It is near the Royal Palace of Laeken, the official residence of the King and Queen of the Belgians.

Another nearby residence, the Villa Schonenberg, is home to Princess Astrid, the sister of the current king, Philippe.

The first Belgian king, Leopold I, used the château for his mistress Arcadie Claret, and their second child Arthur was born there in 1852.

After World War II, Elisabeth of Bavaria, widow of King Albert I, lived at the château until her death in 1965.

[2] The château then stood empty for three years until the Royal Trust rented it out via Sotheby's to a private couple in 2017.