Noordeinde Palace is the King’s place of work. The offices of the King and Queen Máxima are located here. Most of the Royal Household staff work at Noordeinde Palace.
Each year many receptions and audiences are held at the palace. This is also where the King receives foreign ambassadors when they present their credentials. On Prinsjesdag, the day of the State Opening of Parliament, the royal procession departs from the palace. After the Speech from the Throne has been delivered the royal party returns to the palace to wave from the balcony.
The palace is situated on Noordeinde, in The Hague. The Royal Stables, Royal Archives and Fagel’s Garden Pavillion are also part of the complex. Noordeinde Palace belongs to the state and has been placed at the King’s disposal by Act of Parliament.
History of Noordeinde Palace
In 1533 Willem Goudt, steward of the States of Holland, transformed a medieval farmhouse on ‘Nortende’, on what was then the outskirts of The Hague, into an imposing mansion. The building, whose history has been intertwined with the House of Orange since 1591, was eventually to become Noordeinde Palace as we know it now.
After 1814 the palace was used by King Willem I, King Willem III, Queen Regent Emma and Queen Wilhelmina. In May 1948 a fire destroyed the central part of the palace. In the same year, Juliana was crowned queen. She chose to use Soestdijk Palace as her official residence. Some of the offices at Noordeinde Palace did however continue to be used by the court staff, while the northern wing housed the Institute of Social Studies from 1952 to 1976.
Following a thorough restoration, the palace became Queen Beatrix’s place of work. King Willem-Alexander has used the palace as his place of work since his investiture in 2013.