Soestdijk Palace: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Soestdijk Palace is one of the four official palaces of the Dutch royal family. It consists of a central house 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 of the late Princess Juliana and is still is the residence of her husband Prince Bernhard.

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.

During Napoleon's invasion in 1795, the palace was seized as a spoil of war and turned into an inn for French troops. When Louis Napoleon became king of Holland, he took possession of it and had it extended and refurbished.

It was presented to William II of the Netherlands in 1815 in recognition of his services at the Battle of Waterloo.

Soestdijk became the property of the State of the Netherlands in 1971, although it continues to be used exclusively by the Dutch Royal family.