In 1184 Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, built the first castle on the current site in Écaussinnes. The lords of Écaussinnes and their heirs the de Lalaings altered the original structure several times over the centuries.
In 1450 Marie de Lalaing married Jean II de Croÿ, descendant of the Counts (later Princes) of Chimay. By a quirk of inheritance, the castle later became the property of the Lalaing family again. They sold it in 1642 to the van der Burcht family.
In the 18th century the interior was redecorated with Rococo elements in the first floor of the Gothic hall.
References:The Royal Palace was built in the first half of the 19th century as the Norwegian residence of King Charles III, who also reigned as king of Sweden and otherwise resided there, and is the official residence of the present Norwegian monarch. The crown prince resides at Skaugum in Asker west of Oslo. The palace has 173 rooms.
Until the completion of the Royal Palace, Norwegian royalty resided in Paleet, the magnificent town house in Christiania that the wealthy merchant Bernt Anker bequeathed to the State in 1805 to be used as a royal residence. During the last years of the union with Denmark it was used by the viceroys of Norway, and in 1814 by the first king of independent Norway, Christian Frederick.