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According to some German and Argentinian magazines, Prince Gabriel (18) and the Dutch Crown Princess Amalia (17) have a crush on each other. Problem: if they ever wanted to tie the knot, the Belgian constitution does not allow it. “But Belgium wouldn’t be Belgium if there were no loopholes,” says royalty expert Jo De Poorter.
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According to the German journalist Stefanie Richter, who spoke in ‘TV Familie’, Prince Gabriel (18) and the Dutch Crown Princess Amalia (17) have “a secret, young love”. Argentine media have also been speculating for a while about a Belgian-Dutch couple. But a simple marriage proposal seems impossible.
A decree from 1830 of the Belgian constitution states that “members of the Stamhuys van Oranje-Nassau are always excluded from all power or authority in Belgium”. In other words, this means that members of the Dutch royal family are not allowed to exercise any position of power in our country. This applies to matters such as government functions, political offices or the monarchy.
change law
Can such an old law not be amended? Not according to former chamber president Herman De Croo (Open Vld). According to De Croo, a friend of the monarchy, this is an “age-old discussion”. “People just can’t figure it out,” he says in Het Laatste Nieuws. But he too has guesses as to why. “Maybe it sets precedents: if you touch this theme, why not touch another? Today we have good contacts with the Dutch royal family. It’s actually human to adjust it, but it’s in the paper law. The folds of history have been ironed out.”
Although the amendment of the law is not obvious, a number of parliamentarians from Open Vld once attempted to lift the decree. Vincent Van Quickenborne tried in 2003 when he was Minister of Administrative Simplification. Bart Tommelein also saw an opportunity in 2006 to connect the two royal houses with each other. Their proposals could not count on a majority, so it was pushed aside.
loopholes
Changing the constitution is complicated, but not impossible, said royalty expert Jo De Poorter during an interview with De Morgen on Radio 1. But it shouldn’t even have to come to that. “Belgium wouldn’t be Belgium if there were no loopholes. One possibility would be that Prince Gabriel would give up his Belgian nationality and take on Dutch nationality. Moreover, it is not an acute problem. If you look at Prince William, who has been engaged to Kate Middleton for ten years… There is still some time.”
A good match
A possible marriage between Prince Gabriel and Princess Amalia would already be a good thing for the Dutch royal family, according to De Poorter. “That would put someone on the throne with Prince Gabriel, a prince consort, who has been trained all his life to do that kind of work. That’s a pretty exceptional situation,” he says. “There are few people in the world who are in the shadows for such a role.”
De Poorter sees a good match in the fledgling couple. “They fit well together, in terms of age and character,” says De Poorter. “Both Prince Gabriel and Crown Princess Amalia have great dynastic responsibility. There is no better way to accomplish those tasks than to accomplish them together.”
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