A research group led by geneticist Sarah Geerards in Amsterdam will investigate whether there are any Dutch people who are directly descended from William of Orange. She does not initially find it very interesting that people can be found who could be genetically more related to William of Orange than the current crown prince. “We do this because the techniques are now available for the first time. What the Royal House and the House of Representatives do with the results is not up to us.”
Update – April 1, 2013
Until when could you send the hair again? Easter Monday. Oh yes, that's… April 1st!
What about really?
It is impossible to determine with DNA kinship research who has a 'genetic link' with William of Orange. This is for the simple reason that no DNA material from William of Orange is available. In principle, Willem's remains could be retrieved from the royal vault in Delft to obtain material. However, this burial vault is left alone and only opened when a member of the royal family is buried. It is not accessible to scientists.
It is true that the House of Orange, holders of the title 'Prince of Orange', died out when King-Stadtholder William III of Orange died childless in 1702. Johan Willem Friso van Nassau-Dietz, who then inherited the title 'Princess of Orange', was a great-nephew of Willem III. He was therefore directly related to William of Orange, but through the female line. Friso merged the houses of Oranje and Nassau. Since then, the dynasty continued as Oranje-Nassau. William of Orange may be known as 'father of the country', but that is mainly the result of a successful sixteenth-century propaganda campaign, as you can read in this article.
Even if someone is found in the future with a 'DNA match' with William of Orange, it is very unlikely that this will affect the line of succession to the throne. In a constitutional monarchy such as the Netherlands, the monarchy is nothing more than an agreement laid down in the constitution. Amending the constitution requires a very lengthy and complicated procedure that can take years. Moreover, the agreement that the king must be a relative of William of Orange is not worth more than the current agreement (Article 24) about the interpretation of the monarchy.
“The Orange dynasty that now rules is relatively far from William of Orange, 'father of the nation' and the true founder of royal power in the Netherlands,” says Sarah Geerards, geneticist at the Meertens Institute in Amsterdam. "Just like his mother, Willem-Alexander comes from the Frisian branch of the Orange-Nassau family. They have no direct blood relationship with Willem van Oranje.
Thanks to modern DNA techniques it is now possible to trace people who are directly related to the father of the country. That can provide interesting insights." Geerards has been conducting intensive genetic and genealogical research into the Oranjes for two years now.
The direct bloodline of William of Orange died out in 1702, when King-Stadtholder William III of Orange died childless after an unfortunate fall from his horse. In his will he had named the Frisian stadtholder Johan Willem Friso as heir to the title 'Prince of Orange', but the legality of this was already disputed by many. Nevertheless, William I, who descended from the Frisian stadtholder, became the first King of the Netherlands in 1813. Prince Willem-Alexander is a blood relative of him, and therefore inherits the Dutch throne according to the constitution (Article 24) on April 30.
Waldemar Torenstra
According to the researcher, there is still a comment to be made:"Everyone can designate a successor in their will, but a royal bloodline cannot be inherited in this way. If there are no descendants, a dynasty should die out, of which there are European history plenty of examples.
It would be great if we find someone whose genetic bloodline to Willem de Zwijger can be demonstrated. Such a person would actually have more right to the throne on April 30 than Willem-Alexander," jokes Geerards.
According to Geerards, there are very likely many Dutch people who have a much stronger genetic link with William of Orange. An example of this is the actor Waldemar Torenstra, whose genealogical research by the TV program Hidden Past recently revealed that he was descended from the 'city enforcer' Frederik Hendrik. This Frederik was a full son of Willem van Oranje.
“Torenstra carries more Orange blood than Willem-Alexander, I'm willing to bet on that,” says Geerards. “But genealogical research alone is not enough. Recently, when the skeleton of Richard III was discovered in England, we could already see how you can prove royal kinship with DNA research. Now that the technology is demonstrably working, we should also do something similar in the Netherlands.”
Personal report
The Meertens Institute is therefore starting a large-scale DNA study among the Dutch population, led by Geerards. Dutch people are asked to send a head hair. Chromosomal DNA will be extracted from this. This hereditary material is passed on from parent to child. Using a technique comparable to that used in the successful British research into Richard III, this will be compared with DNA from Willem de Zwijger.
People who participate in the study and send in a haircut before Easter Monday will receive a personal report after the study, indicating in percentages the extent to which his or her DNA corresponds to that of the father of the country. The persons with the greatest DNA match will be contacted further. It remains to be seen whether people with a more direct line of descent can actually lay claim to the throne.
A lawyer who wishes to remain anonymous also indicates that Article 24 cannot simply be brushed aside. “Apart from the question of whether it is better to have a king who is well prepared for the monarchy than someone whose DNA matches exactly with William of Orange.”
Gerards prefers not to comment on it. “The RVD is aware of our investigation. The results will eventually be presented to the House of Representatives and the royal family. Whether they do something with it under constitutional law is ultimately not up to us. Our concern is that science now makes such research possible. Who knows what we might discover.”