For the first time ever visitors will be able to step into one of the Dutch royal family's most lavish palaces, Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. The venue acts as King Willem-Alexander's official office, which is why it is usually not open to members of the public.
For the next four Saturdays, a total of 20,000 ticket holders will be allowed entry.
The king, who is currently on holiday with his wife Queen Máxima and the couple's three daughters, said that he wanted people to be able to "experience" Noordeinde for themselves. "Since it is used much less in the summer, we can open it," he said.
© Photo: Getty ImagesNoordeinde Palace will be open to the public this summer
Noordeinde holds a special place in the royal family's heart. Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard and Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien were all married in the palace. After their deaths, Queen Juliana, Prince Hendrik, Prince Claus and Prince Bernhard all lay in state there.
It was built as a medieval farmhouse in the sixteenth century and its original cellars can still be seen in the palace basement.
© Photo: Getty ImagesVisitors have previously only had access to the gardens
Nowadays it is a lavish royal palace, used as a workspace for the 49-year-old king and staff members of the royal household.
The public will be given access to a number of areas, such as the Grand Ballroom, which features gold chandeliers and marble walls. A sneak peek of the rooms also shows the Dutch royal family's impressive art collection and antiques.
The vast royal stables will be included in the tour, where visitors will be able to see the family's horse-drawn carriages.
© Photo: PAThe palace is used as King Willem-Alexander's official workplace
While the palace is only open to the public for the summer, the garden is accessible daily. Known as the Princess' Garden, it was landscaped by Frederik Hendrik, the son of William of Orange, for his mother in the seventeenth century.
It is now home to beautiful flowerbeds, ponds, fountains and marble statues. The garden was given to the Municipality of The Hague in the twentieth century and is therefore used as a normal park by members of the public.
