General Swedish Royalty Facts, Discussion and Questions


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GrandDuchess

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Here I though people could post things that doesn't really fit in the other categories, like these things I'm gonna post now (and hopefully other things in the future).

If you have anything that will give an insight into the life in or around the Royal House and the Royal Court, please post!
 
I've already posted this once in another thread, but it doesn't really fit there. I hope it's okay. If someone else has something like this, please post it! I love to know about these things. :p

* The dinner table in Karl XI’s Gallery is 44,5 metres long

* The carpet in Karl XI’s gallery is kept together with a 47 metres long zipper

* Personnel have to cut 35 kilometres of hedges in the Drottningholm Palace Park twice a year

* The Royal Domestic Households have over 3 000 tables and 9 000 chairs in their collections

* The biggest royal collector of books was Oscar II

* There’s 9 000 pieces in the musical collections in the Bernadotte Library (for ex the handwritten original of Prince Gustav’s graduation song (studensången) and a piece handwritten by Rossini)

* The Bernadotte Library contains 100 000 books

* When the National Library moved out of the Royal Palace of Stockholm, they took 6 000 running metres of books with them

* There’s over 500 000 pictures in the Bernadotte Picture Collection

* The Information & Press Department received 7 055 press clips about the Royal House & the Royal Palaces from Swedish press

* One of the largest parties lately was The King’s 25th jubilee when 2 000 people was invited

* Living lions have lived at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. When the Swedish troops stormed Prague in the end of the 30-year-war in 1648, they took living lions as a trade. They lived in the “lion dungeon” in the southern part of the palace
 
This is a guide for those of you who haven’t (yet) attended a royal banquet/dinner (if this would be the case for someone :p ) in Sweden.

To attend a Royal Banquet or Dinner in Sweden:

If you’re lucky (and who aren’t?) – you can be invited to a Royal Banquet or Dinner. There are a few different times when The King invites to the Royal Palace of Stockholm:

· The Gala Dinners during State Visits
· After elections there’s a Dinner for the Members of Parliament
· Official Dinners in the winter half year
· The King’s Reception and Dinner for the Nobel Laureates
· The Nobel Banquet on December 11


Invitation:
The invitation arrives 5-8 weeks in advance. It contains a response card and a ticket for your car. The reply is sent as soon as possible.

Outfit:
In the invitations is says högtidsdräkt (translates to special occasion costume). It means suit and the dress that goes with that (I’m not sure of the English terms for these things).

Time:
If it says 19:30 on the invitation, you show up at 19:20 at the latest.

Transport:
Most guests arrives to the Court Yard by car, you can park there. Then you walk up to the stairs hall where you are received by staff. After that you walk up though the impressing stairs in the Eastern Valve.

The outdoor clothes, ladies room, and table placing:
The Bernadotte rooms are often used as cloakroom. There’s also a ladies room there. The chamber guards will assist with that. Then you get your placing card for the dinner; they are laid out on a tray – in the letter order.

To Vita Havet (the White Sea):
Then you walk on, up a stairs to Vita Havet. It’s a very nice room, with a nice and warm ambience. There are fireplaces there.

Greetings:
When you arrive to Vita Havet, you are taken care of by The Lady of The Court and The Marshall of The Court. Straightforward to the right is a big carpet, on that stands the most prominent guests for the evening (like the Prime Minister or The Marshall of The Realm). You greet them and then continue clockwise to the spot that you have been shown/assigned too.

The King and Queen (or the members of the Royal House, depends on the occasion) arrives:
At 19:30, The Master of Ceremonies beat his “stick” to the floor three times. The doors are opened and The King and Queen or the Royal House enters. If it’s a Gala Banquet for a State Visit or connected to it, the guests go forward to greet them. If it’s not, The King and Queen or the members of the Royal House go around and greet the guests on their own.

To the tables:
When The King and Queen (or the members of the Royal House) have greeted their guests, it’s time to go to the tables. The Jägaren (the Hunter) goes first (The King’s sort of personal “valet”) and then the Löparen (the Runner) follows (who is The Queen’s sort of personal “valet”). Then The King and Queen follow, and the gentlemen offer the ladies their arms and you all go to the tables.

The table settings:
It’s taken two days to do the table settings. The tablecloths are each eight metres long. At The King and Queen’s places stand two handmade velvet chairs made in 1754. The napkins for The King and Queen are made as crowns.

The menu and table envelops:
The menu is in French (of course). You have four glasses, one is for water. The cutlery is in silver. During the dinner/banquet, different sets from the palace are used. For example the Berlin set with Norwegian motifs or Queen Josefina’s set from the 1800th century. If you’re lucky, you get to see and use the Paris set with motifs of fruits and birds.

The meal courses:
There are five courses. The dinner takes about one and a half hour and there are no speeches, with the exception on during State Visits.

After the meal:
You walk back to Vita Havet. Coffee is served, and if wished other beverages too. An invisible line between the royals and the others are formed.

Speaking with The King and Queen:
The King prefers to stand, while The Queen often sits down while talking to guests. The King has always decided which guests he wishes to talk to (it can be ambassadors or other persons who can inform The King about interesting things). When The King or Queen asks, you are “fetched” by The King’s Aid-de-Camp or The Queen’s Lady-in-Waiting. You don’t begin to speak to The King on your own.

The end:
At 22:55, The Master of Ceremonies beats his “stick” to the floor three times. The King and Queen (or the members of the Royal House) says goodbye with a bow and leaves the room. At 23:00 the numbers for the cars are called up, and the occasion is over.

Thanks
After the dinner/banquet, you write a thank you note to The Marshall of The Court.
 
Wow, that´s interesting. The Scandinavion countries are so good in such parties. I wished that all monarchies had such thing.
 
Originally posted by Josefine@Jun 13th, 2004 - 9:35 am
good to know if i get a invetion in the future....
now everybody around here knows how to misbehave! :innocent: when he/she would be invited!
 
Originally posted by mixer2002de@Jun 13th, 2004 - 11:08 am

now everybody around here knows how to misbehave! :innocent: when he/she would be invited!
I will keep that in mind. :p
 
GrandDuchess said:
* The carpet in Karl XI’s gallery is kept together with a 47 metres long zipper

Intriguing topic, GrandDuchess. Thank you for your initiative.

Now .... what's with the "zipper" ?

- is it, like the first zipper made in the world ?
- the carpet has different motifs, so it can be used in different rooms at the same, at certain times of the year ?
- ?????? ... as you may well have noted, this "zipper" has caught my attention. ;)

GrandDuchess said:
This is a guide for those of you who haven’t (yet) attended a royal banquet/dinner (if this would be the case for someone ) in Sweden.

To attend a Royal Banquet or Dinner in Sweden:

If you’re lucky (and who aren’t?) – you can be invited to a Royal Banquet or Dinner. There are a few different times when The King invites to the Royal Palace

Have you been invited, GrandDuchess ? :flower:
 
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Originally posted by King Christian@Jun 14th, 2004 - 10:15 am
Now .... what's with the "zipper" ?

- is it, like the first zipper made in the world ?
- the carpet has different motifs, so it can be used in different rooms at the same, at certain times of the year ?
- ?????? ... as you may well have noted, this "zipper" has caught my attention. ;)
The zipper is just to hold together this really huge carpet, so that it lays firmly on the floor. Otherwise you never know if someone might tripp!
 
Originally posted by GrandDuchess@Jun 14th, 2004 - 8:48 am

The zipper is just to hold together this really huge carpet, so that it lays firmly on the floor. Otherwise you never know if someone might tripp!
O, no! That would be embarassing. :eek:
 
Dennism said:
O, no! That would be embarassing. :eek: [/b]
...but funny :p ...at least as long as the person doesn´t get hurt.
 
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Yes. I will admit that it could be funny. But the person would be quite embarassed though.
 
Originally posted by Lena@Jun 14th, 2004 - 8:08 am

...but funny :p ...at least as long as the person doesn´t get hurt.
Carl Phillip lieing in front of your feet. Thats something you would like
 
Originally posted by GrandDuchess@ Jun 13th, 2004 - 3:49 pm
Outfit:
In the invitations is says högtidsdräkt (translates to special occasion costume). It means suit and the dress that goes with that (I’m not sure of the English terms for these things).

No, wait a minute. If the invitations says »högtidsdräkt», it means, that men shall wear »frack» (which in English means tail coat), and that ladies shall wear »galaklänning» (which in English means robe), which is preferable, or »aftonklänning» (which in English means evening dress).
 
GrandDuchess said:
Madeleine Thérèse Amelie Josephine, Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland, was born on June 10, 1982 at Drottningholm Palace.
This may be a supid question... but are Hälsingland and Gästrikland the same place? and if not, why is Madeleine duchess of 2 places, and the others only one?
 
They are actually two places right next to each other. Both make up the whole of the modern-day province of Gävleborg. Hälsingland is the larger of the two. It should be noted that she was the first member to receive two provinces in her name.
 
at the time when victoria and carl philip was children madeleine noy yet born
there was 3 nannies that worked in shift
they had bedrooms near the children rooms


weekends there are not often staff precent
the royal family are on thieer own
Silvia was asked once in the book, silvia drottningen
who makes her bed
she said she does that who else
 
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The veil queen ingrid wears is not the same as queen Lovisa wears. queen ingrids is her mothers bridal veil.

Betina
 
betina said:
The veil queen ingrid wears is not the same as queen Lovisa wears. queen ingrids is her mothers bridal veil.

Betina

I do not follow you who said she wears the same veil
 
Josefine said:
is this a court dress

I think that I have heard somewhere that this is the traditional mourning dress of the swedish court, but i´m not sure.
 
In the mailbox of April's issue of the British monarchy website's monthly Royal Insight, there is a question about which was the first State Visit that Queen Elizabeth participated in as new monarch. The answer is Sweden, King Gustaf VI Adolf and Queen Louise paid a State visit to the United Kingdom in June 1954, and here is the full answer from Royal Insight - which gives us a glimpse of the past:

What was the first State Visit paid to The Queen (Elizabeth II) during her reign?

The first inbound State Visit during The Queen's reign was made by The King and Queen of Sweden in June 1954.

The King and Queen arrived at Westminster Pier in the Royal Barge.

On the first day of their State Visit, they laid a wreath on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey and visited Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother at Clarence House before the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace.

On the second day of their visit, they visited the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington and a Housing Estate at Butt's Farm in Twickenham.

On the third and final full day of their visit the Royal couple attended a reception of the Swedish Colony at the Hall attached to the Swedish Church in London, visited the British Museum and attended a performance at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

Two pictures that I found at Corbis from this State Visit:

1: Original caption: British and Swedish Royalty at Buckingham Palace. London, England: Queen Elizabeth II in a collarless coat of striking fabric and perky chapeau is shown as she and the Duke of Edinburgh posed at Buckingham Palace with their guests, King Gustav Adolf and Queen Louise of Sweden. June 29, 1954.

2: Original caption: City's Welcome to the Swedish Royal Couple. London, England: King Gustaf VI and Queen Louise of Sweden, attended by the Duke of Beaufort, Master of the Horse, and members of the suite drove from Buckingham Palace to the Guildhall today where they received an address of welcome from the Lord Mayor Sir Noel Bewster, and the Coporation of London. Riding in an open carriage, King Gustaf and Queen Louise pass down Fleet Street with their Sovereign's Escort of Household Cavalry, on the way to the Guildhall. June 30, 1954.
 

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Does anyone know if Madeleine speaks other languages besides Swedish and English?
 
I'd say there is a huge chance that she speaks German as well, since that is the Queens mother tongue (or one of her mother tounges), my guess is that the Queen spoke German to her children when they were growing up, so I would think Madeleine knows how to communicate with her cousins in Germany. And if Sweden is something like Norway, I'd guess German either is an elective or a mandatory language for at least some of the school years.

NJRedDevils said:
Does anyone know if Madeleine speaks other languages besides Swedish and English?
 
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Yes, they all speaks german. When they were little they had special home education in german to be able to speak with thier grandparents and other relatives.

I think they must have studied at least one more language in school, so perhaps they also speaks french?
In a documentary about Lundsberg (his high school) a th crew followed Carl Philip to one of his classes and it sounded like he spoke french...
I´m not sure thoug...
 
Thanks, cause i know the Queen speaks many languages..
 
Spanish

I heard a few years back that Prince Carl Philip took some Spansih lessons but it is not known for sure if he did.
 
General Swedish Royalty Discussion and Questions

Do the King and Queen ever actually wear their crowns?
 
delineate said:
Do the King and Queen ever actually wear their crowns?
No, they do not. The regalia are only present (on cushions) for the most important state affairs, but not worn like in the "good old days" (in some ways, I'd love to see them in full regalia again). I think Queen Elizabeth is the only (or one of few, not sure) monarch left in Europe who still wears the crown and regalia - and UK the only country where there are still traditional coronations.
 
GrandDuchess said:
No, they do not. The regalia are only present (on cushions) for the most important state affairs, but not worn like in the "good old days" (in some ways, I'd love to see them in full regalia again). I think Queen Elizabeth is the only (or one of few, not sure) monarch left in Europe who still wears the crown and regalia - and UK the only country where there are still traditional coronations.

Interesting, thanks for the info.
 
delineate said:
Do the King and Queen ever actually wear their crowns?
Queen Silvias has worn her "kröningsdiadem" at some occasions I think, but thats not really a crown.
I´m not sure she has a real crown? Is that only for the reigning King/Queen?
 
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