Q... Queen
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, most of the (semi-independent) provinces of the Netherlands had been led by stadtholders from the House of Orange-Nassau. The state remained, formally, a confederated republic, even when in 1747 the office of stadtholder was centralised (one stadtholder for all provinces) and became hereditary for the House of Orange-Nassau.
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 favour of their daughters and William I abdicated in favour 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. |
