Another Dutch palace ticked off the list

Last week, on a really wet, cold, grey and windy Thursday (the day before flying to Riga, Latvia) we visited our second Dutch palace of the year - Paleis Soestdijk (the palace on the dijk of Soest). The weather was so terrible that we hardly spent any time outside, hence the lack of photos! We did take a guided tour of the interior of the palace but photos were not permitted. The tour was a lovely insight into the world of royalty, but unfortunately many of the rooms are now totally empty.

This palace was the home for over six decades of the late Queen Juliana and her husband, the late Prince Bernhard, until their deaths in 2004. The palace became the property of the state in 1971 but continued to be used as the official residence of Juliana and Bernhard until 2004. They both passed away at the palace and lay in state in their favourite rooms until interment.

The palace began life as a hunting lodge, and was built between 1674 and 1678. During the French invasion in 1795 it was seized as a spoil of war and turned into an inn for French troops! When Louis Bonaparte became King of the Netherlands he took possession of the palace and had it extended and refurbished. In 1815 it was presented to King William II of the Netherlands as recognition of his services at the Battle of Waterloo (an entire wall in one of the rooms is decorated with a massive oil painting depicting that famous battle). King William II and his Russian wife, Anna Paulowna, spent all their summers at the palace and refurbished it in lavish neo classical style. A lot of the original furniture introduced by Anna Paulowna can still be seen in various rooms to this day. Apparently Juliana hated the style but thought it would be just too expensive to have it all replaced!

After the death of Anna Paulowna, the palace passed to Prince Hendrik (the brother of King William III); and then with the death of Hendrik himself the palace passed to his brother King William III and his wife Emma. Queen Emma, the mother of Wilhelmina, used the palace as her regular summer residence. But it was not until Juliana (the daughter of Wilhelmina) and Bernhard moved into the palace in 1937 that it became the permanent residence of the royal family. It was also the first time the palace became home to a young family, with all but one of the four princesses (including the current Queen Beatrix) born at the palace.

Juliana died at the palace in March 2004 and lay in state in her former office, and Bernhard later that same year, in December, and lay in state in the magnificent entry hall. Both had made this known as part of their last wishes.

In May 2009 Queen Beatrix unveiled the bronze statue of her parents that you can see here below. It stands on the front lawn of the palace, with the royal wave continued to be seen by all who pass by.

And in the photo below that of the statue you can see the private entrance (complete with doorbell) of the royal family themselves and their closest friends. This entrance is about 50 metres to the right of the official grand entrance and opens directly into the hallway of the private wing of the palace.

Alli xxx