How a king’s typo helped create a Dutch military police force

Countries & Cities · Published 12 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 1814, King William I sought to distance his new force from the French Revolution. By accidentally omitting an accent in a founding document, he inadvertently helped shape the identity of the Royal Marechaussee, a unique institution that serves as both a branch of the armed forces and a national police force.

The Royal Marechaussee (KMar) was established on 26 October 1814, when King William I created the Corps de Maréchaussée. His goal was to replace the existing French Gendarmerie with a name that avoided the negative connotations associated with the French Revolution. He chose 'maréchaussée'—a more royalist term—though he famously omitted the first acute accent in the original founding document. Over time, the spelling evolved, and today, the lowest-ranking personnel are simply referred to as marechaussees.

The force's history is marked by significant shifts in status and responsibility. During the German occupation in 1940, the KMar lost its military status and its 'Royal' title after being merged with other local police units. However, following World War II, the force regained its military standing. Its responsibilities have expanded significantly over the decades; notably, in 1908, Queen Wilhelmina assigned the force the duty of guarding royal palaces—a task previously handled by gardeners. This duty is still colloquially known as 'klompendienst', or clog service.

Today, the KMar operates as a specialized service within the Netherlands Armed Forces, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, yet it performs vital civilian duties for the Ministries of Security and Justice and the Interior. Its remit is vast, ranging from border protection and military policing to securing Schiphol Airport and providing VIP protection for the Royal Family. The force even maintains a presence in overseas territories, such as Curaçao, and has participated in international investigations, including the 2014 mission to eastern Ukraine to assist in the investigation of the MH17 airliner shoot-down.

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