the Netherlands 25 Family tree of current members edit See also Dutch monarchs family tree See also House of Orange Nassau Juliana of the NetherlandsPrince Bernhard of Lippe BiesterfeldBeatrix of the Netherlands Prince Claus of the Netherlands Claus von Amsberg Princess Irene Carlos Hugo Duke of Parma div 1981 Princess Margriet Prof Pieter van Vollenhoven Princess ChristinaJorge Perez y Guillermo div 1996 Bernardo Guillermo Eva Marie Valdez Nicolas Guillermo Juliana Guillermo Prince Maurits Princess Marilene Prince Bernhard Princess Annette Prince Pieter Christiaan Princess Anita Princess Aimee Prince Floris The Duke of Parma The Duchess of Parma The Countess of Colorno Tjalling Siebe ten Cate The Count of Bardi The Countess of Bardi The Marchioness of Sala Albert Brenninkmeijer The King The Queen Prince FrisoPrincess Mabel Prince Constantijn Princess Laurentien The Princess of Orange Princess Alexia Princess Ariane Countess Luana Countess Zaria Countess Eloise Count Claus Casimir Countess Leonore Notes Member of the Dutch royal house Member of the Royal Family Member of the extended royal family Members of the royal house edit According to the official website the members of the royal house are currently 26 HM King Willem Alexander The King of the Netherlands the sovereign HM Queen Maxima The Queen of the Netherlands the king s wife HRH Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands the king s mother and predecessor HRH Princess Catharina Amalia The Princess of Orange the king s first daughter and heir HRH Princess Alexia of the Netherlands the king s second daughter HRH Princess Ariane of the Netherlands the king s third daughter HRH Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands the king s brother HRH Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands the king s sister in law HRH Princess Margriet of the Netherlands the king s aunt Prof Pieter van Vollenhoven the king s uncle Members of the royal family edit According to the official website the royal family consists of the members of the royal house plus other legitimate descendants of Queen Juliana 27 Descendants of Princess Beatrix HRH Princess Mabel of Orange Nassau Countess Luana of Orange Nassau Countess Zaria of Orange Nassau Countess Eloise of Orange Nassau Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg Count Claus Casimir of Orange Nassau Jonkheer van Amsberg Countess Leonore of Orange Nassau Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg HRH Princess Irene of the Netherlands HRH Prince Carlos Xavier The Duke of Parma and Piacenza HRH Princess Annemarie The Duchess of Parma and Piacenza HRH Prince Hugo de Bourbon de Parme born illigitemate son of Prince Carlos Xavier and Brigitte Klynstra HRH Princess Luisa Irene The Marchioness of Castell Arquato HRH Princess Cecilia Maria The Countess of Berceto HRH Prince Carlos The Prince of Piacenza HRH Princess Margarita The Countess of Colorno Mr Tjalling ten Cate Miss Julia ten Cate Miss Paola ten Cate HRH Prince Jaime The Count of Bardi HRH Princess Viktoria The Countess of Bardi HRH Princess Zita Clara of Bourbon Parma HRH Princess Gloria Irene of Bourbon Parma HRH Princess Carolina The Marchioness of Sala Mr Albert Brenninkmeijer Miss Alaia Maria Brenninkmeijer Mr Xavier Brenninkmeijer Descendants of Princess Margriet HH Prince Maurits of Orange Nassau van Vollenhoven HH Princess Marilene of Orange Nassau van Vollenhoven van den Broek Miss Anna van Lippe Biesterfeld van Vollenhoven Mr Lucas van Lippe Biesterfeld van Vollenhoven Miss Felicia van Lippe Biesterfeld van Vollenhoven HH Prince Bernhard of Orange Nassau van Vollenhoven HH Princess Annette of Orange Nassau van Vollenhoven Sekreve Miss Isabella van Vollenhoven Mr Samuel van Vollenhoven Mr Benjamin van Vollenhoven HH Prince Pieter Christiaan of Orange Nassau van Vollenhoven HH Princess Anita of Orange Nassau van Vollenhoven van Eijk Miss Emma van Vollenhoven Mr Pieter van Vollenhoven HH Prince Floris of Orange Nassau van Vollenhoven HH Princess Aimee of Orange Nassau van Vollenhoven Sohngen Miss Magali van Vollenhoven Miss Eliane van Vollenhoven Mr Willem van Vollenhoven Descendants of the late Princess Christina Mr Bernardo Guillermo Mrs Eva Guillermo Miss Isabel Guillermo Mr Julian Guillermo Mr Nicolas Guillermo Mr Joaquin Guillermo Miss Carmen Guillermo Miss Juliana Guillermo Mr Kai Bodi Mr Numa Bodi Miss Aida BodiStandards editThe Dutch royal family also makes extensive use of royal standards that are based on their coats of arms While these are heraldic flags they are not a person s coat of arms in banner form as the British royal family does Some examples from the royal family s website are 25 The standards of the ruling king or queen nbsp Royal Flag of the Netherlands until 1908 nbsp Current Royal Standard of the NetherlandsThe standards of the current sons of Princess Beatrix and their wives and the Princess husband nbsp Royal Standard of the Princes of the Netherlands Sons of Queen Beatrix nbsp Standard of Claus von Amsberg as Royal consort of the Netherlands nbsp Standard of Princess Maxima of the Netherlands nbsp Standard of Princess Laurentien of the NetherlandsThe standards of the sisters of Princess Beatrix and their children nbsp Standard of the Princesses of the Netherlands Daughters of Queen Juliana nbsp Standard of the Princes of Oranje Nassau Sons of Princess Margriet The standards of former members of the royal family nbsp Standard of Juliana of the Netherlands as Princess nbsp Standard of Bernhard of Lippe Biesterfeld as Royal consort of the Netherlands nbsp Standard of Hendrik of Mecklenburg Schwerin as Royal consort of the Netherlands nbsp Standard of Queen Mother Emma of the Netherlands nbsp Standard of Marie of Wied Princess of the NetherlandsMonograms editAs most Royal Families the Dutch royal family also makes use of royal monograms Some examples from the royal family s website are 25 The monograms of the ruling kings or queens nbsp King Willem Alexander nbsp Queen Beatrix nbsp Queen Juliana nbsp Queen Juliana Variant nbsp Queen Wilhelmina nbsp William I III nbsp William IThe monograms of some members of the royal family nbsp Queen Anna Pavlovna nbsp Queen Sophie nbsp Queen Emma nbsp Queen Emma Variant nbsp Prince Henry nbsp Prince Bernhard nbsp Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard nbsp Prince Claus nbsp Queen Maxima nbsp Willem Alexander and Maxima nbsp Prince Friso nbsp Prince Friso and Princess Mabel nbsp Prince Constantijn nbsp Princess Laurentien nbsp Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien nbsp Catharina Amalia The Princess of OrangeSee also editList of heirs to the Dutch throne List of monarchs of the Netherlands List of rulers of the Netherlands List of stadtholders for the Low Countries provinces Monarchies in EuropeNotes editReferences edit Zaken Ministerie van Algemene I De Koning Rijksbegroting 2017 www rijksoverheid nl in Dutch Retrieved 28 February 2018 Bankrupt man jailed for insulting queen Beatrix DutchNews nl DutchNews nl 19 July 2012 Retrieved 28 February 2018 Dutch man jailed for insulting the queen Current Archived from the original on 21 February 2011 Retrieved 29 January 2013 Tweeter get sentenced for Dutch queen diss NY Daily News Retrieved 28 February 2018 Dutchman jailed for king insult BBC News 14 July 2016 Retrieved 4 February 2018 Koninkrijksrelaties Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Wetboek van Strafrecht wetten overheid nl in Dutch Retrieved 6 September 2021 Thewes Guy 2006 PDF Les gouvernements du Grand Duche de Luxembourg depuis 1848 2006 p 208 LUXEMBURG Geschiedenis Landenweb nl www landenweb net Retrieved 28 February 2018 The World Factbook Central Intelligence Agency www cia gov Archived from the original on 13 June 2007 Retrieved 28 February 2018 Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 1997 Dutch Royal House Palaces and Immovable Property Archived from the original on 22 June 2007 Retrieved 29 June 2008 Dutch Royal House Movable Property Archived from the original on 29 September 2007 Retrieved 29 June 2008 Dutch Royal House Royal Archives Archived from the original on 21 June 2008 Retrieved 29 June 2008 Royal House Finances Act 1972 Cabinet opinion on Report on cost of royal house Archived from the original on 9 June 2013 Retrieved 29 January 2013 Report on cost of Royal House Archived from the original on 8 June 2013 Retrieved 29 January 2013 Budget for The King 2010 23 April 2008 Koninklijkhuis 2013 Frequently asked questions re King William Alexander Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst RVD Archived from the original web on 21 June 2013 Retrieved 30 May 2013 The King s full official titles are King of the Netherlands Prince of Orange Nassau Jonkheer van Amsberg Count of Katzenelnbogen Vianden Diez Spiegelberg Buren Leerdam and Culemborg Marquis of Veere and Vlissingen Baron of Breda Diest Beilstein the town of Grave and the lands of Cuyk IJsselstein Cranendonk Eindhoven and Liesveld Hereditary Lord and Seigneur of Ameland Lord of Borculo Bredevoort Lichtenvoorde t Loo Geertruidenberg Klundert Zevenbergen Hoge and Lage Zwaluwe Naaldwijk Polanen St Maartensdijk Soest Baarn and Ter Eem Willemstad Steenbergen Montfort St Vith Butgenbach and Dasburg Viscount of Antwerp The Netherlands Princely and Royal Style 1813 2013 Archontology com Retrieved 6 August 2013 Motley John Lothrop 1855 The Rise of the Dutch Republic vol 2 Harper amp Brothers p 37 Young Andrew 1886 A Short History of the Netherlands Holland and Belgium Netherlands T F Unwin p 315 Putnam Ruth 1895 William the Silent Prince of Orange the moderate man of the sixteenth century the story of his life as told from his own letters from those of his friends and enemies and from official documents Volume 1 Putnam p 211 viscount of antwerp Parker Geoffrey 2002 The Dutch Revolt Penguin Rowen Herbert H 1990 The Princes of Orange The Stadholders in the Dutch Republic Cambridge Univ Press In 1582 William the Silent purchased the marquisate of Veere and Vlissingen It had been the property of Philip II since 1567 but had fallen into arrears to the province In 1580 the Court of Holland ordered it sold William bought it as it gave him two more votes in the States of Zeeland He owned the government of the two towns and so could appoint their magistrates He already had one as First Noble for Philip William who had inherited Maartensdijk This made William the predominant member of the States of Zeeland It was a smaller version of the countship of Zeeland amp Holland promised to William and was a potent political base for his descendants a b c d The Official Website of the Dutch Royal House in English Archived from the original on 25 March 2011 Retrieved 26 April 2011 Affairs Ministry of General 18 August 2014 Members of the Royal House www royal house nl Retrieved 28 February 2018 Affairs Ministry of General 5 October 2015 Royal family www royal house nl Retrieved 28 February 2018 Constitutional references edit in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 24 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 25 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 26 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 33 Dutch edition of WikiSource a b in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 37 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 34 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 30 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 28 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 29 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Chapter 2 Government Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 32 Dutch edition of WikiSource a b in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 27 Dutch edition of WikiSource a b c in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 35 Dutch edition of WikiSource a b c in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 36 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 42 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 46 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 45 Dutch edition of WikiSource a b in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 87 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 82 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 44 Dutch edition of WikiSource a b in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 64 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 43 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 47 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 48 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 51 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 65 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article XIX Dutch edition of WikiSource a b in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 74 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 73 Dutch edition of WikiSource in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 97 Dutch edition of WikiSource a b c d in Dutch Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 40 Dutch edition of WikiSource References to other laws and related documentation edit in Dutch Wet instelling van de Orde van Oranje Nassau law regarding the Order of Orange Nassau Article 3 in Dutch Wet instelling van de Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw law regarding the Order of the Dutch Lion Article 3 par 1 in Dutch Wet instelling Militaire Willems Orde law regarding the Military William Order Article 3 in Dutch Wet financieel statuut van het Koninklijk Huis Law on the financial statute of the royal house Vaststelling begroting Huis der Koningin I voor het jaar 2009 31700 I 2 Memorie van toelichting Argumentation for the law setting the royal house budget for the year 2009 in Dutch Wet op het Kroondomein in Dutch Wet lidmaatschap koninklijk huis Law on membership and titles of the Dutch royal house External sources edit a b c d e f Janse de Jonge E J A K Koekkoek et al 2000 A K Koekkoek ed de Grondwet een systematisch en artikelsgewijs commentaar the Constitution a systematic article by article commentary in Dutch 3rd ed W E J TJEENK WILLINK ISBN 90 271 5106 7 van Bijsterveld S C A K Koekkoek et al 2000 A K Koekkoek ed de Grondwet een systematisch en artikelsgewijs commentaar the Constitution a systematic article by article commentary in Dutch 3rd ed W E J TJEENK WILLINK ISBN 90 271 5106 7 a b Formeren zonder koningin nog niet zo simpel NOS 28 August 2012 Retrieved 13 November 2012 Catshuisoverleg is mislukt NOS 21 April 2012 Retrieved 13 November 2012 Rutte II op weg naar bordes NOS 5 November 2012 Retrieved 13 November 2012 Kamp verkenner in formatie NOS 13 September 2012 Retrieved 13 November 2012 Kabinet Rutte II beedigd NOS 5 November 2012 Retrieved 13 November 2012 MP resigns after telling all about the queen DutchNews nl 19 November 2009 Retrieved 19 November 2009 Beers A A L A K Koekkoek et al 2000 A K Koekkoek ed de Grondwet een systematisch en artikelsgewijs commentaar the Constitution a systematic article by article commentary in Dutch 3rd ed W E J TJEENK WILLINK ISBN 90 271 5106 7 Het Koninklijk Huis Koninklijkhuis nl Archived from the original on 19 October 2011 Retrieved 7 February 2012 External links editOfficial Royal Website Much information about the monarchy and royal family and virtual palace tours texts in Dutch and English Res Publica The Netherlands an international anti monarchy Web directory NL Planet The Dutch Royal Family a guide looking at the recent history and current figureheads of the Dutch monarchy Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Monarchy of the Netherlands amp oldid 1191943941, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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