Monarchy of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands has been an independent monarchy since 16 March 1815, but has been hereditarily "governed" by members of the House of Orange-Nassau since 1559, when Philip II of Spain appointed William of Orange as stadtholder. William became the leader of the Dutch Revolt and the independent Dutch Republic. As stadtholder, he was followed by several of his descendants, and during the 18th century, the function of stadtholder developed into a hereditary head of state of the thus "crowned" Dutch Republic. The last stadtholder, William V, was succeeded by his son, William I, who became the 1st king.
Constitutional role and position of the monarchy of the netherlands
The cycle of monarchs is described in the 1st section of Chapter 2 of the constitution, which is dedicated to the government of the Netherlands.As with most monarchies, the Netherlands cannot be without a monarch. There must be a head of state in order for the government to function. For this reason the new monarch assumes his 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. The ceremony is called the inauguration .
The Dutch monarch isn't crowned; the monarch's swearing of the oath constitutes his acceptance of the throne. Also note that the ceremony does not equal ascension to the throne; this would imply a vacancy of the throne between monarchs which isn't allowed. The monarch ascends immediately after the previous monarch ceases to reign; the swearing-in only constitutes acceptance in public.The abdicated monarch is legally a Prince or Princess of the Netherlands as well as Prince or Princess of Orange-Nassau. After his or her death, legally the deceased monarch has no titles. However, after death, the abdicated monarch is 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.
These cases can both be 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. 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 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. The former case is signed into law by the monarch himself, the latter is not, so technically it isn't a law.
This article is the basis of the full power and influence of the monarch and makes him beyond reach before the law, but also limits his practical power, as he can take no responsibility for it.
After the parliamentary election there follows a period of time in which the leaders of the political parties in the 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 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.
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 are usually based around the argument that 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.
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 actual laws. In this respect, it is of course vital for the government to maintain good relations with the States-General and technically the monarch shares that effort .
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 3rd Tuesday of September with a joint session of both houses. 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 . 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 Queen's Speech and the American State of the Union.
Lawmaking is the area in which the monarch has the most frequent involvement with the States-General . Laws in the Netherlands are primarily proposed by the government and can be proposed "by or on behalf of" the monarch (this phrase is repeated often in the constitution). Technically this means that the monarch may propose laws in person, hearkening back to the days of the 1st monarchs of the Netherlands when the monarchs really could and did propose laws. However, this possibility is at odds with ministerial responsibility and the queens have always avoided the issue by never proposing laws in person. The monarch must still sign proposals into law though, a historical deference to the fact that the law of the land is decreed by the monarch.
A law, once passed, is formulated in such a way as to be decreed by the monarch.
The constitution prescribes a number of cases in which one or more houses of the States are dissolved ; 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 favorable 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).
The monarch has several functions in addition to the duties and responsibilities described in previous sections. Some of these are constitutional; others are more traditional in nature.
Although the constitution does not tell so, 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. And even though head-of-government responsibility lies with the Prime Minister, it is the monarch that makes state visits to foreign heads of state as representative of the Netherlands. It is also the monarch whose face is shown on Dutch stamps and Dutch euro coins.
Of course, the role played by the monarch in the Council is largely theoretical due to ministerial responsibility. While the monarch is officially head of the Council, in practice the queen never votes in Council meetings and always turns over her responsibility as chair of the meetings to the deputy head of the Council. She is presumed to be part of the discussions though.
Lastly, the monarch plays a very large but completely unofficial role in the running of the country as advisor 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 the affairs of the week, the plans of the cabinet and so on. It is assumed that the queen exerts most of her influence in these meetings, in that she can bring her knowledge and experience to bear in what she 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 lands on her desk.
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 1st 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.
The monarch has the use of an airplane and a train for state visits .[ext 10] The monarch also has a small fleet of cars available, on which he may display the royal standard.
The monarch is protected by law against Lese-majesty. This is actively enforced, although the sentences tend to be light.
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 her eventual ascent to the throne, so she has some limited tasks and a number of limits on her person . Since neither king nor 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 king and the heir-apparent have no official tasks within the Dutch government and don't receive stipends. They are responsible for their own conduct and their own income. They may of course be asked to stand in from time to time (for instance to accompany the King on a state visit if the consort is ill), but this is always a personal favor and not an official duty. In addition, they aren't exempt from taxation.
Many members of the royal family do hold 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 Queen 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 is chairman of the Dutch Safety Board.
As noted before, 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 king. 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 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 Princess Máxima (who had a career in banking before marrying Prince Willem-Alexander) should be allowed far more leeway if she desires.
Although Dutch lawmakers have historically favored being very conservative about creating special legal positions 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 than for other Dutch citizens: the area of death and burial. More specifically, there is only one rule that pertains to members of the royal house in this area and that is that there are no rules.
For Dutch citizens, the rules surrounding death and burial are laid out by the Funeral Law .[Law 8] However, article 87 of this law states that the entire law isn't applicable to members of the royal house and that the Minister of Internal Affairs can also waive the law for other relatives of the king. The reason for this 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 where William was entombed (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 (the practice had been banned before under French occupation of the country, but returned after 1815). In order to allow entombing of members of the Royal family, all Dutch laws pertaining to burial have made an exception for the royal house ever since the 1829 decree.
Burial of members of the royal house is completely a matter of tradition, circumstance, practicality and spirit of the times . As a rule of thumb, the body of a deceased member of the royal house is placed on display for a few days in one of the palaces, to allow the family to tell goodbye. Depending on the identity of the deceased (a deceased 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. Current protocol specifies eight horses for a deceased monarch and six for a deceased 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 has also changed since the burial of Queen Wilhelmina in 1962, when the carriage was white). Currently, the route to Delft is lined by members of the Dutch armed forces (which is also new since the burial of Prince Hendrik, which was a very quiet affair).
Once in Delft, the body is entombed in the family crypt after a short service. Only members of the family are allowed into the crypt, through the main entrance in the church which is only opened for royal funerals .
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 1st 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 .
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 , 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 wasn't happy with the new situation and made several half-hearted attempts during her reign to reassert authority. She was partly successful in certain areas 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 1917.
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 monarchy 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 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 (before 2014: Koninginnedag), 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.
The popularity of the monarchy has changed over time, with constitutional influence, circumstance and economic tides.
When the monarchy was established in 1815, popularity wasn't 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, earning himself the nickname "King Gorilla" for his boorish way of behaving.
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 . 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, leading to the term "WOZO" (Wilhelmina, Oranje Zal Overwinnen, or Wilhelmina, Orange Shall Be Victorious) being graffitied over all manner of Dutch walls as a sign of resistance. Wilhelmina established popular support for the monarchy that essentially holds to this day.
Although a completely different type of queen than Wilhelmina, Juliana gained enormous popular support in her own right. Starting with her public appearances after the 1953 floods, Juliana established herself as a "mother of the nation" type of queen. A far more homey, down-to-earth character than Wilhelmina, Queen Juliana reigned with a "neighbour and housewife" air about her in a time when the Netherlands went through a period of social relaxation in the 1960s and 1970s . Juliana was also a pacifist at heart at a time when Vietnam was an unpopular war and opposition to nuclear weapons was on the rise. Amid all this, Queen Juliana's alleged socialist views and unassuming nature (she had a popular image of being a queen who prepared her own Brussels sprouts) made her the "right queen for the time" and she maintained and increased the popular support she had inherited from her mother, even in the face of different scandals surrounding her husband.
Popular support waned for a time in the early 1980s, during the start of Queen Beatrix' reign. She adopted a style of government more like that of Queen Wilhelmina and was perceived as cold and distant in a country used to Queen Juliana being everybody's grandmother. Over time the country has got used to her style though and acceptance has grown. This was also aided by the public image of Prince Claus, who came to be perceived as charming and funny during her reign. Particularly his public love declaration for Beatrix a few years before the end of his life endeared him to many people. Popular support for the monarchy has consistently been above 85% since the mid-1990s and reached a peak with the marriage of Prince Willem-Alexander to Princess Máxima in 2002.
Popular support has become more volatile over the last few years though, in the face of seeming improprieties by Prince Willem-Alexander and other members of the royal family during the economic crisis. Prince Willem-Alexander always had a reputation for being a "naughty boy" after being photographed drinking beer as a student and once drove his car into a ditch while in university as well). Despite ongoing efforts to prepare for being king (including internships throughout society, military service and a very public interest in water management), he has made some clumsy choices from time to time that have negatively impacted his popularity. When he became engaged to Máxima Zorreguieta (daughter of Argentine junta member Jorge Zorreguieta), he publicly defended her by citing a letter describing her father's actions as harmless — the letter turned out to have been written by Jorge Rafael Videla. The matter was set aside when princess Máxima described her future husband's actions as "een beetje dom" ("a little bit dumb") in fluent Dutch during her 1st press conference (this also established her reputation as a charming young lady in the Netherlands). In 2009 Willem-Alexander and Máxima were in the news again for investing in a vacation resort in Mozambique. Even though there were good reasons to believe the project would have benefited the local populace greatly, the expenditure of money abroad during a crisis in a project involving some shady brokers didn't sit well with the Dutch public. Also a purchase of an alternative vacation home in Argentina the same year was unpopular.
In and of themselves the incidents were not terrible, but they became public knowledge around the same time that other questions were being raised about the family finances of the Oranges. Even though the incidents caused only a slight drop in overall popular support , they led to an increased support for moving to a fully ceremonial monarchy (around 43%), a freezing of the royal stipends (around 66%) or even a lowering of the stipends (about 33%) and removing the royal exemption on taxation (also around 40%).
Prior to 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 and proximity of blood. 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 was the 1st 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 1st King of the Netherlands.
The Netherlands remained, formally, a confederated republic, even when in 1747 the office of stadtholder was centralized 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 province of the Netherlands 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.
Abdication of the throne has become a de facto tradition in the Dutch monarchy. Queen Wilhelmina and Queen Juliana both abdicated in favour 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 April 30, 2013 Queen Beatrix, abdicated in favour of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander.
The royal palaces are the property of the Dutch state and given for the use of the reigning monarch; While the House of Orange-Nassau possesses a large number of personal belongings, items such as paintings, historical artifacts and jewellery 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 jewellery, 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 had sold the remaining royal palaces and had put the cultural assets 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. The Royal Archives house the personal archives of the royal family. 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 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.
Costs relating to the security of members of the royal house, state visits, and the maintenance and upkeep of the royal palaces continue to be funded by the budgets of the appropriate Government Ministries and aren't included in the budget for the Royal House.
When Wilhelmina came to the Dutch throne in 1890 at age 10, the throne of Luxembourg went to her very distant agnate , 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 wasn't 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 when she proved to be of great moral support to the people and the resistance in her occupied country. 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. For her early reign and character, the letters of Queen Victoria give a good perspective..
The Dutch royal family today is much larger than it has ever been. Former Queen Beatrix and her husband, Prince Claus, had three sons, Willem-Alexander , Friso (whose widow is Princess Mabel) and Constantijn (married to Princess Laurentien). Her sister Margriet and her spouse Pieter van Vollenhoven have four sons: Maurits, Bernhard, Pieter-Christiaan and Floris. Four of these seven princes as well as princess Margriet, are all (potentially) legal heirs to the throne, although the 1st right goes to the crown prince, and after him his daughters Catharina-Amalia, Alexia, Ariane, and then his brother 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, have 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 for an heir to the throne. 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 be abdicating on 30 April 2013 in favour of her eldest son.
The current monarch is King Willem-Alexander , 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 3rd daughter was born, Princess Ariane. They are first, 2nd and 3rd 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.
As of 30 April 2013, the heiress apparent to the Dutch throne is Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange.
Most members of the Dutch royal family, in addition to other titles hold 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 don't 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 , 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.
Probably the most important of these was the Barony of Breda, which formed the core of the Nassau lands in the Netherlands 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. .
A distinction is made in the Netherlands between the royal family and the Royal House.
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. For example, this happened with 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.
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