This is what the rooms look like where the royal couple receives refugees | show

with video and photosA bathroom with hand-painted tiles, a sitting room with bright pink Dora the Exploxer children’s camping chairs. Today, the Government Information Service gives an insight into the rooms that King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima have made available to Ukrainian refugees in their country house Het Oude Loo castle.


Marlies van Leeuwen

20 Apr. 2022


In recent weeks, the old hunting lodge in Apeldoorn has been prepared for the refugee families. This week, 32 Ukrainian refugees will be housed there. Fifteen women, twelve children and five men are taken care of there. The garden around the castle is ‘for the time being’ closed to visitors ‘to offer privacy to the new residents’, the royal family’s official Instagram account reported.

Read more below the photo.

Slot Het Oude Loo reception center for Ukrainian refugees © RVD

They end up in rooms that breathe history. In the bathroom some tiles are painted with a colorful scene with a bird and butterflies. Those butterflies also appear on the top of the bathroom furniture. Released photos show wooden single beds with a yellow and pink bedspread. The rooms have floral curtains and floral chairs. The wallpaper in one of the bedrooms has a floral print. In the window a red reading light, matching the color of the wallpaper. In the living room, neutral in color, two children’s camping chairs stand out. Bright pink, from the popular children’s program Dora the Explorer.

hunting lodge

The children will certainly enjoy themselves outside. Although the castle was used for centuries by the court of Het Loo Palace, Willem-Alexander played with his brothers Friso and Constantijn as children in the maze at the hunting lodge, and the sons of Peter and Margriet van Vollenhoven also loved the narrow roads through the labyrinth. This is what it says on the site of Out in Apeldoorn, which aims to promote tourism in the area. Children can still play there, but the old skittle alley next door is no longer in use.

The young Ukrainian children can go to world school De Vlinder in Ugchelen in the municipality of Apeldoorn, it was announced earlier. This is a primary school aimed at children who come from abroad. They receive a lot of lessons in the Dutch language, so that they can go to regular schools if they have to stay here longer. Older children from Ukraine can attend three secondary schools. These are De Heemgaard, Edison College and Onze Wereld. Registration can be arranged once the Ukrainians are housed at the castle.

Slot Het Oude Loo reception center for Ukrainian refugees

Slot Het Oude Loo reception center for Ukrainian refugees © RVD

Slot Het Oude Loo reception center for Ukrainian refugees

Slot Het Oude Loo reception center for Ukrainian refugees © RVD

Slot Het Oude Loo reception center for Ukrainian refugees

Slot Het Oude Loo reception center for Ukrainian refugees © RVD

Slot Het Oude Loo reception center for Ukrainian refugees

Slot Het Oude Loo reception center for Ukrainian refugees © RVD

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