French period (1795-1813)

State property

When the French invaded in 1795, all the stadholder’s residences were seized as the spoils of war. The French made a gift of Huis ten Bosch to ‘the Batavian people’. Most of the furniture and works of art were sold and the palace became state property, which it remains to this day.

King Louis Bonaparte

Following a coup d’état in 1798, some members of the National Assembly were interned in the palace. The east wing was rented out. The building then served as a museum until 1805, when Rutger-Jan Schimmelpennick, appointed grand pensionary by Napoleon, moved in. Fifteen months later, Napoleon’s brother Louis Bonaparte, elevated to the throne of Holland, took up residence there. In 1807, Louis moved to Utrecht, where he lived until he could take possession of Amsterdam town hall on the Dam, which had been refurbished as a palace. Although he occupied it for only a short time, Louis Bonaparte left his mark on both the interior and exterior of Huis ten Bosch. The expansions and renovations he initiated introduced the Empire style into the Netherlands, and many pieces of Empire furniture are still in use in the palace.