The jetset life of Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and his spouse, Argentinian-born Princess Máxima, is causing mounting irritation among Dutch politicians.

Earlier this year, the queen's sister Princess Christina was discovered to be running a tax evasion fund on the Channel Islands, using the address of the queen's palace in The Hague. Add to that the mounting murmur in parliament about everyone having to accept salary cuts, except Queen Beatrix and her family, and the scene is set for a vigorous debate in the lower house. A debate about the tax-funded budget for the Royal Family has been scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

Ministers are responsible
The lower house has called Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende to the chamber to account for the luxury holiday villa which Prince Willem-Alexander is having built in Mozambique. The home is part of a holiday resort project for the wealthy, and the developer promised to let the poor local community benefit from it.

Under the Netherlands' constitution, the cabinet is accountable for the behaviour of the royal family. The argument is that the royals are not in a position to defend themselves - that has to be done by their ministers. The Dutch royals may not be able to defend themselves, but they appear pretty good at avoiding political scrutiny, according to the venerable historian and royalty watcher, Jan Kikkert. He told BNR Radio, "it depends whether the house was purchased with public or private money. I think the latter." If the prince used the royal family's considerable private wealth for the scheme, the prime minister cannot be held responsible. But that is only part of the problem. "It also appears that the Crown Prince was quite slow in informing the minister about his building project," Mr Kikkert added.

Popular support
The man in the street is becoming restless, too. The traditional Orange Associations, local groups which support the House of Orange and organise big street parties on royal anniversaries, made an unexpected move when their national chairman turned against the Mozambique holiday home project. Association chairman Michiel Zonnevylle said that the Crown Prince should withdraw from the Machangulo project.

Does the rising tide of criticism mean the royal family should tone down its behaviour?

"Yes, I would definitely put it like that. I'm afraid all these petty affairs are quite damaging to them, particularly given the rate at which they occur," Mr Kikkert said.

Scary queen
It is not the first time that the prime minister is faced with a royal crisis and has to confront the queen and her family. Critics are wondering whether he is equal to the task. "I'm afraid he isn't," Mr Kikkert observed. "I've got the impression that Mr Balkenende is actually a bit scared of Queen Beatrix. That is connected, of course, to the dominant character of our head of state. In the question of what is private and what is public, Queen Beatrix is drawing much closer borders than she actually can. We don't know what the queen thinks about her son's villa in Mozambique. But she is responsible for the behaviour of her eldest son."

"Politics, and Mr Balkenende in particular, should take a tougher stand with the Orange family. It's a long-term issue whether anything should change about the royal family's status. But the current spate of incidents is crying out for an introduction of the Swedish model, with a purely ceremonial monarchy."