The monarch has several functions in addition to the duties and responsibilities described in previous sections. Some of these are (partly) constitutional; others are more traditional in nature. 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. It is the monarch that makes official
state visits to foreign heads of state as representative of the Netherlands. He or She represents the monarch whose face is shown on Dutch
stamps and Dutch
euro coins. Constitutionally, the monarch is the head of the
Dutch Council of State. The council is a constitutional body of the Netherlands that serves two purposes. First, it is an advisory council to the government which advises on the desirability, practicability and constitutionality of new proposals of law. Second, it is the
Supreme court for the Netherlands in matters of
administrative law. The position of the monarch as constitutional head of this Council means two things for the constitutional position of the monarch: • The monarch is constitutionally and directly involved with practically all aspects of lawmaking except approval by the States-General (which is representative of the electorate). From inception of the law through proposal to the States to finally signing into law, the monarch is involved. This involvement is derived from the days when the monarch was an
absolute ruler and really made law. Originally, with the creation of the first constitutions, the monarchs strove to maintain power by maximum involvement with all aspects of lawmaking. Over time this has grown into a more advisory role. • The monarch is constitutionally involved with at least part of the judicial branch of government as well. The role played by the monarch in the council is largely theoretical due to ministerial responsibility. While the monarch is officially chairman of the council, in practice the king never votes in Council meetings and always turns over his responsibility as chair of the meetings to the deputy head of the council. He is still presumed to be part of the discussions, though. Despite the limitations on the role the monarch may play in the council, his involvement is seen as valuable due to the experience and knowledge that a monarch accrues over the years. Reciprocally, being part of the Council deliberations is considered invaluable training and preparation for the role of monarch, which is why the heir-apparent is constitutionally an observer-member of the council from the time he comes of age. the
Order of the Netherlands Lion and the
Military William Order. Lastly, the monarch plays a prominent but equally unofficial role in the running of the country as an adviser 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 government affairs of the week, the plans of the cabinet, and so on. It is assumed that the monarch exerts most of his influence (such as it is) in these meetings, in that he can bring his knowledge and experience to bear on what he 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 arrives on her desk. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly for a monarchy, the monarch is not the
commander-in-chief of the
military of the Netherlands (not even nominally). He was until 1983, but a large overhaul of the constitution that year shifted supreme command of the armed forces to the government as a whole. In contrast to most monarchies, this required Willem-Alexander to resign from his (brigadier general level) ranks in all military branches when he ascended the throne. At that occasion the special
Royal distinctive was created that the king could wear on his uniforms to show his lasting relation with the armed forces. This is however no formal rank.
Remuneration and privileges Stipend Article 40 of the constitution states that the monarch is to receive an annual
stipend from the kingdom (in other words
wages, except that it cannot be called that since it implies the monarch is employed by the government, but rather it is the opposite). The exact rules surrounding these stipends are to be determined by law, as is the list of members of the royal house who also receive them. Under current Dutch law the monarch receives their annual stipend which is part of the annual budget, as do the heir-apparent (if of age), the spouse of the monarch, the spouse of the heir-apparent, the former monarch, and the spouse of the former monarch. In practice, as of June 2019, this means King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, and Princess Beatrix. The monarch receives this stipend constitutionally, the others because they are not allowed to work for anybody due to their positions. For example, the recipients of royal stipends in 2009 were Queen Beatrix (€813,000), Prince Willem-Alexander (the heir-apparent; €241,000) and Princess Máxima (€241,000)). For 2017 the stipends were; for the King €888,000, for the Queen €352,000, and for Princess Beatrix €502,000. These personal stipends are in addition to an allowance for each of those named to meet official expenditure, these were set at €4.6 million for the King, €606,000 for the Queen and just over €1 million for Princess Beatrix. 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 first 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.
Royal privileges Taxation Under the constitution, royal house members receiving a stipend are exempt from
income tax over that stipend. For train journeys, the monarch has access to
royal waiting rooms at three train stations:
Den Haag HS railway station,
Amsterdam Centraal station, and
Baarn railway station. The monarch also has access to a
Boeing 737 Business Jet available to the Dutch government as a whole, which King Willem-Alexander is licensed to fly.
Lèse-majesté Historically the Dutch monarch was protected by law against
lèse-majesté. The Netherlands was amongst the last remaining monarchies in Europe to actively prosecute citizens for publicly insulting the reigning sovereign or members of their immediate family, although the sentences tend to be light. According to Dutch TV, in total 18 prosecutions were brought under the law between 2000 and 2012, half of which resulted in convictions.
Lèse-majesty in the Netherlands was formally abolished as of 1 January 2020. However, insulting the Monarch, the Royal Consort, the heir apparent or their consort, or the Regent, is still punishable on the same level as denigrating public officials acting in their official capacity, punishable by up to three months in prison and/or a fine.
Positions of other members of the royal house and royal family The royal family has become quite extensive since the birth of
Queen Juliana's children. By consequence so has the
Dutch royal house (nominally the collection of persons in line for the throne and their spouses), to the extent that membership of the royal house was limited by a change in the law in 2002. 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 an eventual ascent to the throne, so there are some limited tasks and a number of limits on them (particularly he/she cannot hold a paying job, since this might lead to entanglements later on). Since neither the monarch nor the 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 monarch and the heir-apparent have no official tasks within the Dutch government and do not receive stipends. They are responsible for their own conduct and their own income. They may be asked to stand in from time to time such as to accompany the monarch on a state visit if the consort is ill, but this is always a personal favor and not an official duty. In addition, they are not exempt from taxation. Many members of the royal family hold (or have held) 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 Princess 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 was chairman of the
Dutch Safety Board until his retirement. As noted earlier, 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 current and future monarchs. 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 (although that role was created for him) 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
Queen Máxima (who had a career in banking before marrying King Willem-Alexander) should be allowed far more leeway if she desires.
Deceased members of the Dutch royal family since William I •
Prince Ernest Casimir of the Netherlands (son of William II, died in 1822); • Prince Frederik Nicholaas of the Netherlands (grandson of William I, died in 1834); •
Queen Wilhelmine (first wife of William I, died in 1837); •
King William I, Count of Nassau (died in 1843); • Prince Willem Frederik of the Netherlands (grandson of William I, died in 1846); •
Prince Alexander of the Netherlands (son of William II, died in 1848); •
King William II (son of William I, died in 1849); •
Prince Maurice of the Netherlands (son of William III, died in 1850); •
Henrietta, Countess of Nassau (widow of William I, died in 1864); •
Queen Dowager Anna (widow of William II, died in 1865); •
Louise, Princess Frederick of the Netherlands (wife of Prince Frederick, son of William I, died in 1870); •
Queen Louise of Sweden and Norway (granddaughter of William I, died in 1871); •
Amalia, Princess Henry of the Netherlands (first wife of Prince Henry, son of William II, died in 1872); •
King Charles XV of Sweden and IV of Norway (widower of Princess Louise, granddaughter of William I, died in 1872) •
Prince Albert of Prussia (husband of Princess Mariane, daughter of William I, died in 1872); •
Queen Sophie (first wife of William III, died in 1877); •
Prince Henry of the Netherlands (1820–1879) (son of William II, died in 1879); •
William, Prince of Orange (son of William III, died in 1879); •
Prince Frederick of the Netherlands (son of William I, died in 1881); •
Marianne, Princess Albert of Prussia (daughter of William I, died in 1883); •
Alexander, Prince of Orange (son of William III, died in 1884); •
Marie, Princess Henry of the Netherlands (widow of Prince Henry, son of William II, died in 1888); •
King William III (son of William II, died in 1890); •
Sophie, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (daughter of William II, died in 1897); •
Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (widower of Princess Sophie, daughter of William II, died in 1901); •
William, Prince of Wied (husband of Princess Marie, granddaughter of William I, died in 1907) •
Marie, Dowager Princess of Wied (granddaughter of William I, died in 1910); •
Queen Mother Emma (widow of William III, died in 1934); •
Prince Consort Henry (husband of Wilhelmina, died in 1934); •
Queen Wilhelmina (daughter of William III, died in 1962); •
Prince Consort Claus (husband of
Beatrix, died in 2002); •
Queen Juliana (daughter of Wilhelmina, died in 2004); •
Prince Consort Bernhard (widower of Juliana, died in 2004); •
Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau (son of Beatrix, died in 2013); •
Princess Christina of the Netherlands (daughter of Juliana, died in 2019);
Death and burial Although Dutch lawmakers have historically favored being very conservative about creating a special legal position 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 from those for other Dutch citizens: the area of death and burial. For Dutch citizens, the rules surrounding death and burial are laid out by the Funeral Services Law (Dutch:
Wet op de Lijkbezorging). However, article 87 of this law states the rule doesn't apply to the royal family. The Minister of Internal Affairs can also waive the law for other relatives of the monarch. The reason for this is that the 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 as William. 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. To allow members of the royal family to be entombed, all Dutch laws on burial have made an exception for the royal house ever since the 1829 decree. The practice was banned before under French occupation but returned after 1815. The burial of the royal house members is a matter of tradition, circumstance, practicality, and spirit of the times. This is due to the lack of any formal rules whatsoever. The body of a departed member of the royal house is typically placed on display for a few days in one of the palaces to allow the family to say goodbye. Depending on the deceased family member's identity (a 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. The current protocol specifies eight horses for a deceased monarch and six for a dead 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 also changed since the burial of Queen Wilhelmina in 1962, when the carriage was white. An exception was made for the funeral of Prince Bernhard. Given his military background, his coffin was carried to Delft on a gun carriage. Currently, members of the Dutch armed forces line the route to Delft, which is also new since the burial of Prince Hendrik, which was a quiet affair. Once in Delft, the body is placed in the family crypt after a short service. Only members of the family are allowed in the crypt through the main entrance in the church, which only opens for royal funerals (the mayor of Delft has a key to a separate service entrance, which is only allowed to open in the presence of two military police officers and two members of the Dutch
General Intelligence and Security Service for maintenance). ==The monarchy in Dutch society==