Imane Rachidi |
The Hague (EFE).- King Willem-Alexander celebrates his 56th birthday this week, and also the tenth anniversary of his accession to the throne, a decade that began with optimism and popularity, but in which scrutiny of the monarchy has increased, with a sharp drop in trust among society.
This Thursday, April 27, is his birthday and this date is a national holiday in the Netherlands, a non-working day for the Dutch, who, monarchists or not, throw the house out the window, with live music from stages in the streets, parties in different bars and event centers, markets with second-hand objects in front of the houses and, above all, with a lot of alcohol, orange clothes and Dutch flags.
But the birthday also coincides this year with the tenth anniversary of the accession of Willem-Alexander to the throne of the Netherlands.
Princess Beatrix, a title now held by the previous Dutch queen, abdicated on April 30, 2013 in favor of her son, considering that her then 75 years were enough to go into the background, and hand over the throne to the new generation of Princes Orange, Willem-Alexander and Máxima, today Kings of the Netherlands and parents of three daughters: Crown Princess Amalia (19 years old), Alexia (17 years old), and Ariane (15 years old).
The trust
On the day of Willem-Alexander’s coronation, almost 80% of the Dutch were in favor of the monarchy, but ten years later, only 55% support it.
Confidence in Willem-Alexander as king has not recovered from the decline that began during the pandemic, according to the survey carried out by the Ipsos agency on the occasion of King’s Day (Koningsdag, in Dutch), as the monarch’s birthday is known.
The king has the confidence of just under half the population (46%), the same as last year, but, in 2020, the support was three-quarters of society.
The debacle began with COVID-19, when Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima went on vacation to Greece under full travel restrictions, causing such an uproar in the Netherlands that they had to return to The Hague as soon as they landed on land. helenas and apologize publicly.
Other controversies also arose in the pandemic, such as a photograph that the kings took with the owner of a restaurant in Greece, without maintaining social distance, or the celebration of Princess Amalia’s 18th birthday with more guests than allowed.
Máxima, who continues to have more confidence than the king, with 64% support, has also fallen in the polls in recent years, since in 2020 he had the confidence of more than 80% of the population.
Those surveyed do believe that Máxima is an added value for the monarchy and, above all, for the ten-year reign of Guillermo Alejandro.
social debates
Beyond the scandals, the decline in support for the Dutch royal family fits into the social trend in the Netherlands, in which official institutions are less trusted by citizens.
The Dutch trust the Royal House more (almost 40%) than national politics (17%) and the media (23%).
However, the scrutiny of his life has put the monarch in trouble on more than one occasion, but it has also led the Royal House to adapt rapidly to the pace of social debate.
Last year, the king renounced the use of the so-called “Golden Carriage”, a gift from the residents of Amsterdam to Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in 1898, considered by some as a glorification of slavery for the panel that shows a white woman sitting on a throne surrounded by black people bowing down to her.
An investigation published in September by the Amsterdam Museum showed that this float is plated with gold from a mine in the former Dutch colony of Suriname.
In addition, the foundation that manages the heritage of the Royal House has commissioned an independent investigation into the colonial origin of the works and art objects in the royal collection to determine “the legality and fairness of the management” of these pieces by the royal family, in full debate on looted art.