The Royal Collections is the department responsible for looking after the heritage of the House of Orange-Nassau. It does so by keeping, conserving, managing, restoring and expanding the collections entrusted to it. It makes sources and collections accessible to the public and researchers in a number of ways: through online and offline publications, by facilitating research, exhibiting items in palaces and collaborating with and loaning items to museums in the Netherlands and abroad.
The department opens the Royal Palace in Amsterdam to the public almost all year round (being tasked to do so by the foundation that manages the palace) and organises exhibitions, symposia and educational activities in the palace. It also make arrangements for the summer openings of Noordeinde Palace and the Royal Stables in The Hague.
The sources and collections entrusted to the Royal Collections include the private archives of the Royal Family and the Royal Household, the library collection, historic artefacts and objets d’art (both applied arts and visual arts) collected over the centuries by members of the House of Orange-Nassau. Most of the items are in the keeping of the House of Orange-Nassau Archives Trust, the House of Orange-Nassau Historic Collections Trust or one of the foundations set up to manage gifts.
The Royal Collections is part of the Royal Household. It provides expertise and support services in matters relating to history and tradition, the furnishing of palaces, the use and management of cultural and historical artefacts, and ensuring accessibility of information. Its offices are located in the Royal Archives in the grounds of Noordeinde Palace and in the Royal Palace in Amsterdam.