(Redirected from Dutch monarchy)
The 'Netherlands' has been an
independent monarchy since
16 March 1815, and has been governed by members of the
House of Orange-Nassau since.
History
:''For rulers of the Netherlands before 1806, see
Stadtholder of the Netherlands
The first
king of the Netherlands, from
1806 until
1810, was
French.
Napoleon I installed his
brother Louis Bonaparte as king over what was then called the
Kingdom of Holland, a
puppet state.
The present
monarchy was originally founded in 1813 when the French were driven away and the then
prince of Orange was proclaimed as Sovereign Prince of The
United Netherlands (comprising certain northern provinces). The new monarchy was confirmed in
1815 at the
Congress of Vienna as part of the re-arrangement of
Europe after the fall of
Napoleon Bonaparte, and its status as
kingdom was also confirmed. The House of Orange-Nassau were given the modern day Netherlands and also
Belgium to
rule as the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands. In addition, the King of the Netherlands became hereditary
Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
Prior to the
Napoleonic wars, the Netherlands had been led by
stadtholders from the
House of Orange-Nassau, but the
state was, formally, a
republic. The first king of the
constitutional monarchy of the Netherlands,
William I, was a direct
male line descendant of
John the Elder, a younger brother of
William of Orange (also known as William the
Silent) who, from
1568 on, had led the
Dutch in their eighty-year struggle for independence from
Spain. His family had a considerable influence on Dutch politics. They came from
Dillenburg,
Germany, home of the
Nassau family. Willem's title 'Prince of Orange' was acquired through his
inheritance of the principality of
Orange, located south of
Valence in
France, in
1544.
Abdication of the throne has become a de facto tradition in Dutch Monarchy.
Queen Wilhelmina and
Queen Juliana both abdicated in favor of their daughters and
William I abdicated in favor of his eldest
son.
The present monarch,
Queen Beatrix, has stated she will not abdicate in the near future, to allow Crown
Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife
Princess Máxima to spend time with their family.
Monarchs of the Netherlands (1813-Present)
===
House of Orange-Nassau===
Wilhelmina (1890-1948)
Main articles: Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
When Wilhelmina came to the throne in
1890 at age 10 (her mother, Queen Emma, second wife of the then deceased
William III, acted as regent until Wilhelmina reached the age of 18), Luxembourg, also a former member of the erstwhile
German Confederation, was not willing to accept a (female) Grand Duchess under
Salic law. Instead a family member,
Adolf, former Duke of Nassau, became Grand Duke of Luxembourg, ending 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,
Heinrich von Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who unfortunately 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. 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.
Juliana (1948-1980)
Main articles: 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. She became involved in two major crises: the
Greet Hofmans affair and the
Lockheed scandal, both of which directly threatened the credibility of the throne. She married a German of noble descent, Prince
Bernard von Lippe-Biesterfeld. Together they had four daughters,
Beatrix,
Irene,
Margriet and
Christina. After their return from
Ottawa,
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
March 20,
2004. Her husband Bernhard died on
December 1,
2004.
Beatrix (1980-present)
Main articles: Beatrix of the Netherlands
The Dutch royal family today is much larger than it has ever been.
Queen Beatrix and her husband, the late
Prince Claus, have three sons,
Willem-Alexander (married to
Princess Máxima),
Friso (married to
Mabel Wisse-Smit) and
Constantijn (married to
Princess Laurentien). Her sister Margriet and her spouse Pieter van Vollenhoven have four sons: Maurits, Bernhard, Pieter-Christiaan and Floris. Five of these seven princes as well as Margriet, are all (potentially) legal heirs to the throne, although the first 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 his marriage to Mabel Wisse Smit was not approved by the
Staten-Generaal. The two other sisters of Beatrix, Irene and Christina, have lost their rights to the throne because their marriages were not approved by the Staten-Generaal. 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.
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. An additional complication which the government wanted to avoid, was that Irene's husband,
Carlos de Bourbon Parma, (whom she later divorced) was a Spanish member of a noble family that claimed their alleged rights to the Spanish throne.
Willem-Alexander
Main articles: Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange
The crown prince is Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange (born
1967). He studied history at the
University of Leiden and became actively involved in
water management. His wife is
Princess Máxima (née Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti), an economy 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 (
February 2,
2002). Former minister
Max van der Stoel and prime minister
Wim Kok seem to have played a crucial role in this process.
On
7 December2003 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. After Willem-Alexander they are second, third, and fourth in line to the Dutch throne.
See also
★
Line of succession to the Dutch Throne
External links
★
Official Royal Website: lots of 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
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