Royal family of the Netherlands. The royal family of the Netherlands - the most interesting in blogs Celebrate birthdays in a special way

Frederica Louise Wilhelmina of Nassau-Oran was born on November 28, 1770 to Prince William V and Wilhelmina of Prussia. She was the second child of the couple, whose first child died nameless the day after birth. The next year after Louise, another son was born, who also died at birth. The third son Wilhelm survived early childhood and subsequently became not only the Prince of Nassau-Oran, but also the King of the Netherlands. Another son, Friedrich, survived but died young. Wilhelmina of Prussia personally supervised the upbringing of her daughter. Louise was devoted to her mother and had a close relationship with her throughout her life. The princess was educated by her governess Victoria Hollar and Professor Hermann Tollius, and was trained in Dutch and Calvinism, although her first language was French, as was the custom at the time among the nobility. Louise was fond of music and theater, she was taught music by Johann Colizzi.

Child portrait by Guillaume de Spiny. 1774.

Louise and her brothers. Portrait by Guillaume de Spiny. 1774. Source: flickr.com/photos/thelostgallery

1783

The princess was proposed to the heir to the Prussian throne, but the plans were cancelled. In 1789, Duke Carl Wilhelm Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel formally nominated his eldest son and heir, Carl Georg August, born in 1766. The marriage was seen as a gesture of gratitude and alliance between the House of Orange and the Duke of Brunswick, who helped Louise's parents during the uprising in 1787. Louise was not forced to agree to the marriage, but she herself agreed, because she knew that it would be difficult for her to find another suitor suitable for rank and religion.

Portrait by Johann Friedrich Tischbein. 1788.

Portrait by Johann Friedrich Tischbein. 1788/1790. Source: flickr.com/photos/thelostgallery

The wedding took place in The Hague on October 14, 1790, the couple settled in Braunschweig. Louise was homesick, had difficulty adapting to new customs, and missed a brighter cultural life in the Netherlands. She began to correspond with her mother, governess and former teacher, which has survived and is considered an important source on the life of the Brunswick court. Karl Georg August was born blind and was mentally retarded, Louise was more like a nurse for him than a wife, the prince was completely dependent on her. The fact that the heir to the dukedom could not have children meant that he had to give up his heir status in favor of a younger brother. When Louise's parents fled the Netherlands in 1795, the princess lost her personal income and became financially dependent on her husband's relatives.

Portrait by Johann Christian Schwartz. 1800s.

A constitutional monarchy. FROM early XIX centuries, the country is ruled by the Orange-Nassau dynasty. Now on the throne queen beatrix. Bea Trix was born on January 31, 1938. She spent her childhood in Canada, where her mother, Queen Juliana, went during the occupation of the country by Germany. There, in Ottawa, the princess went to Kindergarten and primary school. The Queen of the Netherlands graduated from Leiden University where she studied law and sociology. As the eldest child in the family, the heir to the throne (Beatrix has three sisters) from the age of 18 became a member of the Council of State - an advisory body to the queen.
AndIt is known that "no king can marry for love" (c), however, Princess Beatrix denied this statement ....

Her affair with the German diplomat Klaus von Amsberg still ended happy marriage, although at first it caused sharp discontent among some members of the royal family, parliament and ordinary citizens. The fact is that Klaus, who was born in 1926, managed to get under mobilization in 1944 and fought on the side of the Reich in Italy for six months, where he was taken prisoner by the Americans. The Dutch, and especially the Dutch Jews, who created the diamond market in Amsterdam, did not forget the hardships of the Nazi occupation, and for them such an alliance was unacceptable. But Beatrix was stubborn, and her parents had to agree to this marriage.

It took the Dutch Parliament nine hours to decide on the marriage of the heir to the throne. The wedding took place on March 10, 1966 in Amsterdam, as Beatrix wanted. Klaus was given the title of prince. Soon, with a difference of a year, the couple had three sons: Willem-Alexander (born in 1967), Friso (1968) and Konstantin (Prince Constantijn , 1969). The crown prince is Willem-Alexander, and in the foreseeable future he will become the king of the Netherlands - the first king in more than 110 years (this is how long Queens Wilhelmina, Juliana and Beatrix ruled Holland).

Willem-Alexander studied at high school Baarna, then in the same place at the Lyceum. After the coronation of Beatrix - April 30, 1980 - received the title of Prins van Oranje (Prince of Orange). Since 1981, the prince has been living in The Hague and studying at the First Open Christian Lyceum. Later, Willem-Alexander served in the Dutch CCM, studied undergraduate studies at the Atlantic College of Wales, studied history (1987-1993) at the University of Leiden (lives on the Rapenburg campus). Willem-Alexander's special interest (like many Dutch people) is "water management". He patronizes the water institute IHE in Delft, under his leadership the Second World Water Forum was held in March 2000 in The Hague. Under his leadership, the World Water Committee was created, the motto of which is "Global Water Partnership in the 21st century." The prince is very fond of sports, from 1986 to 1992 he constantly participated in the New York Marathon. Since 1998 he has been the head of the Dutch Olympic Committee.

On February 2, 2002, the wedding of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Maxima Zorreguet of Argentina took place in Amsterdam, which received the title of Her Royal Highness Princess Maxima of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Mrs Van Amsberg.

maxima (emphasis on the first syllable) was born in Buenos Aires on May 17, 1971. Her father is Jorge Zorregueta and her mother is Maria Cerruti. She got her grandmother's name. Maxima has 2 younger brothers and a sister. Maxima grew up in Buenos Aires, studied at the English-language college Northlands, since 1989 at the Catholic University of Buenos Aires at the Faculty of Economics. She was also a student at the Austrian School of Economics. Since 1996 she has been based in New York at Deutsche Bank. In 1999, Maxima met Willem-Alexander in New York. In September 1999 crown prince presents Holland Maxima as his bride.

December 7, 2003 they had a daughter - Princess Catharina-Amalia, the future heir to the Dutch throne. A26 June 2005 - the second daughter was born, Princess Alexia.

The middle son of the queen - Prince Friso and his wife Princess Mabel On March 26, 2005, a daughter was born in London, who was named Emma Luana Ninette Sophie. Her official title is Countess Luana van Oranje-Nassau, jonkvrouw van Amsberg. Prince Friso renounced his right to succeed to the throne by marrying Mabel Wisse-Smith without the approval of the Dutch government.

The Royal Family of the Netherlands, whose head today is King Willem-Alexander, occupies special place among European monarchies. Its history begins in 1815, when Prince William VI of Orange became King Willem I of the newly formed Kingdom of the Netherlands. Following the example of its immediate neighbors, the Dutch chose to leave the monarchy, and it is believed that the royal family helps to preserve the cultural and religious heritage of the nation.

His Majesty Willem-Alexander and his wife Queen Maxima prefer restraint, so that the royal family of the Netherlands is usually mentioned in the gossip column only in connection with official events, but this does not mean at all that it is “boring and uninteresting”. Here are three interesting facts about contemporary Dutch monarchs.

Members of the royal family do not wear a crown

Oddly enough, but unlike other royal families, the monarchs of the Netherlands practically do not appear with a crown at official events. It is worth noting that the crown of the Netherlands was created in 1840 for King Willem II, and compared to the crowns of other monarchs, it is rather modest. The regalia was made by the Amsterdam jeweler Adrian Bonebaker from gilded silver. Not in the Dutch crown precious stones- it is trimmed with imitation pearls. Decoration for public viewing is not exhibited: in last time the crown could be seen at the coronation ceremony of Willem-Alexander on April 30, 2013.

Celebrate birthdays in a special way

For more than 100 years, on April 27, the Dutch have been celebrating Koningsdag ─ the birthday of the king on April 27 (although until 2014 it was Koninginnedag ─ the birthday of the queen). On this day, anyone can sell anything (usually used items) and almost anywhere, without obtaining a permit and paying a tax, so on April 27, Holland actually turns into one huge flea market. Millions take part in the celebration local residents who wear orange, the favorite color of the Dutch.

Willem-Alexander made his own wetsuit

In his youth, Willem-Alexander studied at three schools, including the Baarns Lyceum in the Dutch city of Baarn and the Atlantic College in British Wales. While studying in Wales, the Prince joined the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's student volunteer team. National Society Rescue on the Waters"), working on lifeboats in contact with the Coast Guard and sewed his own wetsuit. Until now, His Majesty pays special attention to hydraulic engineering and is an honorary member of major commissions on water resources.

In this article we will talk about the royal family of the Netherlands - the Orange dynasty (in Dutch - Oranje). And also about where and when you can see one of the family members live, where their main residences are located and why the Dutch love their queens and kings so much.

A little about the family

The royal family is actually quite large. However, not all members of the royal family inherited the title. So, for example, not all grandchildren of Princess Margiet (Margiet), sister Princess (until 2013 Queen) Beatrix (Beatrix), are recognized as members of the royal family. It depends, as a rule, on the degree of kinship with the royal dynasty of Oranje and other (it should be noted, very confusing) rules of inheritance and assignment of royal titles. For a long time, the royal throne in the Netherlands belonged to women. Juliana became queen in 1948. It was Juliana's birthday - April 30, which later became known to everyone as a holiday - Queen's Day. On April 30, 1980, Juliana handed over the reign to her daughter, Beatrix. And she, in turn, on April 30, 2013, handed over the reign to her son Willem-Alexander (Willem-Alexander). Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima (a foreigner) have three daughters: Catharina-Amalia (Catharina-Amalia), Alexia (Alexia) and Ariane (Ariane).

Residences and palaces of the royal family

The royal family has four official residences in the Netherlands. The first of these is Paleis huis ten Bosch in The Hague. This palace was transferred to the personal use of the royal family in 1981. The second palace is Paleis het Loo in Loo. The third residence is the well-known palace on Dam Square in Amsterdam. The Fourth Palace - Predominantly workplace royal family. It is located in the very center of The Hague. You can only get into the palace located in Amsterdam. For information on how to get there on a tour, read our article about the Queen's Palace in Amsterdam.

Where to meet members of the royal family

Quite often, members of the royal family attend social events, concerts and receptions. For example, on December 18 this year, Prince Peter-Christiaan (Pieter-Christiaan) visited the musical `Soldiers of Orange' (Soldaat van Oranje). The premiere of this musical was in October 2010. Since then, the musical has been attended by an incredible number of members of the royal family. The thing is that this musical tells the story of a family member - Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema, known as `Soldaat van Oranje´.

Also, every year the royal couple - Willem-Alexander and Maxima travel through many Dutch provinces as part of King's Day. They are greeted with interesting performances, songs and dances. It is worth noting that Maxima speaks excellent Dutch and is always happy to communicate with children.

Taxes on the King/Queen and protests against the preservation of the royal court of the Netherlands

Surprisingly, most Dutch people are so fond of royal family that meekly pay an annual tax on the King (not so long ago it was a tax on the Queen). This tax is quite large and averages about 300 euros per year per capita. Of course, low-income families have the opportunity to apply for an exemption (in Dutch vrijstelling) from such taxation. Also, for several years now, Parliament has been regularly trying to force the King himself (formerly the Queen) to pay taxes on the salaries they receive and are completely tax-free.

It is worth noting that there is a certain percentage of the Dutch who do not have much love or favor for the royal family and the monarchy in general. For example, in 2013, during the first for a long time King's Day (Koningsdag) and as part of the transfer of monarchical power to Willem-Alexander in Amsterdam, T-shirts with the inscriptions `ik Will´em niet´ ( beautiful game words, which can be translated as `I don't want Willem'). With similar slogans, the party responsible for the authorship of the T-shirts expressed its disagreement with the continued succession to the throne and, consequently, the continued existence of the monarchy in the Netherlands. Also, the desire of Willem-Alexander to marry a foreigner, Maxima, who, as many people know, is a native of Argentina and the daughter of Jorge Zorreguieta, a politician and far from the last person during the regime of Jorge Videla, was perceived very negatively by many Dutch people. . However, there are always far fewer opponents of the monarchy than its supporters, which allows the Netherlands to remain the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in Dutch).

We wish you a pleasant trip to Amsterdam! Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and be able to meet one of the members of the royal family!