All About Royal Families

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 t...

Our 3rd. Royal Palace visit took place on January 7th. 2024 in The Hague. Then we visited the Lange Voorhout Palace and the exhibition "Escher in het Paleis".  Some History The Lange Voorhout Palace in The Hague was designed in 1760 by the architect Pieter de Swart for Anthony Patras (1718-1764), a deputy to the States General of the Netherlands. In 1796 the mansion was bought by Archibald Hope (1747-1821), a manager of the Dutch West India Company. Archibald was a cousin of Henry Hope and Jan Hope and involved in the family banking business. In 1808 his wife died.  Napoleon and his wife on their travels through the First French Empire used it one night. The inventory was sold in December 1821 and lasted more than two weeks.  The building was bought by Renaud Diederick James de Ginkell, 7th Earl of Athlone (1773–1823), married to a daughter of John Williams Hope. In 1831 the Minister of Foreign Affairs Johan Gijsbert Verstolk v...

In the heart of the city of The Hague, the Noordeinde Palace is located. Today it still is used by the Dutch Royal family as a an office for King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. On big events just as Prinjesdag - Prince's Day - , which takes place every third Tuesday in September, the Palace of Noordeinde is the decor of the depart of the royal family and the famous balcony scene. However what's the history of this beautiful place? Some royal history The Noordeinde palace originated as a medieval farmhouse, which was converted into a spacious residence by the steward of the States of Holland, Willem van de Goudt. From 1566 to 1591, the palace had a different owner. After that it was leased, and in 1595, purchased by the States of Holland for Louise de Coligny, the widow of William of Orange, and her son Prince Frederik Hendrik. In recognition of William's service to the nation, the States presented the building to his family in 1609. Louise ...

The Gevangenpoort (Prisoner's Gate) is a former gate and medieval prison on the Buitenhof in The Hague, Netherlands. It is situated next to the 18th-century art gallery founded by William V, Prince of Orange in 1774 known as the Prince William V Gallery. William V, Prince of Orange - his son would become King William I of The Netherlands From 1420 until 1828, the prison was used for housing people who had committed serious crimes while they awaited sentencing. Its most famous prisoner was Cornelis de Witt , who was held on the charge of plotting the murder of the stadtholder.  He was lynched together with his brother Johan on 20 August 1672 on the square in front of the building called groene zoodje after the grass mat used for the scaffold.  When public executions went out of fashion the area was used to build the "Witte Society", a literature club that still exists today, but had to move when the street was built in 1923. In 1882, the Gevangenp...

Recently, the Allaboutroyalfamilies blog visited The Hague and we had there a lovely city trip very close to The Hofvijver. The Hofvijver - translated court pond - is an amazing beautiful lake in the middle of The Hague in the Netherlands. Hofvijver own picture taken in 2022 The term pond is actually a misnomer, as the Hofvijver has its origin in a  natural dune lake fed by the Haagse Beek (Hague Creek, originally Dunecreek) and the, nowadays muted, Bosbeek (Forestcreek) from the Haagse Bos (Hague Forest). The Haagse Beek still feeds the Hofvijver and so the pond is directly connected to the dunes in Kijkduin. In this dune lake there was an island (not the current island in the Hofvijver) on which Willem II built his palace in 1248. Other sources say he built his palace alongside the pond and created a moat around it. The city of The Hague celebrated its 700 years of existence in 1948, suggesting that the city itself bases its origin on...

On 28 August 1913, Queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands opened the Peace Palace in The Hague. own picture taken in 2022 Queen Wilhelmina: Wikipedia The idea of the Palace started from a discussion in 1900 between the Russian diplomat Friedrich Martens and American diplomat White over providing a home for the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). White contacted Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie had reservations, and at first was only interested in donating money for the establishment of a library of international law.  own picture taken in 2022 White, however, was able to convince Carnegie, and in 1903 Carnegie agreed to donate the US$1.5 million ($50,000,000, adjusted for inflation) needed to house the court as well as to endow it with a library of international law. White described his idea to Carnegie: "A temple of peace where the doors are open, in contrast to the Janus-temple, in times of peace and closed in cases of war [...] as a wort...

Recently, my husband and I went to The Hague on a lovely city trip, where we stayed at Boutique Hotel Corona.  When we arrived, our surprise was big that something was left for us at the front desk of the hotel by NettyRoyal . You can't describe the fun to unpack the present and to discover the lovely postcard of the Danish Royals and the content of the pack. It was a 3D jigsaw from Buckingham Palace! 🏰 My hands were itching to start the puzzle right away but my mind told me to wait until I got home. At home it was a cooperation between my husband and I, but finally we had a lovely new 3 D Buckingham Palace in the royal collection. Buckingham Palace the plans This very nice feature wasn't available in Belgium but only in The Netherlands. So, Thank you very much Netty for this lovely present! 👑 Buckingham Palace Interested about the history of Buckingham Palace, check this link A book about Buckingham Palace, check this link . 

Louise of The Netherlands was born on August 5th. 1828 in The Hague. Her parents were Prince Frederick of The Netherlands and Princess Louise of Prussia. Louise of The Netherlands - Source picture: Wikipedia On June 19th. 1850 Louise married Crown Prince Charles of Sweden and Norway. They had two children but the marriage wasn't that happy. He took several mistresses and she was shy and not very social.  Her hobbies were music and history. She also coloured bible pictures.  On July 8th. 1859 Louise became Queen Consort of Sweden and Norway but she didn't interfere with politics. Louise died on March 30th. 1872 in Stockholm (Sweden).