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Written by Ber van de Rijdt
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 Drakensteyn castle has a long history as residence of choice of HRH the Queen Beatrix. One day, when she will retire, the Queen will be likely to leave The Hague and spend her days here. She will frequently think back of the happy years she spent here with her family. The three sons, Willem-Alexander, Friso and Constantijn, and her spouse, the late Prince Claus von Amsberg have happily lived here in the 1970s, frolicking the garden, playing games of hide-and-seek. The boys attended an ordinary school in nearby Baarn, until their mother and wife was called to the office of Queen in 1980 and the family moved to the palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. They always kept Drakensteyn castle as a favorite destination outside the city. Since 1360, the year when Drakensteyn was mentioned for the first time in the annals, the house switched owners regularly until it was bought by a still young Princess Beatrix in 1959. The house is in the Utrecht area, in the municipality Lage Vuursche, not far from the former residence of her parents, HRH the Queen Juliana and HRH Prince Bernhard: Soestdijk Palace. The building is tower-shaped, surrounded by a moat. Because of its specific shape, the building is without corridors and its outer rooms are all of triangular shape. It is sometimes referred to as “the jewel case”. From its rear entrance one steps into a simple, traditional, symmetrical garden with low buildings on both sides. No doubt, a work shop can be found in one of them, as the Queen is known to be a passionate sculptor with a warm heart for the arts. A stable shall also be found, since horseback riding is one of her favorite hobbies. Early dwellers on the beaches of Wassenaar city have been frequently surprised by their Queen as she rode her horse in full gallop through the breaking waves.
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Drakensteyn Castle
