Brief History of Soestdijk Palace
Lodge
Around 1650 an Amsterdam mayor had a hunting lodge built between Soest and Baarn. The young stadtholder Willem III, a fervent hunter, bought the homestead on the Zoestdijck in 1674. The stadtholders hunted there, their widows spent their summers there. In 1795 the family lost the hunting lodge. Under French influence, Soestdijk was 'nationalised'. It even turned into a French barracks for a while.
In 1815 everything was different again. The French were gone, the Netherlands was a kingdom and the crown prince – later King William II – was given the hunting lodge as a gift for his actions in his battles against the French.
Summer Palace
The crown prince and his Russian wife, Princess Anna Pavlovna, had Soestdijk converted into a real summer palace. Two side wings were added and everything was furnished according to the taste of the time – in Empire style. Even after them, the royal family continued to use the palace as a summer residence. Queen Mother Emma especially liked to visit there. In 1928 she received a special gift for her 70th birthday: electric light at Soestdijk Palace.
Soestdijk Palace was not permanently inhabited until 1937, when Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard took up residence there after their marriage. The Dutch people had offered the couple a renovation as a National Tribute. The palace received central heating and a comfortable, modern apartment at the rear.
Royal Residence
In 1940 the Germans invaded the Netherlands. Until the liberation in 1945, the princely family fled abroad. Soestdijk Palace once again housed foreign soldiers, this time German officers.
After the liberation the family returned and in 1948 Princess Juliana succeeded her mother Wilhelmina as queen. Soestdijk Palace thus became the royal residence. Unforgettable are the festive parades that were held on the platform by the entire royal family on Queen's Day.
Residence and work palace
When Princess Beatrix was inaugurated as queen in 1980, Soestdijk Palace was no longer a royal residence. Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard continued to live there until their death in 2004. In 1971 the palace became State property. With effect from December 2017, after a very extensive selection procedure, MeyerBergman Heritage Group became the new owner of the palace and estate.