January 3, 1901
The second chamber of the Dutch Parliament today approved "without amendments various articles" Queen Wilhelmina's marriage to Duke Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin by a vote of 79-10. Socialists objected to the Duke receiving a grant of £16,000. Others in Parliament "regretted" that the Queen's future husband was not granted an annual allowance, according to the Associated Press.
A "special dispatch from Berlin" reports that Duke Heinrich has "left The Hague, indignant at the tone of the Parliamentary discussion" on his future position as consort to the Queen.
It is not known if this is true or not, but there has been endless press reports about "trouble connected with the projected marriage." Queen Wilhelmina has "contrived to get up as much fuss about the style of precedence as experience in England in 1840" when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Wilhelmina wished for Heinrich to be known as the King Consort, and have precedence "over her mother, but she was overruled on both points."
But Wilhelmina's "solicitude for her future husband's pecuniary comfort has by no means been equal to her solicitude for his dignity." The New York Times reports that Wilhelmina's original plan was to settle a portion of her private fortune on him, but instead Parliament decided to settle £16,000 a year on Heinrich, which he will receive if he survives his wife. During Queen Wilhelmina's lifetime, Heinrich will "get nothing, according to this plan."
There is a strong feeling in the Netherlands that the duke should receive no allowance from the country, "considering the vast property" owned by Queen Wilhelmina. His private fortune, however, is inadequate for his future role as Prince Consort, and he will "be dependant on his spouse."
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