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 (1st Degree = Parents and 2nd Degree = Siblings)
• 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 Hereditary Prince of Parma HRH Princess Luisa of Bourbon-Parma HRH Princess Cecilia of Bourbon-Parma HRH The Countess of Colorno Tjalling Siebe ten Cate Julia ten Cate Paola ten Cate HRH The Count of Bardi HRH The Countess of Bardi HRH Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma HRH Princess Gloria of Bourbon-Parma HRH The Marchioness of Sala Albert Brenninkmeijer Alaïa-Maria Brenninkmeijer Xavier Brenninkmeijer HRH Princess Margriet * Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven * HH Prince Maurits HH Princess Marilène Anna van Lippe-Biesterfeld van Vollenhoven Lucas van Lippe-Biesterfeld van Vollenhoven Felicia van Lippe-Biesterfeld van Vollenhoven HH Prince Bernhard HH Princess Annette Isabella van Vollenhoven Samuel van Vollenhoven Benjamin van Vollenhoven HH Prince Pieter-Christiaan HH Princess Anita Emma van Vollenhoven Pieter van Vollenhoven HH Prince Floris HH Princess Aimée Magali van Vollenhoven Eliane van Vollenhoven Willem van Vollenhoven HRH Princess Christina Bernardo Guillermo Eva Guillermo Isabel Christina Guillermo Julián Jorge 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; an exception was made for her when the act was revised
  • Pieter van Vollenhoven, husband of Princess Margriet

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.

References