In the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Monarchy is a constitutional office and is controlled by the constitution of the Netherlands. A distinction is made between members of the royal family and members of the royal house. According to the Membership to the Royal House Act which was revised in 2002, the members of the royal house are:

• the monarch (king or queen) as head of the royal house
• the members of the royal family in the line of succession to the Dutch throne but limited to two degrees of kinship from the current monarch
• the heir to the throne
• the former monarch (on abdication)
• the members of the royal house of further degrees of kinship if they were already members of the royal house prior to the revision of the act in 2002, were adults at the time and remain in the direct line of succession.
• the spouses of the above
• the widows and widowers of the above, provided that they do not remarry, and that their spouses would still qualify if they were still alive today