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The Dutch nobility is a small elite
social class constisting of individuals or families recognized as
noble
A noble is a member of the nobility.
Noble may also refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Noble Glacier, King George Island
* Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Noble Peak, Wiencke Island
* Noble Rocks, Graham Land
Australia
* Noble Island, Gr ...
, and with or without a title of nobility in the
Kingdom of the Netherlands
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, image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg
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.
The existence of nobility was established in the
Constitution of the Netherlands
The Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Grondwet voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden) is one of two fundamental documents governing the Kingdom of the Netherlands as well as the fundamental law of the European territory of the ...
of 1814. Those who belong to the nobility were entitled to certain privileges, in particular to take a seat in the "Ridderschap", a former executive and legislative assembly at the regional or provincial level, and herewith the power to select members for the
States-Provincial. With the
constitutional reform of 1848, all these privileges were abolished and the nobles lost their constitutional roles. Since then, the only privileges that the Dutch nobility still enjoy are the legal use of titles and the grant of coats of arms by royal decree.
The nobility are currently regulated by the Nobility Act, passed into law on 1 August 1994, and is overseen by the , an official state institution of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands
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, image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg
, map_width = 250px
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, map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale
, capital = ...
which also maintains the official nobility register.
History
During the period between 1581 and 1795, when the Netherlands was a republic (
Republic of the Seven United Netherlands
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
), the native nobility kept their constitutional significance. In each province, the nobility was organised in knighthoods, which maintained representation in the
States-Provincial. In 1795, after the
Batavian Revolution, the positions and thus the nobility were abolished.
With the establishment of the
Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands
The Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands ( nl, label=Dutch language, Dutch, old spelling, Souverein Vorstendom der Vereenigde Nederlanden) was a short-lived Sovereignty, sovereign principality and the precursor of the United Kingdom of ...
in 1813, the rights of the nobility were restored, and the peerage regained official status. The Constitution established that nobility would be granted by the King, and the ways in which this could happen were clarified by Sovereign Decree no. 60, signed on 13 February 1815. Initially this was by appointment into the re-established knighthoods, but after several years exclusively through acknowledgement, incorporation or elevation. These terms refer to the ''acknowledgement'' of indigenous titles of nobility existing before 1795, the ''incorporation'' of originally foreign titles of nobility, and ''elevation'' where an entirely new title is created. The electoral colleges for the (indirect) elections of the
Senate and the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
of the
States General The word States-General, or Estates-General, may refer to:
Currently in use
* Estates-General on the Situation and Future of the French Language in Quebec, the name of a commission set up by the government of Quebec on June 29, 2000
* States Gener ...
consisted of the knighthoods, amongst others. In 1814,
William I
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
established the which, as his advisory body, would help him re-establish a strong nobility. From then on, new members of the knighthoods would also be recruited from
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
families. The Council started maintaining a register of the nobility, the ''filiatieregister''.
In the constitutional amendment of 1848, the feudal society was abolished, and the constitutional role of the nobility again came to an end. The only legal privilege the nobility retained was the right to hold a predicate or a title. In 1994, the constitutional article was replaced by a separate Nobility Act which codified the existing practice. According to this law, nobility can still be granted in the three aforementioned ways, although the possibilities are significantly reduced. Elevation, which had not taken place since 1939 and was practically abolished by the council of ministers in 1953, has been reduced to the Royal House. Government policy has since focused on rewarding personal merit through royal decorations. The last elevation into the Dutch nobility concerns
Princess Máxima
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subst ...
, in a Royal Decree of 25 January 2002 (Government Gazette 41), due to the fact of her marriage to the
Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands.
The title ...
.
[ In 2016, a survey was conducted among nobles in which at least a quarter stated that they support the resumption of (non-royal) ennoblements, while approximately a third opposed them and the rest had no or a weak opinion. Members of the Nederlandse Adelsvereniging, the organization which represents the Dutch nobility in ]CILANE The European Commission of the Nobility (french: Commission d'information et de liaison des associations nobles d'Europe, CILANE) is an organisation for cooperation of associations of European nobility, established in 1959. Its seat is in Paris, Fra ...
, are more likely to support ennoblements, and are more likely to uphold traditional noble values and marry endogamously. In 2020, nobility expert and director of the foundation ''Stichting Adel in Nederland'' John Töpfer also spoke out in favor of a new ennoblements in a radio interview. The continuing practice of hereditary ennoblements in Belgium is often cited by proponents of new nobility in the Netherlands.
Titles and families
Someone belongs to the Dutch nobility when either they have been granted nobility by Royal Decree, or when their father belonged to the nobility. Nobility is inherited exclusively through male lineage, which means that while daughters belong to the nobility as well, they are unable to pass it to their children. Someone can be granted nobility through acknowledgement of indigenous titles of nobility existing before 1795, through incorporation of foreign titles of nobility, or through elevation, in which a new title of nobility is created. There are seven titles of nobility. In order of precedence, these are Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
, Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
, Marquis, Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
, Viscount
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status.
In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...
, Baron and Knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
. People in the nobility who have not been granted a title carry the predicate ''Jonkheer
(female equivalent: ; french: Écuyer; en, Squire) is an honorific in the Low Countries denoting the lowest rank within the nobility. In the Netherlands, this in general concerns a prefix used by the untitled nobility. In Belgium, this is the ...
'' or ''Jonkvrouw
(female equivalent: ; french: Écuyer; en, Squire) is an honorific in the Low Countries denoting the lowest rank within the nobility. In the Netherlands, this in general concerns a prefix used by the untitled nobility. In Belgium, this is the ...
''.
Relationship with the Nederland's Patriciaat
The Nederland's Patriciaat ''Nederland's Patriciaat'', informally known as ''Het Blauwe Boekje'' (the little blue book), is a book series published annually since 1910, containing the genealogies of important Dutch patrician non-noble families. It is published by the Centraal ...
is a registry of non-noble armigerous families which have held influential roles in Dutch society for at least 150 years or six generations. Many families date from the republican era and are descendants of magistrates and merchants, but as membership in the Patriciate is, unlike nobility, not a legal distinction, and cannot be "closed" by law, new families are admitted every year.
Thus, incorporation into Nederland's Patriciaat can be considered a substitution for ennoblement, a distinction families are accorded if they maintain a high level of merit and success for several generations. The Patriciate, or at least its older families, are considered equal to the nobility, and the oldest families are even given the same status as Barons and Counts. Many Patrician families are non-noble branches of noble families, or descend from persons who were offered ennoblement but declined it.
Just like nobility, membership in the Patriciate is hereditary in the legitimate male line. Intermarriage between nobles and members of Nederland's Patriciaat is common, and the first non-noble to marry into the Dutch Royal Family, Mr. Pieter van Vollenhoven
Pieter van Vollenhoven Jr. (born April 30, 1939) is the husband of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and a member, by marriage, of the Dutch Royal House.
Early life and career
Van Vollenhoven was born in Schiedam, he is the second son of ...
, is indeed a Dutch Patrician.
Thus, it can be said that the Nobility and the Patriciate are two groups from which the aristocracy of the Netherlands is formed, and the relationship between them is somewhat reminiscent of that between the Peerage and the Gentry
Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past.
Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies
''Gentry'', in its widest c ...
in Great Britain (even though the British Gentry is, unlike the Patriciate, legally also part of the nobility and merely forms its lower part).
References
External links
Wet op de adeldom
overheid.nl
Nobility section
on the website of the High Council of Nobility (''Hoge Raad van Adel'')
{{Nobility by nation