| Map: | Netherlands United Kingdom Locator.png |
| Mission2: | Embassy of the United Kingdom, The Hague |
| Envoytitle1: | Ambassador |
| Envoy1: | Laetitia van den Assum |
| Envoytitle2: | Ambassador |
| Envoy2: | Joanna Roper |
The Netherlands and the United Kingdom have a strong political and economic partnership.[1]
Over forty Dutch towns and cities are twinned with British towns and cities.[2] Both English and Dutch are West Germanic languages, with West Frisian, a minority language in the Netherlands, being the closest relative of the English language if one excludes Scots. In addition, between 90%[3] and 93%[4] of people in the Netherlands claim to speak English, although a negligible percentage of British people can speak Dutch.
The Netherlands has an embassy in London,[5] and the United Kingdom has an embassy in The Hague. The UK also has a consulate in Willemstad, Curaçao.[6]
There are also strong ties between the UK's overseas territory of Anguilla and the nearby Sint Maarten of the Netherlands.Both countries are members of the Council of Europe and NATO. the Netherlands is a European Union member and the United Kingdom is a former European Union member.
In the mid-seventeenth century, after the Dutch had made peace in their war of independence from Spain and the former Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were being united under Cromwell's Commonwealth, Oliver St John was sent to Holland to moot the possibility of unifying the Dutch Republic with the Commonwealth, as fellow Protestant, seafaring republics, though the plan did not come to pass.[7]
The Anglo-Dutch wars were battles between England (and the Kingdom of Great Britain during the fourth war) and the Dutch Republic during the 17th and 18th centuries. There were four wars in total, two were won by each side, and ended with the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. The wars were largely fought to secure trade routes and to enable colonial expansion.[8]
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland and II of Ireland) in 1688 by a union of English MPs with an invading army led by the Dutch Republic stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange) who, as a result, ascended the English throne as William III of England.[9]
The crisis besetting King James II came to a head in 1688, when the King fathered a son, James Francis Edward Stuart on 10 June (Julian calendar),[10] until then the throne would have passed to his daughter, Mary, a Protestant and the wife of William of Orange. The prospect of a Catholic dynasty in the kingdoms was now likely. Already troubled by the King's Catholicism and his close ties with France, key leaders of the Tories united with members of the opposition Whigs and set out to resolve the crisis by inviting William of Orange to England.[11]
As a result of the Glorious Revolution, Anglo-Dutch relations entered a new era as the two nations were bound together by a shared sovereign. Despite the fact that anti-Dutch sentiment continued to be widespread among the English public, England and the Dutch Republic fought together in the Nine Years' War, the Williamite War in Ireland and the War of the Spanish Succession. As the 18th century went on, however, the Dutch gradually became the junior partner in the relationship, setting the stage for a deterioration in Anglo-Dutch relations.
The Eight Articles of London, also known as the London Protocol of 21 June 1814, were a secret convention between the Great Powers: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Prussia, Austria, and Russia to award the territory of current Belgium and the Netherlands to William I of the Netherlands, then "Sovereign Prince" of the United Netherlands. He accepted this award on 21 July 1814.[12]
The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 (also known as the Convention of London) was signed between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in London on 13 August 1814. It was signed by Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, for the British and Hendrik Fagel for the Dutch.
The treaty returned the colonial possessions of the Dutch as they were at 1 January 1803 before the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars, in the Americas, Africa, and Asia with the exceptions of the Cape of Good Hope and the South American settlements of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice, where the Dutch retained trading rights. In addition, the British ceded to the Dutch Bangka Island in the Indonesian Archipelago in exchange for the settlement of Kochi and its dependencies on the coast of Malabar, in India. The Dutch also ceded the district of Barnagore, situated close to Calcutta, in exchange for an annual fee. The treaty noted a declaration of 15 June 1814, by the Dutch that ships for the slave trade were no longer permitted in British ports and it agreed that this restriction would be extended to a ban on involvement in the slave trade by Dutch citizens. Britain also agreed to pay £1,000,000 to Sweden to resolve a claim to the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe (see Guadeloupe Fund). The British and the Dutch agreed to spend £2,000,000 each on improving the defences of the Low Countries. More funds, of up to £3,000,000, are mentioned for the "final and satisfactory settlement of the Low Countries in union with Holland." Disputes arising from this treaty were the subject of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824.
The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, also known as the Treaty of London (one of several), was signed between the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in London in March 1824. The treaty sought to resolve disputes arising from the execution of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814. For the Dutch, it was signed by Hendrik Fagel and Anton Reinhard Falck, and for the UK, George Canning and Charles Williams-Wynn.[13]
During World War II, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands were close allies. After the German occupation of the Netherlands, Queen Wilhelmina and the Dutch government found refuge in Britain. The Royal Netherlands Navy brought most of its ships to England.[14]
A few Dutch pilots escaped and joined the Royal Air Force to fight in the Battle of Britain. In July 1940, two all-Dutch squadrons were formed with Royal Netherlands Navy personnel and Fokker seaplanes from the Dutch naval air service: 320 Squadron and 321 Squadron (which afterwards moved to Sri Lanka). In 1943, an all-Dutch fighter squadron was formed in the UK, 322 Squadron.
The United Kingdom and the Netherlands are both countries that are run under a constitutional monarchy. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands is around 890th in line to the British throne.
The United Kingdom and the Netherlands co-operate on a project to help people living in the developing world adapt to climate change.[15]
The Infrared Astronomical Satellite was the first-ever space-based observatory to perform a survey of the entire sky at infrared wavelengths. Launched in 1983, its mission lasted ten months. The telescope was a joint project of the Netherlands (NIVR), and the United Kingdom (SERC) as well as the USA.
While commenting on British-Dutch relations Doug Henderson stated in 1997 that:
We like fair play and straightforwardness (direct honesty). We have a deep interest and a sense of responsibility for what goes on in the wider world. We both share a commitment to global trade and have both traditionally promoted strong trans-Atlantic links. Furthermore, as former colonial powers, we both have important international interests.[16]
His Dutch counterpart Frits Bolkestein responded by saying:
In the past the Netherlands was a staunch supporter of British entry into the European community. Apart from feeling sympathy for the British people, this was motivated by our common value and interests, such as long-standing and deeply-rooted democratic tradition, the Atlantic outlook, the free market orientation and three large multinational companies, such as Royal Dutch Shell, Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser, with a common Anglo-Dutch origin.[16]
See also: Icesave dispute. Royal Dutch Shell, Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser are three multinational companies of the joint Anglo-Dutch businesses.[17] [18] [19] The Netherlands-British Chamber of Commerce was established to further economic co-operation between the two countries.[20] In 2006 the Netherlands imported £16.6bn worth of goods from the United Kingdom, making it the UK's fifth biggest export market.[21] Dutch-British trade is made simpler by good relations, transparent legal framework, sophisticated financial services system, good transport links and close geographical proximity.[21] It is possible to reach either country by train, Eurostar, ferry or aeroplane.[22]
On the local level, since 2022 there has been developed a special focus on mobility from the Dutch point of view towards the UK. In 2022 the embassy organised a Trade Mission and as a follow-up, the Trade Agencies of Amsterdam & Utrecht organised an inspiration mission to Manchester, Birmingham and London, together with the embassy. In 2024 Rotterdam and Flevoland joined them and they visited Bristol and London.
The Royal Marines and Netherlands Marine Corps are allied through a 'Bond of friendship'.
Since 1973, units of the Netherlands Marine Corps have formed part of the British 3 Commando Brigade during exercises and real conflict situations. Together, these form the UK/NL Landing Force. Either the First or the Second Marine Combat Group can be assigned as the Dutch contribution to this force.
The co-operation between the Korps Mariniers and the Royal Marines has led to extensive integration in the areas of operations, logistics and materials. Within NATO this is seen as a prime example of what can be achieved in military integration.
In combined NLMC and Royal Marines actions by the British and Dutch navies during the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1713), amphibious operations were carried out, the most notable being the capture of Gibraltar in 1704. During this action, a successful attack was carried out against the fortress of Gibraltar by an 1800-strong brigade of Dutch and British Marines under the command of Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt. Both corps share this battle honour.
The nickname of the Dutch Marines among their British Royal Marine counterparts is "Cloggies", a reference to the historic wearing of clogs by some Dutch people.Royal Navy Submarine Service officers taking the Submarine Command Course use a Dutch submarine simulator for part of the course.