Alexandra, Baroness van Zuylen van Nijevelt van de Haar

1957–2026

On Friday morning, October 23, 2026, Alexandra, Baroness van Zuylen van Nijevelt van de Haar, passed away at the age of 69. 

With the passing of Alexandra van Zuylen, the Foundation has lost a deeply committed former member of the Supervisory Board. Since 1996, Alexandra, together with her father Thierry van Zuylen, had been tirelessly dedicated to securing the future of their former family estate, De Haar Castle in Haarzuilens. Alexandra was a member of the Supervisory Board through 2024. 

Biography

Alexandra Hélène Marguerite, Baroness van Zuylen van Nijevelt van de Haar, was born on February 15, 1957, in Neuilly-sur-Seine as the eldest daughter of Thierry, Baron van Zuylen van Nijevelt van de Haar, and his wife, Gabrielle Iglesias Valayas.  

Her great-grandparents, Etienne Baron van Zuylen van Nijevelt van de Haar and his wife Hélène de Rothschild, were the founders of the castle in its current form. Etienne commissioned architect Pierre Cuypers to rebuild the medieval ruins of De Haar in a manner that was unparalleled in Europe. It became a true “Gesamtkunstwerk,” incorporating not only the architecture but also the interior, the gardens, and even the church and the village. 

In 1960, their grandson Thierry inherited De Haar Castle and the surrounding Haarzuilens Estate. He was determined to preserve the castle in the spirit in which it was intended—namely, as a monument to the family’s ties to the province of Utrecht, but also as a home, albeit an extravagant one, for family and friends. Like his father before him, he also intended to open the castle to the public. 

However, preserving this unique monument for the future required a very extensive restoration, for which the available financial resources were insufficient. According to Baron van Zuylen, he offered his daughters two options: either sell the castle or transfer the castle and the park to a foundation so that the castle could be preserved. The daughters unanimously and wholeheartedly chose the latter. To this end, the baron transferred the castle and the park to the Kasteel de Haar Foundation in 1996. In 2000, he transferred the surrounding Haarzuilens Estate to the Natuurmonumenten Association, which in turn injected 20 million euros into the Kasteel de Haar Foundation. With this injection, along with the government grant it had received, the Foundation was able to finance a large portion of the restoration. 

Alexandra van Zuylen grew up in Neuilly-sur-Seine and, as was customary in those circles at the time, was largely raised by an English-speaking nanny. During the months of August and September, she stayed at the castle and also attended school in Haarzuilens. She always maintained warm ties with the residents of Haarzuilens. Her bilingualism—English and French—proved useful in her professional life as an English teacher in Paris. Because she attended school in the Netherlands during the summer, she also spoke a little Dutch.  

Starting in 1996, Alexandra van Zuylen was involved by her father in the future of the former family estate. After Thierry’s death in 2011, Alexandra took over her father’s responsibilities. In 2025, she handed this role over to her sister, Vanessa van Zuylen.  

With the establishment of the foundation and the sale of the estates, the Van Zuylen family relinquished ownership, but the family retained the right to spend time at their ancestral castle during the month of September. Until 2005, the family took up residence at the castle every year. To this day, the family still regularly stays at De Haar in the family apartment in the Châtelet. On every visit, Alexandra brought gifts for the Foundation’s staff; she was always warm and engaged, and was immensely grateful for the way the Foundation cared for their former property.   

Alexandra was married to Iain Watson, with whom she had two daughters. The funeral will take place in Paris. Until then, the castle will keep its shutters closed, in accordance with ancestral custom, as a sign of mourning.