The Royal Stables (

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

: ''Koninklijke Stallen'') is a collection of equestrian stables of the Dutch royal family, the

House of Orange-Nassau The House of Orange-Nassau (, ), also known as the House of Orange because of the prestige of the princely title of Orange, also referred to as the Fourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held the Principality of Or ...

. It is a

Rijksmonument A (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. At the end of February 2015, the Netherlands had 61,822 l ...

al building that is part of the royal palace grounds located in the city center of

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The

Noordeinde Palace Noordeinde Palace (, ) is one of three official palaces of the Dutch Royal House, Dutch royal family. Located in the city center of The Hague in the province of South Holland, it has been used as the official workplace of King Willem-Alexander of ...

and the Palace Gardens are also part of this same palace complex. The Noordeinde Palace and its grounds are the official workplace of the Dutch

King Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born 27 April 1967) is King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht during the reign of his maternal grandmother, Queen Juliana, as the eldest ch ...

. The organising organ working at the Royal Stables, the Crown Equerry (Dutch: ''Koninklijk Staldepartement''), is responsible for the care of the transportation modes of the

Dutch Royal House In the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional office and is controlled by the Constitution of the Netherlands. A distinction is made between members of the royal family and members of the royal house. The ...

and Officers of the Royal Household.

Building

The

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

building is designed by Dutch architect Hugo Pieter Vogel based on the older designs of L.H. Eberson and J.P.C. Swijser, and was built around 1876–1879. The building consists of the horse stables, where the royal horses are residing. Furthermore, the personal horses of the royal family are residing in the Royal Stables building as well. There are indoor and outdoor horseback riding arenas to practice, and

paddock A paddock is a small enclosure for horses. In the United Kingdom, this term also applies to a field for a general automobile racing competition, particularly Formula 1. Description The most common design provides an area for exercise and is ofte ...

s for the horses’ leisure time. Furthermore, several

carriage house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two ...

s are located in the building, which houses the Golden Coach and

Glass Coach The Glass Coach is one of the principal State carriages of the British monarch. Built by Peters & Sons of London in 1881, it had originally been designed as a sheriff's coach, but was purchased by the Crown in time for the coronation of Georg ...

, among others. One part of the building holds a carriage exhibition with an extensive display of (historical) royal carriages and other associated items. The building is only open to the public during specific days of the year.

Crown Equerry

The Stables is an official working part of the palace, where horses and people work on a daily basis, and where carriages and cars are in daily use supporting the work of the King as

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

. The Stables forms part of the Civil Household and is headed by the Crown Equerry, who is responsible for organising the royal procession for ''

Prinsjesdag Prinsjesdag () is the day on which the reigning Monarchy of the Netherlands, monarch of the Netherlands addresses a joint session of the States General of the Netherlands, States-General of the Netherlands (consisting of the Senate of the Neth ...

'' (the annual state opening of parliament) and other public occasions. Furthermore, the Crown Equerry is responsible for the transport of all members of the Royal House and Officers of the Royal Household. In these modern times, this means that the Crown Equerry cares for the royal limousines and the royal motor coach, as well as the royal horses, carriages, and coaches belonging to the Crown. The Crown Equerry was established in 1815 by King

William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...

. Since 1878, the Crown Equerry is located in the Royal Stables at the grounds of the Noordeinde Palace in the city center of The Hague.

Royal Palace Stables

Apart from the Royal Stables at the palace grounds in The Hague, the Dutch Crown has several other equestrian stables and carriage houses located at the former royal residences in the Netherlands. The

Soestdijk Palace Soestdijk Palace ( ) is a palace formerly belonging to the Dutch royal family. It consists of a central block and two wings. Although named after the village of Soestdijk, which is largely in the municipality of Soest, Soestdijk Palace is just ...

Het Loo Palace Paleis Het Loo ( , meaning "The wikt:lea#English, Lea") is a palace in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, built by the House of Orange-Nassau. History The symmetry, symmetrical Dutch Baroque architecture, Dutch Baroque building was designed by Jacob Roman ...

, and

Drakensteyn Castle Drakensteyn Castle (Dutch: ''Drakensteyn'', sometimes ''Drakesteijn'' or ''Drakestein'') is a small castle at 8 Slotlaan in the hamlet of Lage Vuursche, in the municipality of Baarn, Netherlands. It is the private residence of Princess Beatrix o ...

are equipped with such stables and carriage houses. However, these stables have been in private use by the palace residency, while the Royal Stables at Noordeinde Palace have been the working place of the Crown Equerry for the

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

since 1878. These former palace stables are momentarily not in use by the family, as the royal family is residing at

Huis ten Bosch Huis ten Bosch (, ; ) is a royal palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is one of three official residences of the Dutch monarch; the two others being the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague and the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. Huis ten Bosch was th ...

. These stables are transformed into a museum or event space, where the former stables and transportation modes of the royal family are exhibited.

Trivia

* Wexy, the war horse of the then

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the stadtholders of, and then the heirs apparent of ...

, Prince Willem Frederik of Orange (later King William II), was ridden by him during the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

. The horse was wounded during the battle, just like the Prince. After its death, the horse was mounted and is still one of the oldest preserved mounted horses in Europe, housed at the Royal Stables.

Gallery

File:Hogewal met Koninklijke Stallen, Den Haag, 1906.png, Hogewal (quayside) at the Royal Stables, The Hague, seen from the Piet Hein Square (1906). File:Koninklijke Stallen exterieur - 's-Gravenhage - 20088612 - RCE.jpg, Royal Stables front facade. File:Stallen interieur - 's-Gravenhage - 20086709 - RCE.jpg, Interieur of the horse stables. File:Gouden Koets Prinsjesdag 2011.jpg, Golden Coach with stable horses on

(2011). File:Carriage (26333916688).jpg, Carriage exhibition in the Royal Stables. File:Gevel binnenplaats - 's-Gravenhage - 20086702 - RCE.jpg, Stables courtyard. File:Hofauto.jpg, Royal cars of

with number plates starting with AA. File:Koninklijke Stallen achterzijde - Den Haag (7999971042).jpg, The back of the building as seen from the Palace Garden.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Koninklijke Stallen, Royal Stables * Royal Stables horse stables i
Google Street View
* Royal Stables carriage exhibition i
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* Royal Stables stables courtyard i
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House of Orange-Nassau Stables Rijksmonuments in The Hague Renaissance Revival architecture in the Netherlands