The heir to the throne in the Netherlands can marry someone of the same sex and reign

Same-sex marriage is legal in Netherlands since 2001, but it has always been assumed that it could not apply to members of the Crown.

But now the prime minister, Mark Rutte, made it clear that any king or queen may also marry a person of the same sex.

Rutte said Tuesday that these were “theoretical situations”, but the next queen, the princess amalia, he could marry a woman.

“The cabinet does not see that an heir to the throne or the king must abdicate if he wishes to marry a same-sex couple”Rutte explained in response to a written question from his own party in Parliament on Tuesday.

Heir to the throne

As the eldest daughter of King William, Princess Amalia’s future has come under scrutiny.

In the boreal summer, a book raised the question of what might happen if she chose to marry a partner of the same sex.

The book does not speculate on the princess’s personal life, and there are no indications of any pending wedding.

The heir to the Dutch throne turns 18 in December.

He is expected to go to college in 2022 and has turned down the actual income to which he is entitled while he is a student.

The question led MPs from Rutte’s party to question whether current restrictions on royal marriage met the “2021 norms and values.”

Succession

Although the cabinet makes it clear that same-sex marriage is possible, it is not known what would happen to the succession if an actual same-sex marriage, had offspring through adoption or a sperm donor.

“It’s terribly complicated,” Rutte said.

The Dutch Constitution states that the king or queen can only be succeeded by a “legal descendant”.

The prime minister said it was purely theoretical at this stage but that the decision would be up to Parliament, which has to approve royal marriages. “Let’s cross that bridge if we get to it,” he told Dutch television.

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