Do we like them?

Do we like King Willem-Alexander?

Our score: 8 out of 10. Nothing harmful in his own words or acts, real apologies for colonial history, and a couple of lapses of judgement.

Willem-Alexander is the King of the Netherlands, on the throne since 2013. He's a constitutional monarch, so the big political calls belong to the cabinet. Our job here is to look at what he says and does, and who he hangs out with.

His biggest apologies were about colonial history. In 2020, on a state visit to Indonesia, he expressed regret for the excessive violence of Dutch forces in the independence years. Critics said it didn't go far enough, because it didn't cover the occupation itself. In 2023 he apologised at the national slavery monument in Amsterdam, in what coverage called a historic speech.

On the LGBTQ+ front, the record is modest but good. In 2016 he visited COC, the Dutch LGBT advocacy group, on its 70th anniversary. Reporting called it the first time a Dutch head of state had met such a group. Searches turned up nothing from him that cuts against LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or the planet. We found no stunts, rants or conspiracy-theory detours.

The slips are about judgement. In October 2020 he and the Queen flew to their Greek villa during a partial lockdown at home, then cut the trip short after a public backlash. They apologised, and a poll then put trust in him sharply lower. That's a clumsy moment, not a pattern of mistreating anyone.

The recent stoush is the April 2026 US trip, which included an overnight stay at the White House. It drew public criticism in the Netherlands, and the cabinet itself called the timing unfortunate. Afterwards the King said he had told Trump they disagree on fundamental points, and called the dinner open and respectful. Where you land depends on whether you see that as good diplomacy or a photo op with the wrong host.

Nothing new has turned up lately beyond that trip. The record is also thinner than usual, because many outlets blocked our page access. So treat this as a read on the headlines, not the deep archive. Within that limit, he's a king who has said sorry for the past and kept clear of the culture wars.