Royal family to get an extra €464,000 in spending money; King refused comment

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, and Princess Beatrix will have 646,000 euros more to spend this coming year than last year. The royal family has “no influence” on the increase in its allowance, King Willem-Alexander said to the Dutch press after his state visit to Sweden. He would not comment on the indignation surrounding the increase.

The 2023 Budget presented in September states that the government budgeted 50.2 million euros for the royal family. Part of this is salary, and part is expense allowance. The government information service RVD explained that part of the increase is because the constitutional benefit for members of the royal family is a “trend follower,” which means that the royal family’s income increases in line with that of civil servants.

In the conversation with the press, the King said that “there is a discussion about this subject every year” but that he has no influence whatsoever on the amount of the benefit. The King agrees that he could say something about the indignation or dissatisfaction but declines to do so. Queen Maxima said she understands that people are outraged but that solutions are being worked on for struggling people and companies. “Next month, we will really go to companies to see how they can help their employees even better,” the queen said.

Crown princess Amalia previously waived a benefit she is entitled to. In June 2021, Amalia announced that she would repay the 300,000 euros she received for while she is studying. In a letter to Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Amalia called it “uncomfortable” to receive money while other students “are having a hard time.”

The King stressed that he is well aware that more and more people are struggling to make ends meet, but he also said that the government is working on it. “It’s a huge problem that we all face. The problems are so big that you can’t solve them in one go,” he said. “We do know that the problems were not caused in The Hague, but the solution must come from The Hague.” The Netherlands often uses “The Hague” to refer to the national government and national politics because that is where the government buildings, parliament, and Senate are located.