Het Loo Palace

I visited the former royal palace of Het Loo in Apeldoorn yesterday. It was first lived in by King William of Orange and Queen Mary in the late 1600’s and remained inhabited by the Dutch Royal family until it was given to the State in the 1960’s (it was given by Queen Wilhelmina at her death on one condition- if the Netherlands ever abolishes the monarchy, the palace would have to be given back to her family). I only heard about the palace because I was staying in Apeldoorn. When I realized who the original inhabitants were, I had to go because they were also co-rulers of England and built the addition on Hampton Court Palace, where I had the bulk of my internship in 2011. When I got to Het Loo, I was blown away at the forest surrounding it...

And the palace itself is also breathtaking....

 

Planning for the transition of royal residence began in 1968 and the final rooms were finished in 1999. Het Loo went through an extensive restoration to the interior and exterior of the building, including removing the white stucco over the brickwork and removing more contemporary additions (even taking out the top floor, which was a later add-on). The interiors reflect the different eras members of the House of Orange inhabited the house. The Grand Hall on the second floor was particularly striking (all of the rooms contain a significant amount of original textiles and are kept rather dark for their preservation)...

However, the most important room in the place, for me, is King William’s bedchamber because it contains this stunning bed...

This piece was gifted to Het Loo in 1995 from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, who had received it from the collection of William Randolph Hearst. The bed was made in England when it was ordered by King William. As soon as I saw the fabric my heart skipped a beat. One of the tasks I participated in at Hampton Court was cleaning the larger objects in the King`s wing. The fabric used in this chamber is copied directly from the fabric at Hampton Court. I also documented and surface cleaned his ceremonial bed, which is like much more ornate then this bed is. I thought I had pictures from my internship on Dani (my laptop), but it appears not.

So this bed was an unexpected treat.

The gardens of Het Loo are a spectacular example of formal gardens from the late 17^th century. See for yourself...

 

 

 

When the palace was given to the state, there was no visible trace of these gardens and was mainly grass. Years were spent deciding what to do with them until excavations proved many of the foundations were buried below ground. So most of it was recreated in the 1980`s after intensive research...

 

 

I can`t say enough how beautiful this place is. If you have a chance to visit it, please do.