Dutch royal house

The King and Queen with their daughters in 2013

In the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Monarchy is a constitutional office and is controlled by the constitution of the Netherlands. A distinction is made between members of the royal family and members of the royal house. According to the Membership to the Royal House Act^[1] which was revised in 2002, the members of the royal house are:

• the monarch (king or queen) as head of the royal house
• the members of the royal family in the line of succession to the Dutch throne but limited to two degrees of kinship from the current monarch
• the heir to the throne
• the former monarch (on abdication)
• the members of the royal house of further degrees of kinship if they were already members of the royal house prior to the revision of the act in 2002, were adults at the time and remain in the direct line of succession.
• the spouses of the above
• the widows and widowers of the above, provided that they do not remarry, and that their spouses would still qualify if they were still alive today^[1]:2.2

Current members

Dutch Royal Family
HM The King * HM The Queen * HRH The Princess of Orange * HRH Princess Alexia * HRH Princess Ariane * HRH Princess Beatrix * HRH Princess Mabel Countess Luana Countess Zaria HRH Prince Constantijn * HRH Princess Laurentien * Countess Eloise Count Claus-Casimir Countess Leonore Extended royal family HRH Princess Irene HRH The Duke of Parma HRH The Duchess of Parma HRH The Countess of Colorno Tjalling Siebe ten Cate HRH The Count of Bardi HRH The Countess of Bardi HRH The Marchioness of Sala Albert Brenninkmeijer HRH Princess Margriet * Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven * HH Prince Maurits HH Princess Marilène HH Prince Bernhard HH Princess Annette HH Prince Pieter-Christiaan HH Princess Anita HH Prince Floris HH Princess Aimée HRH Princess Christina Bernardo Guillermo Eva Guillermo Nicolás Guillermo Juliana Guillermo * Member of the Dutch royal house

• HM The King (King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands), the current head of the royal house, oldest child of Princess Beatrix
• HM The Queen (Queen Máxima), wife of the King
  • HRH The Princess of Orange (Catharina-Amalia), oldest child of the King and Queen
  • HRH Princess Alexia, middle child of the King and Queen
  • HRH Princess Ariane, youngest child of the King and Queen
• HRH Prince Constantijn, third and youngest child of Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus
  • HRH Princess Laurentien, wife of Prince Constantijn
• HRH Princess Beatrix, former monarch
• HRH Princess Margriet, sister of Princess Beatrix; she was already a member when the act was revised
  • Pieter van Vollenhoven, husband of Princess Margriet; he was already a member when the act was revised

Loss of membership

The membership is lost if the right to succeed to the Dutch throne is lost, e.g. marrying without parliament’s approval. This applied to several members of the royal family:

• in 1964 Princess Irene married Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma
• in 1975 Princess Christina married Jorge Guillermo
• in 2004 Prince Friso married Mabel Wisse Smit; the government declined to ask official parliamentary permission for the marriage
• in 2005 Prince Pieter-Christiaan married Anita van Eijk
• in 2005 Prince Floris married Aimée Söhngen

In addition the membership is lost when a person, who was formerly a member, loses his direct right to succession because he or she is no longer related to the current monarch within 3 degrees of kinship. When King Willem-Alexander assumed the throne in 2013 this applied to:

• Prince Maurits and his wife Princess Marilène
• Prince Bernhard and his wife Princess Annette

Membership is also lost to persons who are still in the direct line of succession, but are no longer related to the current monarch within 2 degrees of kinship. When King Willem-Alexander assumed the throne in 2013 this applied to:

• Countess Eloise of Orange-Nassau van Amsberg
• Count Claus-Casimir of Orange-Nassau van Amsberg
• Countess Leonore of Orange-Nassau van Amsberg

All children of HRH Prince Constantijn and his wife.

Name of the royal house

The official^[2] name of the Dutch royal house is Orange-Nassau. It is derived from the historical state of the same name, although this branch of the House of Nassau became extinct in the male line in 1962. The Dutch monarchs since 1948 have been members in the male line of the houses of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Lippe and Amsberg, and the latter is reflected in the current name van Oranje-Nassau van Amsberg (i.e. Orange-Nassau-Amsberg) also used by members of the royal family. Thus the historical name of Orange-Nassau continues to be used as part of the surname, and in several titles such as Prince of Orange-Nassau and Count of Orange-Nassau.

References