The Dutch Royal Family
The Dutch Royal Family - (English)
The Dutch Royal Family - (Dutch) Het Koninklijk Huis
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands - from Wikipedia
Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange - from Wikipedia
Prince Claus - a memorial site commemorating Prince Claus
Royal Images, over 35.000 pictures about Dutch Royalty
Monarchy: Queen Beatrix, the current Dutch monarch
The Netherlands have been a monarchy since March 16, 1815, and have been governed by members of the House of Orange-Nassau ever since.
The present monarchy was originally founded in 1813. After the expulsion of the French, the Prince of Orange was proclaimed Sovereign Prince
of The Netherlands. 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. The House of Orange-Nassau were given the present day Netherlands and Belgium to govern as the United Kingdom of the
Netherlands. Between 1815 and 1890, the King of the Netherlands was also Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
The current monarch is Queen Beatrix. The heir apparent is Willem-Alexander, her son.
Constitutionally, the Queen is head of state and has a role in the formation of government and in the legislative process. She has to co-sign
every law to make it valid. The monarch is also ex officio chair of the Council of State, which advises the cabinet on every piece of
legislation and is the final court for administrative law. Although the Queen takes these functions seriously, she refrains from exerting her
power in these positions. The Queen also plays a central role in the formation of a cabinet after general elections or a cabinet crisis. Since
coalition cabinets of two or more parties are the rule, this process has influence on government policy for years to come. She appoints the
(in)formateur, who chairs the formation talks, after consulting the leaders of all parties represented in parliament. When the formation talks
have been concluded the Queen appoints the cabinet. Because this advice is a matter of public record, the Queen can not easily take a
direction which is contrary to the advice of a majority in parliament. On the other hand, what is actually talked about behind the closed
doors of the palace is not known. When a cabinet falls, the prime minister has to request the Queen to dismiss the cabinet.
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Source: Wikipedia.org