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 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.