In the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the monarchy is a constitutional office and is controlled by the constitution of the Netherlands. A distinction is made between members of the royal family and members of the royal house. According to the Membership to the Royal House Act which was revised in 2002, the members of the royal house are:
the monarch (king or queen) as head of the royal housethe members of the royal family in the line of succession to the Dutch throne but limited to two degrees of kinship from the current monarch (first degree = parents and second degree = siblings)the heir to the thronethe former monarch (on abdication)the members of the royal house of further degrees of kinship if they were already members of the royal house prior to the revision of the act in 2002, were adults at the time and remain in the direct line of succession.the spouses of the abovethe widows and widowers of the above, provided that they do not remarry, and that their spouses would still qualify if they were still alive todayHM The King (King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands), the current head of the royal house, oldest child of Princess BeatrixHM The Queen (Queen Máxima), wife of the KingHRH The Princess of Orange (Catharina-Amalia), oldest child of the King and QueenHRH Princess Alexia, middle child of the King and QueenHRH Princess Ariane, youngest child of the King and QueenHRH Prince Constantijn, third and youngest child of Princess Beatrix and Prince ClausHRH Princess Laurentien, wife of Prince ConstantijnHRH Princess Beatrix, former monarchHRH Princess Margriet, sister of Princess Beatrix; an exception was made for her when the act was revisedPieter van Vollenhoven, husband of Princess MargrietThe membership is lost if the right to succeed to the Dutch throne is lost, e.g. marrying without parliament’s approval. This applied to several members of the royal family:
in 1964 Princess Irene married Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parmain 1975 Princess Christina married Jorge Guillermoin 2004 Prince Friso married Mabel Wisse Smit; the government declined to ask official parliamentary permission for the marriagein 2005 Prince Pieter-Christiaan married Anita van Eijkin 2005 Prince Floris married Aimée SöhngenIn addition the membership is lost when a person, who was formerly a member, loses his direct right to succession because he or she is no longer related to the current monarch within 3 degrees of kinship. When King Willem-Alexander assumed the throne in 2013 this applied to:
Prince Maurits and his wife Princess MarilènePrince Bernhard and his wife Princess AnnetteMembership is also lost to persons who are still in the direct line of succession, but are no longer related to the current monarch within 2 degrees of kinship. When King Willem-Alexander assumed the throne in 2013 this applied to:
Countess Eloise of Orange-Nassau van AmsbergCount Claus-Casimir of Orange-Nassau van AmsbergCountess Leonore of Orange-Nassau van AmsbergAll children of Prince Constantijn and his wife.
