A historical study commissioned by King Willem-Alexander and conducted by Leiden University has found that the Dutch royal house benefited from the country's colonial policies in past centuries and helped the slave trade survive.
The study showed that the House of Orange-Nassau "actively supported Dutch colonialism for centuries, but only rarely determined colonial policy." This finding was discovered after the study concluded and examined the period from 1600 to the present.
Study findings
The study concluded: "The involvement of the House of Orange-Nassau was wholehearted and without any real reservations. The research leaves us in no doubt that the House of Orange shares responsibility for the survival over the centuries of the Dutch slave trade and slavery."
The study, which showed that the Dutch Royal Family also profited from the colonial system, has prompted King Willem-Alexander to address its findings. He said on Friday that he was personally affected by the "explicit" conclusions, calling it "painful and confronting" despite being three generations removed.
King's response
The study did find that the royals earned "almost nothing" from the slave trade. The finding comes three years after King Willem-Alexander apologized for his ancestors' lack of action against slavery.
In 2022, the Dutch Government ruled out reparations. Instead, they agreed on a 200 million euro (£179m) fund for social initiatives. As reported by Al Jazeera, The National Institute for the Dutch Slavery Past and Heritage (NiNsee) lauded the King for commissioning the study but said it should lead to a next phase.
UK context
The result of the study comes after the British Government has also refused to pay reparations. Buckingham Palace has said that on his upcoming Caribbean tour, King Charles will address the slave trade, but there will be no formal apology or offer of compensation for the UK's historical role in the transatlantic slave trade.
Charles, who has previously acknowledged the "appalling atrocity of slavery" that "forever stains our history," will instead focus on "the vibrant present and promising future" of the three countries comprising his autumn tour as he visits the Bahamas, Guyana, and Antigua and Barbuda.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson has acknowledged that there are "important discussions taking place" about colonial legacy and the slave trade, but the King will not be drawn into matters of reparations. As a constitutional monarch, the King acts on the advice of the Government, whose official policy opposes financial reparations and a formal apology.
The spokesperson said: "The visit programme will therefore not shy away from 'the darkest days of our past', as His Majesty has described them, but – in keeping with the wishes of our host nations – it will principally be oriented to the vibrant present and promising future of each country, with visit programmes developed in close consultation with their governments to reflect their individual priorities.
"His Majesty, of course, always acts on the advice of his Government as part of our constitutional settlement. He has a long history of engaging with this particular issue, and all that he has said at CHOGM and elsewhere in the past, about his personal sorrow and this particular period of our history, are worth repeating.
"And it's not just about what His Majesty has said, it's about what he's done: the personal support for Commonwealth education programmes since the last CHOGM, and his support, over many decades, for young people through The King's Trust.
"This shows that he has always engaged in ways in which the inequalities of the past can be righted. But as far as reparations and apologies go, that is a matter for the Government."
