What happens if an heir to the throne in the Netherlands is gay and wants to get married? This is the debate that has arisen in the Parliament of the Netherlands after a deputy of the liberal party (VDD) asked the prime minister about it.
Mark Rutte, the country’s prime minister, has assured that sexual orientation, in this case of Princess Amalia, “will not be an obstacle” to her accession to the throne.
“The Government believes that the heir can also marry a person of the same sex and he does not see a legal obstacle allowing the marriage of an heir to a person of the same sex. Therefore, the cabinet does not consider that an heir to the throne or the king should abdicate if he wishes to marry a same-sex couple, “he said in the same chamber.
This parliamentary question originated after the publication last month of the book ‘Amalia, duty calls you’, by lawyer Peter Rehwinkel, in which he analyzed this hypothesis and concluded that, based on current regulations, if Amalia wanted to marry a woman, she must renounce the throne.
Likewise, Rutte has indicated that it should only be clear who are the children in a marriage between two people of the same sex. It has not ruled on whether children adopted or those conceived, for example, through a sperm donor or surrogate motherhood will also be eligible to the throne, something that will have to be raised with the cabinet that governs at the time when it really occurs. that scenario.
Although the Dutch Constitution is based on the idea of ​​inheritance, the way modern family law is organized today does not automatically assume as “children” only those who are biologically descended of the parents who conceive them.
“The purpose of the constitutional provisions on the succession is to determine on objective and unequivocal bases to whom the monarchy will pass and thus achieve the politically desired certainty with respect to the succession,” the acting prime minister has added.
However, he considers that it is inevitable that there is “fundamentally a tension with the system of succession” contained in the Dutch Constitution, which precisely aims to determine “on objective and unequivocal bases” who will be the king or queen of the Netherlands, and who will be. or it succeeds it on the throne, that is, it refers to legal descendants and blood kinship.
When Princess Amalia, who is still 17 years old, decide to marry, the government and the two houses in the Netherlands will have to consider the succession “In time”. In case of future debate to reach the necessary consent on the heirs to the throne, the two houses “may, if necessary, consider the position of the law of paternity of children born of marriage” that is relevant and applicable in that moment.
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
