The monarchy of the Netherlands is governed by the country's charter and constitution, roughly a third of which explains the mechanics of succession, accession, and abdication; the roles and duties of the monarch; the formalities of communication between the States General of the Netherlands; and the monarch's role in creating laws. The monarch is head of state of the Netherlands.
The once-sovereign provinces of the Spanish Netherlands were intermittently ruled by members of the House of Orange-Nassau from 1559, when Philip II of Spain appointed William the Silent (William of Orange) as stadtholder, until 1795, when the last stadtholder, William V, Prince of Orange, fled the country. William the Silent became the leader of the Dutch Revolt and of the independent Dutch Republic. Some of his descendants were later appointed as stadtholders by the provinces, and, in 1747, the role of stadtholder became a hereditary position in all provinces of the thus "crowned" Dutch Republic.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands has been a hereditary monarchy since 20 November 1813, when it was constituted as a principality upon independence from Napoleonic France. It was raised to a kingdom on 16 March 1815. Willem-Alexander has been King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013, following the abdication of his mother, Queen Beatrix.
Succession The monarchy of the Netherlands passes by right of succession to the heirs of William I from the House of Orange-Nassau. Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 24 (Dutch edition of WikiSource) The heir is determined through two mechanisms: absolute cognatic primogeniture and proximity of blood. The Netherlands established absolute cognatic primogeniture instead of male-preference primogeniture by law in 1983. Proximity of blood limits accession to the throne to a person who is related to the current monarch within three degrees of kinship. For example, the grandchildren of Princess Margriet (younger sister of Princess Beatrix) have no succession rights because their kinship with Beatrix when she was queen was of the fourth degree (that is, Princess Beatrix is their parent's parent's parent's daughter). Succession is limited to legitimate heirs, precluding a claim to the throne by children born out of wedlock. Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 25 (Dutch edition of WikiSource) If the king dies while his wife is pregnant, the unborn child is considered the heir at that point, unless stillborn – the child is then considered never to have existed. As such, if the preceding king dies while his wife is pregnant with their first child, the unborn child is immediately considered born and immediately becomes the new king or queen. If the pregnancy ends in stillbirth, his or her reign is expunged (otherwise the existence of the stillborn king/queen would add a degree of separation for other family members to the throne and might suddenly exclude the next person in line for the throne). Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 26 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
If the monarch is a minor, a regent is appointed and serves until the monarch comes of age. Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 33 (Dutch edition of WikiSource) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 37 (Dutch edition of WikiSource) The regent is customarily the surviving parent of the monarch, but the constitution stipulates that custody and parental authority of the minor monarch will be determined by law; any person might be appointed as regent, as legal guardian or both. Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 34 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
There are also a number of special cases within the Constitution. First, if there is no heir when the monarch dies, the States-General may appoint a successor upon the suggestion of the government. This suggestion may be made before the death of the reigning monarch, even by the monarch himself (in case it is clear that the monarch will die without leaving an heir). Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 30 (Dutch edition of WikiSource) Second, some people are excluded from the line of succession. They are:
Any heir who marries without the permission of the States-General loses the right of succession. Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 28 (Dutch edition of WikiSource) A person who is or has become truly undesirable or unfit as monarch can be removed from the line of succession by an act of the States-General upon suggestion of the reigning monarch. Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 29 (Dutch edition of WikiSource) This clause has never been executed and is considered an "emergency exit". An example would be an heir apparent who commits treason or suffers an incapacitating accident.
Accession
As with most monarchies, the Netherlands cannot be without a monarch – the constitution of the Netherlands does not recognise a situation in which there is no monarch. This is because there must be a head of state in order for the government to function, as there must be someone who carries out the tasks of the constitutional role of the king or queen. For this reason, the new monarch assumes the role the moment the previous monarch ceases to hold the throne. The only exception is if there is no heir at all, in which case the Council of State assumes the role of the monarch pending the appointment of a monarch or regent. Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Chapter 2: Government (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
The monarch is expected to execute his duties and responsibilities for the good of the nation. The monarch must therefore swear to uphold the constitution and execute the office faithfully. The monarch must be sworn in as soon as possible after assuming the throne during a joint session of the States-General held in Amsterdam. Article 32 of the Dutch constitution describes a swearing-in in "the capital, Amsterdam", which incidentally is the only phrase in the constitution that names Amsterdam as the capital of the Kingdom. Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 32 (Dutch edition of WikiSource) The ceremony is called the inauguration ().
The Dutch monarch is not crowned—although the crown, orb, and sceptre are present at the ceremony—and the monarch's swearing of the oath constitutes acceptance of the throne. This ceremony does not equal accession to the throne, as this would imply a vacancy of the throne between monarchs, which is not allowed. The monarch ascends immediately after the previous monarch ceases to reign. The swearing-in only constitutes acceptance in public.
End of a reign The monarch's reign can end in death or abdication. Both of these events cause the regular mechanisms of succession to go into effect. Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 27 (Dutch edition of WikiSource) While the constitution mentions neither possibility explicitly, it does describe what happens after the monarch dies or abdicates. Abdication is a prerogative of the monarch, but it is also irreversible, as the person abdicating cannot return to the throne, nor can a child born to a former monarch after an abdication has occurred have a claim to the throne.
The abdicated monarch is legally a prince(ss) of the Netherlands, as well as a prince(ss) of Orange-Nassau. After their death, legally the deceased monarch (abdicated or not) has no titles. However, after death, the abdicated monarch is traditionally referred to as king or queen again. For example, Queen Juliana became queen on 4 September 1948 and princess again on 30 April 1980 following her abdication but has been referred to as Queen Juliana since her death on 20 March 2004.
Temporary loss of royal authority There are two ways in which the monarch, without ceasing to be monarch, can be stripped of his or her royal authority:
Voluntary suspension of royal authority The monarch temporarily ceases execution of his or her office. Removal from royal authority The government strips the monarch of his or her royal authority, as he or she is deemed unfit for their tasks.
These cases are both temporary (even if the monarch dies while not executing his office, it still counts as temporary) and are described in detail in the constitution. A monarch can temporarily cease to reign for any reason. This can be at his own request or because the Council of Ministers deems the monarch unfit for office. Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 35 (Dutch edition of WikiSource) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 36 (Dutch edition of WikiSource) Although there can be any reason for the monarch to cede royal authority or be removed from it, both monarch and council are deemed to act responsibly and not leave the execution of the office vacant unnecessarily. Both cases are intended to deal with emergency situations such as physical or mental inability to execute the duties of the office of the monarch.
In both cases, an act of the joint States-General is needed to strip the monarch of authority. In the case of the monarch ceding royal authority, the required act is a law. In case of removal, it is a declaration by the States-General. Formally, both require the normal procedure for passing a new law in the Netherlands. The former case is signed into law by the monarch himself; the latter is not, so technically it is not a law (this is allowed explicitly in the Constitution since the monarch who is being stripped of his authority will probably not agree to sign the act of his removal and—in the case of the States-General removing a monarch who has become unfit due to mental or physical incapacitation—may not be able to).
Since neither ceding nor removal is permanent, neither triggers succession. Instead, the States-General appoint a regent. This must be the heir apparent if he or she is old enough. In order for the monarch to resume his duties, a law (which is signed by the regent) must be passed to that effect. The monarch resumes the throne the moment the law of his return is made public.
The monarch and the government Although the monarch has roles and duties in all parts of the government and in several important places in the rest of society, the primary role of the monarch is within the executive branch of the Dutch government: the monarch is part of the government of the Netherlands.
The role of the monarch within the government of the Netherlands is described in Article 42 of the constitution: Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 42 (Dutch edition of WikiSource)
This article is the basis of the full power and influence of the monarch and makes him beyond reproach before the law but also limits his practical power, as he can take no responsibility for it.
The first paragraph of Article 42 determines that the government of the Netherlands consists of the monarch and his ministers. The monarch is, according to this article, not the head of government; the ministers are not answerable to the monarch within the government. Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 46 (Dutch edition of WikiSource) Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands Article 45 (Dutch edition of WikiSource) There is no distinction, no dichotomy, no segregation or separation: the monarch and his ministers are the government, and the government is one.