The new palace was constructed on Slotsholmen, on the ruins of its predecessor, and designed by royal master builder Christian Frederik Hansen.

After the fire in 1794, the royal family initially took up temporary residency at Rosenborg Castle and later moved to Amalienborg Palace.

Construction started in 1803 but was slow as a result of the difficult times compounded by the Napoleonic Wars and the national bankruptcy in 1813.

The king ceded some of his chambers to the new Parliament, Rigsdagen, which from January 1850 had sessions in the wing where Folketinget meets today.

It was built on the foundations and remaining walls of its predecessor but the wing with the tower and Grand Hall was not rebuilt but replaced by a colonnade.