A Dutch monarch can marry a person of whatever gender they choose without forfeiting their right to the throne, prime minister Mark Rutte has said.
Rutte was responding to questions from parliament that arose from a recent book, Amalia, Duty Calls, which argued that old laws would appear to exclude the possibility of a same-sex couple on the throne, despite same-sex marriage being legal in the Netherlands since 2001.
The book is about Princess Amalia, the 17-year-old heir to King Willem-Alexander.
Amalia has not made any comments on the matter, and little is known of her personal life.
She decided earlier this year she would not accept the €1.6m annual allowance she becomes entitled to when she turns 18, because it would make her feel “uncomfortable”.
Rutte said times have changed since one of his predecessors last addressed the issue in the year 2000.
“The government believes that the heir can also marry a person of the same sex,” Rutte wrote in a letter to parliament.
“The cabinet therefore does not see that an heir to the throne or the king should abdicate if he/she would like to marry a partner of the same sex.’’
Royal marriages do need the approval of parliament, however, and members of the royal house have on occasion given up their place in the line of succession, either to marry someone without permission or because they seemed unlikely to obtain it.
Reuters contributed to this report
