Koninklijke Verzamelingen

History

The Koninklijke Verzamelingen (Royal Collections) consist of objects and archives collected over the centuries by members of the Nassau and Oranje-Nassau families and those close to them. These are private possessions that have been placed in the care of several foundations. The Royal Collections form part of the Koninklijk Huisarchief (Royal House Archives). These archives have existed in their current form since 1898 and were established by Regent Emma, who brought together the family archives, the library collection and the other collections of the Oranje-Nassau family. Emma had a new building constructed near Noordeinde Palace in The Hague for this purpose.

When the Royal Archives were built, space was also made for a family museum, where part of the Royal Collections is still on display. The Koninklijke Verzamelingen are fairly mobile and many of the objects have been given to museums on long-term loan or form part of the interior decoration of the royal family’s various palaces. A good example of this is the Indische Zaal in Noordeinde Palace, where various objects from Indonesia are on display.

Many of the objects in the Koninklijke Verzamelingen that originate from a colonial context were offered to the Dutch royal family as gifts. They include objects that were gifted to the Dutch monarch of the day in honour of a coronation, or objects presented to the royal family during state visits. In addition to objects, the Koninklijke Verzamelingen also contain many photographs from former Dutch colonies.

_The interior of the museum at the Royal Family Archives building, 2024 _ (Kerkhof123)

Provenance research

The complete Koninklijke Verzamelingen can be consulted online, where objects can be selected by their place of origin. The archives of the royal family dating back to 1948 are also publicly accessible. All archives that can be consulted are available online. At present, the complete inventory of some of these archives can also be consulted online. Over the next few years, the number of archives available online will continue to increase. The Royal Archives hold inventories of all the archives; these can be consulted in person.

Sources