Princess Amalia, 17, will reach adulthood on December 7. Following a rite of passage for future Dutch kings and queens on turning 18, an authorised biography was published on Tuesday. It includes astonishing claims about her views of the monarchy and reflections on mental health.

       Amalia became heir apparent at the age of nine, following the abdication of her grandmother Queen Beatrix and the accession to the throne of her father.

       The just-released book was approved by the government's information service (RVD), which handles publicity for the Royal House, and written by comedian and actress Claudia de Breij following a series of in-person interviews, emails and WhatsApp exchanges.

       In its pages, the crown princess suggests she feels anything but ready to ascend the throne.

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       If her father were to die suddenly, she explained, she would ask her mother, Queen Máxima, to step in for a few years.

       She added: "But I said to my father: you just keep on eating healthy and exercising a lot."

       She even confessed that if the monarchy were abolished: "I’ll just carry on with living my life."

       Support for the Dutch monarchy has fallen in recent months, with increasing scrutiny over its cost to the taxpayer.

       Amalia, seemingly undaunted, says of the possibility of an abolition: "They can do it, as far as I’m concerned."

       Coming from a highly private family — the House of Orange is protective of their personal affairs outside of formal events — Amalia confessed she is self-conscious of being recognised in her day-to-day life on the street or while shopping.

       She said: "Everyone looks at you like you have a goldfish on your head."

       Opening up about her mental health further, she told the author her parents had sent her to a child psychologist as she needed support after her aunt committed suicide in 2018.

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       The Dutch public broadcaster NOS quoted Princess Amalia as saying: "Sometimes it all gets too much for me... and then I talk to someone.

       "If I feel the need, I make an appointment. Just vent, and then I'll be ready for another month.

       "I don't think it's taboo."

       Her words echo her father's, King Willem-Alexander, 54, who in a rare interview in 2013 said he constantly advised her to focus on getting to know herself before her time as Queen arrived.

       Sharing the advice he had given her daughter, he said: "Know your own limits. Go everywhere. Make mistakes, as far as possible out of the eyes of the public.

       "That's what I am constantly emphasising with Amalia."

       Revelations include that Amalia worked part-time as a waitress at a beach-side café, where the owner jokingly referred to her as their "cocktail queen", and that if she were not a future queen, she would possibly have pursued a career in singing or horseback riding.

       Now the princess, who excelled at school, is hoping to spend a year at an internship at a multinational company to then begin her university studies, probably at Leiden.