From farmhouse to palace (1533-1675)
The oldest section of the palace dates from before 1533, when the steward of the States of Holland, Willem van de Goudt, had the medieval farmhouse converted into a spacious residence. The farmstead’s cellars still form part of the palace basement..
From 1566 to 1591 the palace had a different owner. After that it was leased and in 1595 purchased by the States of Holland for Louise de Coligny, the widow of William of Orange, and her son Prince Frederik Hendrik. In recognition of William’s service to the nation, the States presented the building to his family in 1609.
Frederik Hendrik substantially enlarged the house, which was then known as the Oude Hof. He began by buying the surrounding plots of land. The architects Pieter Post and Jacob van Campen, who built Huis ten Bosch Palace in 1645, were among those involved in the alterations. These included lengthening the main building and adding wings on either side, thus creating the characteristic H-form that we know today.
After Frederik Hendrik died in 1647, his widow, Amalia van Solms, spent much of her time at the Oude Hof. Following her death in 1675, the house lay more or less empty for many years. After the death of the Stadholder-King William III in 1702, it passed to King Frederick William of Prussia, a grandson of Frederik Hendrik’s.
In 1754 King Frederick the Great of Prussia sold his land-holdings in the Netherlands to Stadholder William V.