

The new king of the Netherlands ascended to the throne Tuesday in a ceremony that throws into sharp relief the costs of maintaining Europe's royal families at a time of economic austerity.

Crown Prince Willem-Alexander was invested as his country's first king since the late 19th century in what his abdicating mother, Queen Beatrix, insisted was a sober ceremony in Amsterdam that befits straitened times.

Dutch Queen Beatrix, center, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima head to dinner in Amsterdam on Monday. European Pressphoto Agency

The events aren't expected to be marked by the fierce protests from squatters—some shouting "no home, no coronation"—that overshadowed Beatrix's inauguration in 1980, also a time of economic crisis.

The Dutch royal family still enjoys widespread support, according to the annual survey commissioned by the public broadcasting service NOS. It shows 78% of the Dutch population support the monarchy, although 44% back a cut in the annual benefits received by the royal family.

While other royal houses in Europe have reduced expenses, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has indicated that the payment to the Dutch monarchy won't be cut, though it costs taxpayers close to €40 million ($52 million) annually.

The Dutch will have their first king in more than 120 years Tuesday when Queen Beatrix of Orange abdicates to her son Willem-Alexander. Getty Images

"The Netherlands are now, next to the Scandinavian countries, the only country where the royal family does not have to compromise" on expenses, said Herman Matthijs, a professor at the University of Ghent who has studied the budget costs of Europe's royal families.

A study released this month by Mr. Matthijs shows the Spanish and British royal families have reduced expenditures from 2009-13. By contrast, the total cost of salaries and material expenses for the Dutch monarchy increased 4.5%, according to Mr. Matthijs' calculations.

"We will see if Willem-Alexander must also make concessions on payments next year," Mr. Matthijs said.

The debate over royal spending has been muted in Scandinavia because Norway, Sweden and Denmark are among the European countries least affected by austerity. Sweden this summer will stage its second royal wedding in three years. In Denmark, chain-smoking Margrethe II is immensely popular, enjoying a 77% favorable rating among her subjects, according to a recent Megafon/Politiken/TV2 poll.

In Spain, the Royal House said its 2011 budget, the first it disclosed publicly, was 5.2% lower than the budget for 2010, a reflection of austerity policies implemented amid Spain's deepest recession in decades. The budget was cut again in 2012 and 2013.

But the relatively modest payments exclude funds the king draws for various expenses. King Juan Carlos I and other royals pay income tax and other taxes, but don't own their palaces and, like some other European monarchies, don't have to pay for transportation and security.

Despite the British royal family's popularity, many people would like to reduce the amount of money the royals receive. According to pollsters Ipsos Mori, 52% of British citizens polled last year say the royal family shouldn't receive as much money as it does. Still, a decade earlier some 76% said the royals should receive less.

King Albert II in Belgium has benefited from a law—criticized by the central bank—that indexes salaries to inflation. His allowance is agreed at the start of his reign and can't be altered, save for inflation, to ensure the king's independence from Parliament.

He started in 1994 with €6 million a year to fund his role as head of state and this has grown to about €11 million. In keeping with the general mood of austerity, the king agreed to spend the latest increase (around €300,000) on renovation and upkeep of the royal palaces. In addition, there are allowances for other members of the royal family.

But the figures don't include spending on various castles and palaces, which are maintained by the state, or official air travel, which comes out of the defense ministry's budget.

Though expenses are being scrutinized, the popularity of monarchies seems to depend on other issues, including the behavior of members of the royal family.

The Belgian king has a much more political role than many of his European peers, while new Dutch legislation has minimized the role of the Dutch monarch in forming a government.

However, the Belgian monarch's role is disputed. The N-VA, by far the most popular party in Flanders, ultimately wants a separate Flemish republic and sees him as partisan to the French-speaking Walloons.

Controversy also flared up recently after Belgium's dowager Queen Fabiola, the widow of Albert's brother, Baudouin, was accused of setting up a foundation to avoid the country's high inheritance taxes.

In Spain, the declining health of the 75-year-old monarch and recent financial scandals that have tainted the monarchy have intensified calls for him to abdicate in favor of Crown Prince Felipe, his 45-year-old son. Thousands of people demonstrated against the monarchy this month on the 82nd anniversary of the establishment of Spain's last republican government.

Republican governments aren't always cheaper, however. Mr. Matthijs's study shows the office of the French president spends more than €110 million annually, almost three times the declared cost of the British and Dutch royal families to their governments.

—John Stoll in Stockholm and Cassell Bryan-Low in London contributed to this article.

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