Posted by Johan on 13/5/2008, 14:01:08, in reply to "Re: Renunciation of rights"
164.140.159.143
A Dutch heir(ess) to the throne cannot renounce his/her rights but has two options to leave the line of succession:
1 marry without consent
2 ask the government to introduce an exclusion bill.
The Dutch constitution includes the option of excluding an heir(ess) from the line of succession if it is clear that (s)he won't be able to forfill the role as monarch. Allthough intended to exclude those with severe fysical or mental handicaps it can also be used for those unwilling to become monarch.
In 1848 the prince of Orange actually wrote a letter to the king that he after the changes in the constitution he no longer wished to be in line of succession and left for Britain. During his stay the king (Willem II) died. Allthough the government was uware of the heir's unwillingness he had succeeded upon his father's death according to the constitution. They dispatched a minister the new king liked in order to persuade him to not resign imediately in favor of his still minor son.
The wife of the new king and mother of the young son had to wait a couple of days to find out if her husband or son would be the next reign. Willem III was persuaded and would reign for 42 years. His son Willem (Wiwill) would die before his father and not reign at all. Had his father's letter been legal Wiwill would have been Willem III and would have reigned from the age of 9 in 1849 till the age of 39 (1879).
--Previous Message--
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: A discussion on the British board reminds me
: to ask: is it true that -- strictly speaking
: -- it's not legally possible for dynasts in
: at least the reigning European houses to
: voluntarily renounce their succession rights
: (for themselves or fhtier descendants)?
: That they can only FORFEIT the said rights
: -- either through marrying in contravention
: to their relevant house laws or (if
: applicable) converting to forbidden
: religions?
:
: One should be careful not to make such
: generalisations.
:
: Concerning Luxembourg, renunciation has
: taken place twice "in modern
: times" (Prince Jean and Prince Louis),
: but we don't know in what form the
: renunciations were made, as they were as far
: as I know not published in Luxembourg's
: legal gazette.
:
: Concerning Denmark, renunciations have taken
: place, for instance when Princess Anne Marie
: was to marry King Constantine of the
: Hellenes, and the text of renunciation was
: included in the protocol and as such given
: legal form.
:
: Concerning Norway, the Constitution does not
: mention the possibility of abdication or
: renunciation, but at least one scholar, Law
: Professor T.H. Aschehough thought it was
: allowed but it had to be confirmed by the
: Storting.
:
: Abdications have taken place twice in Norway
: since 1814 (in October 1814 and October
: 1905), and although under special
: circumstances, they have created precedence.
:
: DTH
:
Message Thread:
« Back to thread