THE HAGUE: King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands said on Friday he was personally affected by the “explicit” conclusions of a study that said the royal family reaped huge profits from colonialism and slavery.

The five-volume Leiden University study, which Willem-Alexander commissioned in 2022, concluded that for hundreds of years the ruling Orange family treated colonialism as a legitimate boon to the Netherlands.

It said the royal family made a sum equivalent to 500 million euros ($565m) through its links to the Dutch East India Company and the country’s colonies.

The 59-year-old king called the findings “explicit and striking” as he accepted the study at the university.

He highlighted his ancestors’ lack of “counter-current leadership” in the face of colonialism.

Slavery helped finance a Dutch “Golden Age” driven by maritime trade in the 16th and 17th centuries.

“It is a painful and confronting conclusion. A conclusion that affects me, even though I am three generations removed,” declared Willem-Alexander who in 2023 apologised for his ancestors’ lack of action against slavery.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2026