A very royal destination: Palace Huis ten Bosch

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The fourth palace visit of this year also took place in The Hague. However, we could only see the Huis ten Bosch palace from the outside, because King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and his family live here.

The walk from the center of The Hague through the forest was very beautiful and a stark contrast to get away from the hustle and bustle of the royal city.


In front of the Palace Huis ten Bosch
own picture




Some royal history


Construction of Huis ten Bosch began on 2 September 1645, under the direction of Bartholomeus Drijffhout, based on a design by Pieter Post and Jacob van Campen. 

It was commissioned by Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, the wife of stadtholder Frederick Henry, on a parcel of land granted to her by the States General (Loonstra 1983, Slothouwer 1945).


 Portrait of Amalia of Solms-Braunfels
Source picture: Wikipedia



The first stone was laid by Elizabeth of Bohemia.


Elizabeth of Bohemia
Source picture: Wikipedia



Over the next century and a half, the palace would change possession from the Nassau family, the king of Prussia, and many stadtholders until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. The government of the newly created Batavian Republic gave the palace to the Batavian (Dutch) people who still own it to this day.




Under Napoleon Bonaparte


The National Art Gallery, predecessor of the Rijksmuseum, was housed in the building from 1800 to 1805. Napoleon Bonaparte's brother, Louis, king of Holland, briefly lived in the palace between 1805 and 1807.


Under the family Orange-Nassau


When William Frederick, Prince of Orange-Nassau, the only surviving son of the last stadtholder, was proclaimed King of the Netherlands as William I in 1815, he made Huis ten Bosch Palace one of his official residences. It became a favourite location for many members of the royal family. In 1899 the palace was the site of several meetings of the First International Peace Conference at The Hague. During World War I it became the primary residence of Queen Wilhelmina.






World War II


Queen Wilhelmina and her family were forced to evacuate the palace for Britain (from which the queen's family, but not the queen herself, would move on to Canada) when the German army invaded the Netherlands during World War II. The Nazi administration planned to demolish the palace,
but the controller convinced them otherwise. However, the palace was damaged beyond habitation.

Between 1950 and 1956, the palace was restored and once again became a royal residence. It became the prime residence once more in 1981.


Nowadays

Huis ten Bosch was the home of Queen Beatrix from 1981 to her abdication in 2013. 

King Willem-Alexander and his family moved in on 13 January 2019.

Trivia: a replica of the palace was built in Sasebo, Japan, in a theme park bearing the same name.






Pictures taken in 2024 except the 2 pictures from Wikipedia



Location: The Hague, Netherlands

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