Battle horse Wexy

In 2015, exactly 200 years after the Battle of Waterloo, the Rijksmuseum revived the memory of this historic battle with paintings, photographs, and even taxidermied animals. One of the most remarkable exhibits was Wexy, the loyal horse of the Prince of Orange. Preserved thanks to the Royal House Archive, Wexy had accompanied Willem II during the battle. 

Wexy was an Irish half-blood: compact, agile, and perfectly suited for the battlefield. During the Battle of Waterloo, both he and the crown prince were seriously wounded by a bullet around 7:30 in the evening, but miraculously survived. Wexy spent his final years at the prince’s estate in Tervuren and lived to the impressive age of 38. After his death in 1839, he was preserved by Jacques Kets, the first director of the Antwerp Zoo, who mounted his skin on a wooden frame. 

How Willem acquired Wexy remains a mystery. It’s possible the horse accompanied him during his campaigns in Spain between 1811 and 1813. After the battle, Wexy stayed in Belgium. When the United Kingdom of the Netherlands dissolved, he ended up in Belgian hands. Revolutionaries planned to use him as a draft horse, but a group of Orangists bought and saved him. Wexy was later moved several times within the Netherlands. Today, he stands in the tack room of the Royal Stables at Noordeinde Palace.