Future Queen Turns Down $2 Million Annual Allowance: Says She Finds It ‘Uncomfortable’

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Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, heir to the Dutch throne, is waiving her right to a hefty annual allowance.

The eldest daughter of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima sent a hand-written letter to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Friday, informing him of her decision to turn down her nearly $2 million allowance until she takes up royal duties.

“On 7 December 2021 I will be 18 and, according to the law, receive an allowance,” Princess Amalia said in a letter published by Dutch public NOS. “I find that uncomfortable as long as I do not do anything for it in return, and while other students have a much tougher time of it, particularly in this period of coronavirus.”

Amalia added that she intended to take a gap year before starting her undergraduate studies. She said she would repay the nearly $400,000 she was entitled to during her time as a student and would not claim $1.6 million in expenses “until I incur high costs in my role as Princess of Orange.”

Princess Amalia

Dutch Royal Family | Credit: Evert Elzinga / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT (Photo by EVERT ELZINGA/ANP/AFP via Getty

Princess Amalia passed her final exams at the Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet in The Hague last week, graduating cum laude.

In keeping with Dutch tradition, she raised the country’s flag along with her backpack in a video shared to the family’s social media accounts.

“I just got a call with the news that I passed!” she said. “I want to congratulate all other graduates and wish other students good luck with any resits in the second period.”

King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands and Princess Amalia

King Willem-Alexander and Princess Catharina-Amalia | Credit: Patrick van Katwijk/WireImage

On King’s Day (the celebration of King Willem-Alexander’s birthday in April) earlier this year, Princess Amalia shared her plans to take a gap year before continuing her education.

“I want to travel a little, discover the world, do things that I may not be able to do in twenty years’ time,” she said, according to Netherlands News Live.

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