Stenhammar Castle, Flen


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In light of the changes to the Swedish Monarchy on October 7, 2019, this has become an interesting situation to me. I asked about this on the "titles" page and I got the feeling that Alexander had lost the right to use Stenhammer Castle if he wanted to. Which would be a moot point if he didn't want to. But upon reading this I see many different possibilities. He is still technically in the line of succession and he, of course, is the Duke of Sodermanland. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Or really if it even matters. I don't know that he will be desperate for a home to live in. His father has inherited several properties in his own right. Just a curious situation.
 
Thank you to JR76 for the answers.

JR76 said:
The wording of the will is a bit strange.
"Efter min hustrus död skola samtliga hemman och hemmansdelar med tillhörande byggnader av staten varje gång på livstid utarrenderas på efterskrivna villkor åt någon svensk undersåte varande prins av det regerande konungahuset, vilken har eventuell arvsrätt till tronen."

"After the death of my wife all parts of the estate and the buildings buildings belonging to it should be leased for life on the terms stated to a Swedish citizen who is a Prince of the ruling Royal House who has an eventual/possible/potential right of inheritance to the throne"

I've included all three translations of "eventuell" that I could think of. I wonder if there's an old meaning of it that I'm not familiar with. The word seems to imply that the holder of the lease doesn't have to hold inheritance rights to the throne. Prince Alexander does retain said rights but maybe this could open up for a different interpretation of the stipulations of the will?
Click to expand...

Please correct me if the following interpretation is not valid under the Swedish wording, but I assumed it implied that the prince must be qualified as a potential king but is not required to concretely succeed to the throne. (I have seen comparable wording used in other languages.) For instance, Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland had a potential right of succession but, given that he was a second son and his older brother produced sons, there was no expectation that the potential right would ever be realized. Put another way: He did not have the right to inherit the throne while his brother was living, but he would potentially have the right if his brother and his brother's male heirs passed away.

As you said, the difficulty for Prince Alexander would be finding grounds to declare him a "prince of the ruling royal house" when he is not a member of the Royal House. An argument could be put forward that he is a prince and he is descended from the Royal House, but applying that argument would hypothetically allow Prince Nikolai of Denmark to lease Stenhammar, as he is a prince and a descendant of Princess Ingrid of Sweden, so it was surely not what was meant by Mr. von Kraemer. I would be very interested to know if the King's attorney has drawn up plans to deal with this difficulty.
 
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Photo at court Instagram today, the king gives a speech from Stenhammar Castle in the evening at SVT1 and SVT play.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-lyVUug0Z5/

A screenshot of Stenhammar Castle from the video of the king's speech
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The king spoke at the library, here is a photo of the king at the library of Stenhammar Castle, from the book ”I den kungliga kulissen: En hovreporters betraktelser”.
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Prins Wilhelm at the library
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LadyFinn said:
A screenshot of Stenhammar Castle from the video of the king's speech
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The king spoke at the library, here is a photo of the king at the library of Stenhammar Castle, from the book ”I den kungliga kulissen: En hovreporters betraktelser”.
Image Upper.com - Free Image Hosting - View Image

Prins Wilhelm at the library
Image Upper.com - Free Image Hosting - View Image
Click to expand...




It is nice to see lesser-known royal residences in good use.
 
 
Photos of Stenhammar Castle, taken by Holger Ellgaard on 6th April.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Stenhammar,_april_2020.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Stenhammar,_april_2020a.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Stenhammar,_april_2020b.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Stenhammar,_april_2020h.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Stenhammar,_april_2020c.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Stenhammar,_april_2020d.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Stenhammar,_april_2020e.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Stenhammar,_april_2020f.jpg

Air photos taken in 2013 by Erik Jacobsson
https://images.staticjw.com/sor/1484/dsc-0034r.jpg
https://images.staticjw.com/sor/3059/dsc-0032r.jpg

The website of Stenhammars Godsförvaltning (The Stenhammar Estate Management) has been updated a little
Stenhammar is located in the heart of Södermanland, just outside Flen, a stone's throw from the railroad between Stockholm and Katrineholm.
Following a donation, the Swedish state became the owner of the property. It has been leased since 1965 by HM King Carl XVI Gustaf. Read more in the historical overview.
Today, modern farming and forestry is conducted on the property. Like many large goods, there is also a large building stock (about 150 buildings) that requires extensive maintenance.
The property covers a total of 2200 hectares of land. Of this, 1400 hectares are productive forest land, 450 hectares of land and pasture. The remaining area is impediment and other land. Impediment is called forest land with low production capacity, such as bare cliffs, mosses and wetlands.
Stenhammars Godsförvaltning — ett modernt jord- och skogsbruk i hjärtat av Södermanland
 
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Tatiana Maria said:
If the queen or king on the throne at the time Alexander dies wishes for their daughter or granddaughter to take over Stenhammar, would the members of the National Property Board truly decide in the 22nd century on the interpretation that the estate is eligible to be leased to men only?
Click to expand...

I am not sure I understand this comment; as the ducal titles in Sweden are not hereditary; so, Alexander's son won't be duke of Södermanland and therefore, will not have a claim to the castle, if I am not mistaken. I see little reason for the royal family to not have to caste revert back to the main line.
 
Somebody said:
I am not sure I understand this comment; as the ducal titles in Sweden are not hereditary; so, Alexander's son won't be duke of Södermanland and therefore, will not have a claim to the castle, if I am not mistaken. I see little reason for the royal family to not have to caste revert back to the main line.
Click to expand...

My comment quoted in your post was about a daughter or granddaughter, so for instance: Supposing, after Prince Carl Philip's death (or possibly Prince Alexander's death, if an interpretation of the testament can still be found that would make him eligible to claim the estate), Queen Estelle would like her daughter (not her son) to lease Stenhammar estate. Would the National Property Board truly insist that no, only a man is eligible to lease it?
 
Tatiana Maria said:
Thank you to JR76 for the answers.



Please correct me if the following interpretation is not valid under the Swedish wording, but I assumed it implied that the prince must be qualified as a potential king but is not required to concretely succeed to the throne. (I have seen comparable wording used in other languages.) For instance, Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland had a potential right of succession but, given that he was a second son and his older brother produced sons, there was no expectation that the potential right would ever be realized. Put another way: He did not have the right to inherit the throne while his brother was living, but he would potentially have the right if his brother and his brother's male heirs passed away.

As you said, the difficulty for Prince Alexander would be finding grounds to declare him a "prince of the ruling royal house" when he is not a member of the Royal House. An argument could be put forward that he is a prince and he is descended from the Royal House, but applying that argument would hypothetically allow Prince Nikolai of Denmark to lease Stenhammar, as he is a prince and a descendant of Princess Ingrid of Sweden, so it was surely not what was meant by Mr. von Kraemer. I would be very interested to know if the King's attorney has drawn up plans to deal with this difficulty.
Click to expand...

I agree with most of your interpretation. But if I'm not mistaken, prince Alexander is still in line to the throne, so in that respect not comparable to prince Nikolai who is not in line to the throne nor a Swedish citizen.

I'd say he still meets the requirements
A. Swedish citizen
B. who is a Prince of the ruling Royal House
C. who has an potential right of inheritance to the throne

The only one that people might argue about is B; but I'd say he is still a prince and member of the reining royal family - but that could of course be challenged - however, it seems the Swedish RF makes up the interpretation of the rules as they go, so if they want him to have the castle, he surely will. Him being made a 'Duke of Södermanland'; a designation that has not been retracted, strengthening his case.
 
Tatiana Maria said:
My comment quoted in your post was about a daughter or granddaughter, so for instance: Supposing, after Prince Carl Philip's death (or possibly Prince Alexander's death, if an interpretation of the testament can still be found that would make him eligible to claim the estate), Queen Estelle would like her daughter (not her son) to lease Stenhammar estate. Would the National Property Board truly insist that no, only a man is eligible to lease it?
Click to expand...
I see. That's a good question. It would be especially interesting if a princess of Sweden was created 'Duchess of Södermanland' compared to a prince that's duke to another landskap.
 
Somebody said:
I agree with most of your interpretation. But if I'm not mistaken, prince Alexander is still in line to the throne, so in that respect not comparable to prince Nikolai who is not in line to the throne nor a Swedish citizen.

I'd say he still meets the requirements
A. Swedish citizen
B. who is a Prince of the ruling Royal House
C. who has an potential right of inheritance to the throne

The only one that people might argue about is B; but I'd say he is still a prince and member of the reining royal family - but that could of course be challenged - however, it seems the Swedish RF makes up the interpretation of the rules as they go, so if they want him to have the castle, he surely will. Him being made a 'Duke of Södermanland'; a designation that has not been retracted, strengthening his case.
Click to expand...

As a legal matter, I'm not sure it would be feasible to cite Prince Nikolai's citizenship since the testament does not mention Swedish citizenship as a requirement. Of course, at the time it was drafted, it would have been unthinkable for a Swedish royal prince not to be a Swedish citizen. But yes, that is a very good point that Prince Nikolai's lack of succession rights excludes him, regardless.

As a point of principle, I think the primary issue with the royals (hypothetically) interpreting "ruling royal house" as "Royal Family" instead of "Royal House" would be the inconsistency with their present interpretation of the Constitution, in which they seem to deploy the argument that "Royal House" is defined as members of the Royal House to the exclusion of all other members of the Royal Family (which conveniently frees Princess Madeleine's children to be raised abroad without losing their place in line to the throne).

While I don't personally agree with their interpretation, it would be a clear double standard if they would argue the opposite regarding Mr. von Kraemer's testament. (That being said, I would not be surprised if they once more changed their interpretation of the Constitution if it ever becomes problematic for Princess Madeleine's children to have rights of succession...)

But indeed, the government has refrained from challenging the king's interpretation of laws relating to the royal family, so I agree you are likely correct that whatever the monarch (most likely Victoria or Estelle) wishes to happen will happen.
 
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Tatiana Maria said:
But indeed, the government has refrained from challenging the king's interpretation of laws relating to the royal family, so I agree you are likely correct that whatever the monarch (most likely Victoria or Estelle) wishes to happen will happen.
Click to expand...
Don't forget that the public inquiry of, among other things, the royal finances and who is expected to carry out official duties, is still ongoing. If the government or parliament wants to challenge the royal family's interpretation they'll probably wait until the inquiry is completed.
 
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I have a question. I know someone here has an answer. Ha! I believe LadyFinn posted an interesting article on one of these threads about the royal residences. In the article it listed private residences of the Swedish royal family. Some properties weren’t listed at all as was pointed out in the post. So I don’t know how correct this list is. But one thing I noticed was that Stenhammer castle was listed as a private property of the king and queen. Is this correct? I thought the king leased it. Was it just a mistake? Anyone know?
 
temhbobo said:
I have a question. I know someone here has an answer. Ha! I believe LadyFinn posted an interesting article on one of these threads about the royal residences. In the article it listed private residences of the Swedish royal family. Some properties weren’t listed at all as was pointed out in the post. So I don’t know how correct this list is. But one thing I noticed was that Stenhammer castle was listed as a private property of the king and queen. Is this correct? I thought the king leased it. Was it just a mistake? Anyone know?
Click to expand...
The King has the lease on the Stenhammar estate for life since 1965.
 
JR76 said:
The King has the lease on the Stenhammar estate for life since 1965.
Click to expand...

Hi! Thanks for Your reply. I thought he leased it too. But if you are leasing something, you don’t really own it. Like the king can’t leave it to who he wants like it is his property right? It was listed in that article as private property meaning to me he owned it outright. What am I missing? I was just surprised to see it under private property.
 
Tatiana Maria said:
As a legal matter, I'm not sure it would be feasible to cite Prince Nikolai's citizenship since the testament does not mention Swedish citizenship as a requirement. Of course, at the time it was drafted, it would have been unthinkable for a Swedish royal prince not to be a Swedish citizen. But yes, that is a very good point that Prince Nikolai's lack of succession rights excludes him, regardless.
Click to expand...

I apologize, the testament does clearly state that the prince must be a Swedish subject (svensk undersåte; I am not sure if that has exactly the same meaning as citizen but it indicates that the lease is intended for Swedes exclusively).
 
"The World's Music at Stenhammar" was organized for the first time on September 1, 2019 and was a great success, despite the final downpour. In 2020, the event was canceled due to the pandemic.

The World's Music at Stenhammar is back! However, a slightly different due to prevailing restrictions.
Sunday 12 September 2021, we will meet again in the private castle park at Stenhammar and enjoy music from different corners of the world.
Feel free to bring a picnic basket!
The program for World Music at Stenhammar 2021:
13.00 The entrance opens (entrance from two directions in the park so we can keep our distance)
14.00 The King's opening speech
14.10 Ann-Charlotte Munter, chair of the Executive Committee, speaks
14.25 Flen Världsorkester
15.25 Slowgold (solo)
16.15 Flens Kulturskola
16.50 Closing & thanks
"The World's Music at Stenhammar" is presented by Stenhammar's Estate Administration, Lida Gård and the municipality of Flen.
Musik & Mat — Stenhammars Godsförvaltning
Frågor & svar — Stenhammars Godsförvaltning
 
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