Line of succession to the Dutch Throne
From Free net encyclopedia
Template:Order of Succession The Netherlands applied Salic law until 1884 when King William III's last male heir died and Staten-Generaal adopted agnatic-cognatic primogeniture making Princess Wilhelmina heiress presumptive. No males were born into the royal family until 1967. In 1983 the Netherlands adopted full lineal primogeniture (the eldest child is heir).
For the succession of Beatrix the following order of priority applies:
- HRH Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange, Prince of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer van Amsberg (eldest son of Queen Beatrix)
- HRH Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau (eldest child of Prince Willem-Alexander)
- HRH Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau (second child of Prince Willem-Alexander)
- HRH Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer van Amsberg
- HE Countess Eloise of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouw van Amsberg (daughter of Prince Constantijn)
- HE Count Claus-Casimir of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer van Amsberg (son of Prince Constantijn)
- The third child of Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien, expected to be born in June 2006.
- HRH Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld (daughter of Queen Juliana)
- HH Prince Maurits of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven (son of Princess Margriet)
- HH Prince Bernhard of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven (son of Princess Margriet)
Thus, after Willem-Alexander come his daughters; then Constantijn, his brother; a niece, a nephew; their unborn sibling; an aunt; and two cousins.
Notes
- Queen Beatrix's second son, Prince Johan-Friso of the Netherlands, was removed from the line of succession when he married without parliamentary approval in 2004. His daughter, Countess Luana, and any other children of Prince Friso are not in the line of succession.
- The children of Prince Maurits and Prince Bernhard are not on the list, because their kinship with Queen Beatrix is of the fourth degree, the constitutional maximum being of the third degree.
- For the same reason, if Willem-Alexander becomes king, then for his successor only numbers 2 through 7 apply (and possible future children of him and of Prince Constantijn), and his cousins (numbers 9 - 10) will be removed from the list.
- Prince Pieter Christiaan of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven and Prince Floris of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven (the two younger sons of Princess Margriet) were dropped from the list because they had both decided not to seek parliamentary approval for their 2005 marriages, which is necessary for being eligible for succession.