Huis ten Bosch is one of the three official residences of the Dutch Royal Family, located in The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

 in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. It has been home to Queen Beatrix

Beatrix of the Netherlands

Beatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...

 since 1981. The other Royal palace in The Hague, Noordeinde Palace

Noordeinde Palace

Noordeinde Palace is one of the three official palaces of the Dutch royal family. Located in The Hague in the province of South Holland, it has been used as the "working palace" for Queen Beatrix since 1984.-From farmhouse to palace:...

, is used for work-related purposes. A replica of the palace was built in Sasebo, Japan in a theme park

Huis Ten Bosch (theme park)

is a theme park in Nagasaki Prefecture that recreates the Netherlands by displaying real size copies of old Dutch buildings. The name Huis Ten Bosch literally translates into English as "House in the Forest"...

 bearing the same name.

History

Construction of Huis ten Bosch was begun on 2 September 1645, under the direction of Bartholomeus Drijffhout, and to a design by Pieter Post

Pieter Post

Pieter Jansz Post was a Dutch Golden Age architect, painter and printmaker.-Biography:...

 and Jacob van Campen

Jacob van Campen

Jacob van Campen , was a Dutch artist and architect of the Golden Age.-Life:He was born into a wealthy family at Haarlem, and spent his youth in his home town. Being of noble birth and with time on his hands, he took up painting mainly as a pastime...

. It was commissioned by the wife of the stadholder, Amalia von Solms on a parcel of land granted to her by the States General (Loonstra, 1983, Slothouwer 1945). This first stone was laid by Elizabeth of Bohemia.

Oranjezaal

After her husband's death in 1647, Amalia dedicated the Palace to her husband. Led by the Catholic architect-painters Jacob van Campen

Jacob van Campen

Jacob van Campen , was a Dutch artist and architect of the Golden Age.-Life:He was born into a wealthy family at Haarlem, and spent his youth in his home town. Being of noble birth and with time on his hands, he took up painting mainly as a pastime...

 and Pieter Post

Pieter Post

Pieter Jansz Post was a Dutch Golden Age architect, painter and printmaker.-Biography:...

, other major Catholic artists of the day such as Gerard van Honthorst

Gerard van Honthorst

Gerard van Honthorst , also known as Gerrit van Honthorst and in Italy as Gherardo delle Notti for his nighttime candlelit subjects, was a Dutch Golden Age painter from Utrecht.-Biography:...

, Jacob Jordaens

Jacob Jordaens

Jacob Jordaens was one of three Flemish Baroque painters, along with Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, to bring prestige to the Antwerp school of painting. Unlike those contemporaries he never traveled abroad to study Italian painting, and his career is marked by an indifference to their...

, Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert, Theodoor van Thulden

Theodoor van Thulden

Theodoor van Thulden was a Dutch Baroque artist from 's-Hertogenbosch in North Brabant who was active in that city and in Antwerp.-Biography:...

, Caesar van Everdingen

Caesar van Everdingen

Cesar Pietersz, or Cesar Boetius van Everdingen , older brother of Allart van Everdingen and Jan van Everdingen, was a Dutch Golden Age portrait and history painter.-Biography:...

, Salomon de Bray

Salomon de Bray

Salomon de Bray was a Dutch Golden Age architect and painter.-Biography:De Bray was born inAmsterdam, but established himself in Haarlem before 1617, where he is registered as being a member of the schutterij that year in the St. Adrian's cloveniers...

, Pieter Soutman

Pieter Soutman

Pieter Claesz Soutman was a Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker from Haarlem.- Biography :Soutman was born and died in Haarlem, where he was a contemporary of Frans Hals, Hendrick Gerritsz Pot, and Pieter Claesz, and seems to have been influenced by all three, considering the various...

, Gonzales Coques, Pieter de Grebber

Pieter de Grebber

Pieter Fransz de Grebber was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Life:De Grebber was the oldest son of Frans Pietersz de Grebber , a painter and embroiderer in Haarlem, and the brother of the painters Maria and Albert. He learned to paint from his father and from Hendrick Goltzius...

, Adriaen Hanneman

Adriaen Hanneman

Adriaen Hanneman was a Dutch Golden Age painter best-known today for his portraits of the exiled British royal court. His style was strongly influenced by his contemporary, Anthony Van Dyck.-Biography:...

  and Jan Lievens

Jan Lievens

Jan Lievens was a Dutch painter, usually associated with Rembrandt, working in a similar style.-Biography:According to Arnold Houbraken, Jan was the son of Lieven Hendriksze, a tapestry worker , and was trained by Joris Verschoten. He was sent to Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam at about the age of 10...

 filled the Oranjezaal ("Orange Hall" ) with paintings glorifying the late prince. The dining room was designed by Daniel Marot

Daniel Marot

Daniel Marot was a French Protestant, an architect, furniture designer and engraver at the forefront of the classicizing Late Baroque "Louis XIV" style....

.

Later inhabitants

Over the next century and a half, the palace would change possession from the Nassau

House of Orange-Nassau

The House of Orange-Nassau , a branch of the European House of Nassau, has played a central role in the political life of the Netherlands — and at times in Europe — since William I of Orange organized the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule, which after the Eighty Years' War...

 family, the king of Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

, and many Stadholders until the French invaded in 1795. They gave the palace to the Batavian (Dutch) people who still own it to this day. Napoleon Bonaparte's brother, Louis Napoleon, king of the Netherlands briefly lived in the palace between 1805 and 1807.

When William I

William I of the Netherlands

William I Frederick, born Willem Frederik Prins van Oranje-Nassau , was a Prince of Orange and the first King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg....

 was proclaimed King of the Netherlands, he made Huis ten Bosch one of his official residences. It became a favourite location for many members of the Royal Family, and during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 it became the primary residence of Queen Wilhelmina

Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

Wilhelmina was Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948. She ruled the Netherlands for fifty-eight years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War I and World War II, the economic crisis of 1933, and the decline of the Netherlands as a major colonial...

.

The Queen and her family were forced to evacuate the palace for Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 (from which the Queen's family, but not the Queen herself, would move on to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

) when the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 army invaded the Netherlands during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The Nazi

Nazism

Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...

administration planned to demolish the palace, but the comptroller convinced them not to. However, the palace was damaged beyond habitation.

Current status as Royal residence

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

The palace has undergone major reconstructions since it was built. Currently, it consists of a central part with two long wings, spanning approximately 110 m from end to end.

External links

• Huis ten Bosch at the official website of the Dutch Royal Family