Trust in king Willem-Alexander has fallen sharply this year, with just 47% of the population now saying they have some or considerable confidence in him, according to an new Ipsos survey for Nieuwsuur.

In April, 76% of the population said they had confidence in the king.

Those who took part in the poll are also less happy with the way the king does his job. In April, 67% were happy but that has now fallen to 51%, the survey found.

2020 has been a year of royal blunders. The king and queen Maxima came under fire for posing together with a Greek restaurant owner during their August holiday in Greece and breaking social distancing rules.

The king also came in for criticism after photos were posted in gossip magazines showing him in a €2m speed boat that he had bought during the same holiday.

Then in October, he was literally forced to do a u-turn after he, Maxima and daughters headed for Greece on the government jet for another holiday – in the same week that everyone else had been urged to stay at home as much as possible.

The decision to go to Greece a second time was described as ‘not sensible’ by 75% of those polled and 70% said they felt the incident had damaged the image of the royal family.

Prime minister Mark Rutte earlier accepted full responsibility for the trip, saying he had made an error of judgement.