Reduce King & Queen's salaries, says Dutch majority

While a number of Dutch people think that King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima's salaries should be reduced, the vast majority is happy with the royal couple's reign and believe that the King is performing his duties well. This is according to NOS' King's Day 2015 survey conducted by research firm Ipsos. More than half of the respondents believe that the royal couple's salaries - 823 thousand for the king and 326 thousand for the queen - are too high. 37 percent of the respondents think that the amounts are fine. Queen Maxima received a 7.8 score for here actions this past year, with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Beatrix scoring slightly lower at 7.5 each. The confidence in the king remained stable at more than 70 percent since the change of rule. A large majority of 60 percent think it's good that the King is is paying extra attention to the Dutch market and economy in his role as head of state. A quarter think that he should pay more attention to other subjects, especially in the area of integration and terrorist threats - 44 and 29 percent respectively. 54 percent of respondents think that the kingship should be modernized, particularly in the area of Royal Family privileges and annual allowances. Almost 25 percent wants the king to only have ceremonial duties, compared to 18 percent in 2014. The majority of the Netherlands does not consider it necessary that Princess Amalia, who will turn 12 years old later this year, gets official duties as of yet. 70 percent of respondents believe that she is still too young. 56 percent are happy that Princess Amalia and her sisters will be visibly present at the King's Day celebration. 37 percent are disappointed that Princess Beatrix will not be attending.