Succession to the throne (Netherlands)

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The Dutch succession to the throne is regulated in Articles 24 et seq. Of the Basic Law ( Grondwet ) (Stb. 2006 No. 240).

Succession to the throne

Circle of those entitled to heir to the throne

The legal descendants of Wilhelm I are entitled to succession to the throne . A constitutional amendment in 1922 stipulates that from now on the succession to the throne is limited exclusively to the descendants of Queen Wilhelmina .

The succession to the throne depends on the ruling monarch. Upon the death or abdication of the king or queen, the royal dignity passes to the legal descendants according to the law of primogeniture . Children of first-borns stand in the order of their siblings. If the monarch dies without children or grandchildren, the descendants of the parents and subsequently those of the grandparents inherit according to the same principles, but only blood relatives up to the third degree.

In principle, the following are entitled to inheritance:

  • the descendants of the king,
  • the siblings (2nd degree) and the nieces and nephews of the king (3rd degree),
  • the uncles and aunts of the king (3rd degree).

Great-nieces and great-nephews, cousins ​​and more distant relatives of the king in the sideline can only indirectly join the throne after a corresponding ancestor had become king.

Heirs to the throne who were conceived but not yet born at the death of the king are considered to be born, provided that no stillbirth occurs.

The Crown Prince or Crown Princess traditionally bears the title of Prince / Princess of Orange .

Exclusion from the line of succession

The king and all heirs to the throne require the consent of the law, which is decided in a joint session of the States General . Marriage without this consent leads to loss of the throne or to exclusion from the line of succession. For example, the approval of the marriage of the then Crown Prince Willem-Alexander to Máxima Zorreguieta was granted by the Imperial Law of July 4, 2001 (Stb. 2001 No. 333). His younger brother Friso was not given his consent, as a result of which he lost his entitlement to the throne and membership of the royal family.

In exceptional circumstances, the States General can exclude one or more persons from the line of succession by law to be passed by a two-thirds majority in joint session.

Succession list

The list of succession to the throne after King Willem-Alexander is thus as follows:

Juliana → Beatrix → Willem-Alexander
  1. Princess Amalia (born December 7, 2003), eldest daughter of King Willem-Alexander;
  2. Princess Alexia (born June 26, 2005), second daughter of the king;
  3. Princess Ariane (born April 10, 2007), youngest daughter of the king;
    Wilhelmina → Juliana → Beatrix
  4. Prince Constantijn (born October 11, 1969), brother of the king;
  5. 00Countess Eloise (born June 8, 2002), eldest child of Prince Constantijn;
  6. 00Count Claus-Casimir (born March 21, 2004), second child of Prince Constantijn;
  7. 00Countess Leonore (born June 3, 2006), third child of Prince Constantijn;
    William III. → Wilhelmina → Juliana
  8. Princess Margriet of Orange-Nassau (born January 19, 1943), third daughter of Queen Juliana, aunt of King Willem Alexander.

All heirs to the throne, like the incumbent monarch Willem-Alexander, could ascend the throne as the first Dutch queen or first Dutch king of their name. Willem-Alexander himself could have ascended the throne as Willem IV; however, it was announced on January 28, 2013 that he will be called Willem-Alexander.

If Willem-Alexander died or abdicated so that Princess Amalia would be the new queen, her cousins ​​and great-aunt Margriet would leave the line of succession. The succession list would then be shortened to her sisters and her uncle Prince Constantijn.

Due to the change of the throne from Queen Beatrix to King Willem-Alexander:

  1. Prince Maurits Willem Pieter Hendrik (born April 17, 1968 in Utrecht), son of Princess Margriet;
  2. Prince Bernhard Lucas Emmanuel (born December 25, 1969 in Nijmegen), son of Princess Margriet.

They would rejoin the throne if Princess Margriet became queen. After Prince Maurits, his two daughters and his son, as well as after Prince Bernhard his daughter and his two sons, all of whom were not in the line of succession under Beatrix, would then enter the line of succession for the first time.

Descendants of Wilhelm I who were excluded from and excluded from the line of succession.

The following are excluded from or eliminated from the line of succession in the order of their potential position in the list of heir to the throne without exclusion or departure:

  • Prince Johan Friso , September 25, 1968 - August 12, 2013, second son of Queen Beatrix, on June 24, 2004, at this point in third place in the line of succession, due to the marriage to Mabel Wisse Smit , after the States General gave their approval Had refused marriage; Johan Friso was then given the hereditary title Count and the surname van Oranje-Nassau van Amsberg by royal decision of March 19, 2004 (Star 2004 No. 126) with effect from the wedding ;
  • Princess Irene von Lippe-Biesterfeld , born August 5, 1939, second daughter of Queen Julianas on April 29, 1964, at this point in second place in the line of succession, through her marriage to Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma without the consent of the States General ;
  • Princess Christina , born February 18, 1947; † August 16, 2019, fourth and youngest daughter of Queen Julianas on June 28, 1975, at this point in 10th place in the line of succession, through an unauthorized marriage to Jorge Guillermo, from whom she divorced in 1996;
  • Prince Pieter-Christian, born March 22, 1972, third son of Princess Margriet on August 25, 2005, at this point in 10th place in the line of succession, by marrying Anita van Eijk without the consent of the States General;
  • Prince Floris, born April 10, 1975, fourth and youngest son of Princess Margriet on October 20, 2005, at this point in 10th place in the line of succession, through unauthorized marriage to Aimée Söhngen;
  • the descendants of Princess Sophie , the fifth child of King Wilhelm II , aunt of Queen Wilhelmina on March 23, 1897 through the death of the princess, without having immediately entered the line of succession; thus the Netherlands had no heir to the throne from the death of Princess Sophie to the birth of the future Queen Juliana on April 30, 1909.

Extinction of the royal family

If a king is unlikely to have an heir to the throne, a successor can be appointed by law. The introduction of the bill leads to the dissolution of the States General. The draft law then requires the approval of a two-thirds majority of the newly elected States General in a joint session. By being appointed successor, natural heirs to the throne after the reigning king are also excluded from the line of succession. The succession to the throne is based exclusively on the appointed successor.

If a king dies without a successor or if he abdicates without a successor, the States General are dissolved. The newly elected chambers elect a new king in a joint session with a two-thirds majority within four months of the king's death or his abdication.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Prins van Oranje wordt Koning Willem-Alexander Press release of the royal family, January 28, 2013, accessed on January 28, 2013