Built all the way back in 1191 as a Genoese fortress, the Prince’s Palace of Monaco serves as the official residence of the Sovereign Prince of Monaco.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the palace and its owners (the same family that has been living and ruling Monaco for over seven hundred years) became symbols of the slightly risque glamour and decadence that were associated with Monte Carlo and the French Riviera, and that glamour became reality when film star Grace Kelly became a chatelaine (a “keeper”) of the palace in 1956. The palace, to this day, remains a residence of the current Prince of Monaco.
Osborne House
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert purchased this 342-acre estate in East Cowes, Isle of Wright, in 1845 for use as a summer vacation home, but after Queen Vic’s death in 1901, the house became the property of the state and transformed into a small, private museum in honor of the late queen.
The property went on sale in 2018 for a market price of about $701,000. Some have speculated a royal ghost haunts the halls which brought the price down from what many expected it would be but don’t take our word for it - it’s open to the public for tours.
Royal Palace of Amsterdam
One of three palaces in the Netherlands at the disposal of the monarch by Act of Parliament, the Royal Palace of Amsterdam is situated on the west side of Dam Square in the center of Amsterdam, opposite the World War II War Memorial and next to the Nieuwe Kerk, a 15th-century church. The palace was actually built as a city hall during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century.
The building became a royal palace of King Louis Napoleon during the early nineteenth century, and later of the Dutch Royal House. It has a number of notable features, such as a six-meter tall statue of Atlas carrying the globe, a large domed cupola, and two maps of the world on the marble floor.
Marselisborg Palace
Yet another royal residence of the Danish Royal Family, Marselisborg Palace is in Aarhus and has been the summer residence of Queen Margrethe since 1967. It's in connection to a Palace Park and is near another park that stretches to the coast of the Bay of Aarhus (called Mindeparken) that is popular with citizens for recreational activities.
It was built from 1899 to 1902 and was presented as a gift from the people of Denmark to the Royal Family, on the occasion of the wedding of Prince Christian and Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who would later become King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine.
Barnwell Manor
About 2.5 miles south of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England, the historic former home of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester is now occupied by Windsor House Antiques.
The Manor entered the family in 1938, when Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (the third son of King George V) bought the house and estate with the bulk of his legacy from the late king, but the house's history dates back to 1540 when King Henry VIII granted it to the Montagu family – the same family Prince Henry's wife, Alice, descended from. The Gloucesters vacated the house in 1995, so Princess Alice could relocate to Kensington Palace to be with her son, the present Duke of Gloucester.