Soestdijk Palace

Infobox building
building_name = Soestdijk Palace
native_building_name= Paleis Soestdijk
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caption = A front view of the palace in 2004
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location = Baarn, Netherlands
address = Amsterdamsestraatweg 1
client = William III of England
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coordinates = coord|52.193333|5.279444|display=inline
start_date = 1674
completion_date = 1678
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architect = Maurits Post
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Soestdijk Palace is one of the four official palaces of the Dutch royal family. It consists of a central block and two wings.

Although named after the village of Soestdijk, which is largely in the municipality of Soest, the Soestdijk Palace is just north of the border in the municipality of Baarn in the province of Utrecht. It 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 originally started as a hunting lodge that was built for Stadhouder William III between 1674 and 1678 by Maurits Post, who was also involved in building two other royal palaces, Huis ten Bosch Palace and Noordeinde Palace. William left the Netherlands in 1688 to reside in London as William III of England.

During the french invasion in 1795, the palace was seized as a spoil of war and turned into an inn for French troops. When Louis Bonaparte became King of Holland, he took possession of it and had it extended and refurnished.

It was presented to William II of the Netherlands in 1815 in recognition of his services at the Battle of Waterloo. In 1842 its contents were enriched by the addition of the neoclassical furnishings of his former palace in Brussels, today the Palais des Académies.

Soestdijk became the property of the State of the Netherlands in 1971, though it was used by Princess Juliana (Queen of the Netherlands from 1948-1980) and Prince Bernhard as their official residence until both of their deaths in 2004. Soestdijk Palace then remained empty and unused for over a year before its opening to the public. Since spring 2006, it is possible to visit, pending a decision about its future use.

External links

*nl icon [http://www.paleissoestdijk.nl/ Paleis Soestdijk] (official website)
* [http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/english/content.jsp?objectid=14045 Soestdijk Palace] at the official website of the Dutch Royal Family