That same year the Royal Museum (Kongl. Museum) opened in the palace. It was one of the first public museums in the world. In 1846-47, the museum moved from the palace to the Ridderstolpe House at Skeppsbron where it resided until 1865 and the move to Nationalmuseum. Swedish archaeologist Stig Welinder argues that the History Museum was in fact founded with its establishment in the Ridderstolpe House in 1847.

The present-day museum was founded in 1866 by Bror Emil Hildebrand,