Princess Amalia turns down controversial €1.6 million in annual pay

Princess Amalia said she will not accept the 1.6 million euros in salary and expense claims that she is entitled to receive once she turns 18 in December. It is the first time in history that a member of the Dutch royal family has waived their benefits.

Amalia discovered she passed her final secondary school exams and completed her studies at the Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet with a cum laude distinction. She plans to take a gap year before pursuing her higher education goals, she stated in a hand-written letter sent to Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

She will not accept the financial benefit until after she has finished those studies, and can make more of a contribution as a public figure. "I find that uncomfortable as long as I can offer little in return and other students have it so much more difficult, especially in this uncertain coronavirus times," she wrote.

About 296,000 euros of the benefit counts as income, and the remaining 1.3 million euros is intended for personnel and material expenses. Amalia announced that she will not accept the income portion, and said she will also refund the expense allowance "as long as I will not incur high costs in my role as Princess of Oranje."

Her decision was praised by Rutte who said she was not pressured politically.

"Many students are indeed having a hard time, so it's good that not one person gobbles up several millions of euros," said Lyle Muns, the chair of the LSVb student union, in a statement to AD.