Post-meeting dinner for delegates at Oranjezaal

At the conclusion of a day's meetings at the Nuclear Security Summit, delegates were invited for dinner at the Oranjezaal in the Palace Huis ten Bosch. Delegates were first formally received by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. A quick photo-op on the steps of the palace was followed by the delegates, including President Obama and the Chinese president Xi Jinping were led into the Oranjezaal.

The hall is drenched in baroque décor, with chandeliers dripping from a ceiling plastered with dramatic scenes painted by catholic artists, glorifying the late prince Frederik Hendrik, who died in 1647. Very few Dutch people have ever even seen the Oranjezaal from the inside. The Oranjezaal is one of the most important and impressive artistic artifacts of the Dutch Golden Age. Only on very special occasions is it open to anybody. The hall itself is 15 meters high, and contains 30 paintings on the walls and ceiling, painted over an overall surface of 200 square meters by the country's best painters at the time. The hall is rarely used, due to privacy reasons. Even photos of the spectacular Oranjezaal are very rare. Willem-Alexander and his family will soon live in the Palace Huis ten Bosch.