The Royal Palace with the museum downstairs

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To explain to the multicultural and multiethnic population what the monarchy is, and its meaning, Holland is currently building a museum under Het Loo Palace, the historic residence of King William III and Queen Maria Stuart.
A relatively young monarchy, that of the Orange-Nassau dynasty, from 1813 to the throne in the Netherlands, but with a history that dates back to the 16th century as regards its relationship with the nation, a relatively unknown history that is worth be told.

This is what the new Het Loo museum in Apeldoorn is aiming for, and in particular the new 5000 m2 underground extension which will open on April 22 under the former Royal Palace of Het Loo and which will host the permanent exhibition on the history of House Orange-Nassau, the Dutch royal family, and especially on their current role in the Netherlands, Europe and the rest of the world. Large exhibition spaces will explore the concept of “monarchy” through different perspectives such as the education that is imparted today to future sovereigns by comparing it with that of the past. But there will also be a sector dedicated to the sense of privacy when by now the official photographic sessions, which the royal family has taken at well-planned times of the year, mix with the immediate images taken perhaps from mobile phones and are widely found on the net or in online gossip magazines.

monarchist rhetoric

Exposing the concept of “monarchy”, with the various and possible implications (of rights and privileges), seems to be an operation that is not only intelligent, but also necessary in a rapidly changing society.

A new concept of “monarchy”

Michel van Maarseveen, director general of the Palais Het Loo explains the ambitious project thus: “The opening of the museum offers something totally new to the world. The building wants to give further relevance and a different and new meaning to the history and the concept of “monarchy”. As an independent national institution, we explore all the different connotations of the word “royalty” in various societies and in people from different walks of life. The underground extension thus combines contemporary design with the history of a 17th century building and creates an artistic whole”.

Het Loo: from royal palace to museum

Het Loo Palace a few kilometers from the city of Apeldoorn was in fact built in 1686 as a summer residence and hunting lodge for the Dutch stadtholder William and his wife Mary Stewart, shortly before they received the throne of England in 1689. Ireland and Scotland. The Palace remained the property of the Dutch royal family until the 1970s and then reopened its doors in 1984 as an independent national museum. Its magnificent halls and immense well-kept park soon became a tourist and cultural attraction for a large Dutch and foreign public until it was temporarily closed in 2018 for an intense conservative restoration.