Although being a Kingdom since 1815, The Netherlands have a very republican and bourgeouis character. This character is reflected in its carriage history. Lavishly decorated coaches were considered to be snobbish, people preferred sobriety. Obsolete vehicles were sold, even by the King himself.

On the other hand: a large part of the population was able to buy carriages. International and regional types were known in all parts of The Netherlands. After the introduction of the automobile these thousands of carriages became obsolete en many were neglected and destroyed.

Today two important carriage collections remain: the still functioning collection of the Royal Mews in The Hague and the National Carriage Museum in Leek.

The Royal carriage collection is in use by the Royal Family of Oranje-Nassau and is not always visible to the public. Some of these carriages however are exhibited in the Nationaal Museum Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn.

The Nationaal Rijtuigmuseum in Leek accommodates the national collection and organizes exhibitions and demonstrations. These carriages are incidentally given on loan for special exhibitions in other museums.