Wednesday 17 October 2007

The Palace of Soestdijk










Juliana (Juliana Emma Louise Marie Wilhelmina van Oranje-Nassau; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from her mother's abdication in 1948 to her own abdication in 1980. After her abdication she reverted to the style she used before coming to the Throne.
The Netherlands is a pretty young kingdom compared to the British and Danish kingdoms.We have been a kingdom since 1816 after Napoleon was defeated by the combined British and Dutch troops in which the Prince of Orange distinguished himself at Quatre Bras by blocking Napoleon the way. The prince got wounded which made him a hero in the eyes of the Dutch, who were so grateful that they gave him the Palace of Soestdijk as a present.The Leuvenzaal is dedicated to this Prince of Orange.


After three kings we had three queens: Queen Wilhelmina, Queen Juliana and now Queen Beatrix, who had lived in this palace as a child. Since the death of her parents the palace is empty and open to the public.

6 comments:

Patty said...

Is that thing that looks like a large ball with openings called a
Leuvenzaal, and what does it mean or represent? It looks like it was a very nice mini trip

Reader Wil said...

No the round object is a sculpture. The Leuvenzaal is the Leuvenroom dedicated to the Prince of Orange son of the first king,King William I.

Libertine said...

I wasn't aware that your Queen Juliana had lived that long.

And where does the current Queen live?

Reader Wil said...

She lives in The Hague.Her son lives in a place called Wassenaar not far from The Hague.

Anonymous said...

Truly an interesting post. I learned something I didn't know.

LauriesAsylum said...

I learn something new every time I visit here.:)