Queens and Kings, Castles and Things An exciting journey through Sweden’s royal houses
Gitten Skiöld Magnus Bard
Warmest thanks! for their generous contribution to the making of Queens and Kings, Castles and Things The Ragnar Söderberg Foundation (Ragnar Söderbergs stiftelse) Kungaslott och Kungahus The Royal Patriotic Society (Kungliga Patriotiska Sällskapet) The Royal Armoury Foundation (Livrustkammarstiftelserna) The Ragnar Söderberg Foundation (Ragnar Söderbergs stiftelse) The King Gustaf VI Adolf Fund for Swedish Culture (Stiftelsen Konung Gustaf VI Adolfs fond för svensk kultur)
for their invaluable assistance with the illustrations The Royal Collections with the Bernadotte Library Tiina Björkbacka The Royal Armoury Fredrik Andersson, Sara Dixon Nationalmuseum, Stockholm Anna Berglund for their impressive special photography Per-Erik Adamsson, Samuel Sjöberg, Anders Widlund
Queens and Kings, Castles and Things is an edited, somewhat shorter English language version of the Swedish book Kungaslott och Kungahus.
for their expert guidance, advice, valuable comments and observations concerning Kungaslott och Kungahus The Royal Court of Sweden Christian Buchberger, Helena Chreisti, Timmy Cox, Andreas Heymowski, Suzanne Möller, Antoinette Ramsay Herthelius, Jim Sjöberg The Royal Armoury Anna Blom Allalouf, Ann Grönhammar, Sofia Nestor, Per Sandin Anne Banér, PhD, Ami and Göran Brywe, teachers, Eva-Lena Karlsson, Sonja Svensson, senior lecturer, and Johanna Widlund Queens and Kings, Castles and Things – An exciting journey through Sweden’s royal history Author, project coordinator, picture editor, text editor English version Gitten Skiöld Illustrations and book cover Magnus Bard Translation Stephen Croall, Stuart Sheild Language consultants, English Maria De Liseo, Nina Jaffe Text editor Swedish version Maija Zeile Westrup Layout and design Suzane Crépault, Tina Selander Design consultant Åsa Carlström © The author and illustrator, Jure Förlag AB, Stockholm 2013 ISBN 978-91-7223-525-0 Printed by Göteborgstryckeriet, Mölndal 2013 Reproduction of the contents of this book, in whole or in part, without written permission of Jure Förlag AB, is prohibited under the Copyright in Literary and Artistic Works Act (1960:729). The prohibition applies to any form of reproduction, through printing, duplication, photocopying, recording, etc.
Publisher’s address: Jure Förlag AB Östermalmsgatan 84 S-114 50 Stockholm Sweden Book orders: Jure bokhandel Artillerigatan 67 S-114 45 Stockholm Sweden Tel: +46 (0)8-662 00 80, fax: +46 (0)8-662 00 86 order@jure.se www.jure.se
Queens and Kings, Castles and Things An exciting journey through Sweden’s royal houses Gitten Skiöld Magnus Bard
Contents TRE KRONOR CASTLE
4
The tower on the island
6
Jarl Birger rules
10
The fighting goes on
12
Gustav Eriksson Vasa
18
Erik XIV, Johan III
26
Gripsholm
136
Drottningholm
148
THE CHINESE PAVILION
160
Gustav Iii’s pavilion, HAGA
166
Sigismund, Karl IX, Gustav II Adolf 36 Kristina 46 Karl X Gustav, Karl XI
56
Fire, Fire!
68
Karl XII
74
Ulrika Eleonora the Y, Fredrik I
78
Adolf Fredrik
82
THE ROYAL PALACE
86
Gustav III
92
Gustav IV Adolf Karl XIII, Karl XIV Johan, Oskar I
106 112
Karl XV, Oskar II, Gustaf V, Gustaf VI Adolf, Carl XVI Gustaf 120
List of words 178 Sources 178 Family trees 180
Welcome ... … to an exciting journey through Sweden’s royal history! In this book you will get to meet many royal children, queens and kings, castles and things. You will also explore amazing palaces and parks. Everything you read here really happened. These are all true stories. ROYAL CASTLES AND PALACES There are eleven royal castles and palaces in Sweden. We will tell you about Tre Kronor Castle, which burned down in a huge fire, was rebuilt and became the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Gripsholm Castle, Drottningholm Palace, where the King and Queen live today, the Chinese Pavilion, Gustav III’s Pavilion, and Haga Palace, which is the home of Crown Princess Victoria and her family. The royal castles and palaces are owned by the state, that is to say, by everyone together. The King has the right to use them, however, and this is why they are called ‘royal’. PRACTICAL MATTERS At the back of the book, you’ll find a list explaining some of the words. Inside the book, we’ve marked these words with an asterisk = *. There, you can also read about the sources that we used when writing the book, and find useful web addresses. Finally, there’s also a family tree showing how the kings and queens and their families were related to one another, and the order in which they reigned. This will make it easier to keep track of them.
Come inside and join us on the journey back in time!
TRE KRONOR CASTLE
The Royal Palace today.
imagine that you’re in Stockholm. You’re looking across at the Royal Palace in the Old Town. It looks just as it always does, big and square. High up on the roof, the Swedish flag flutters in the wind. Bicycles and cars jostle over the nearby bridges. Beneath them, the water rushes by. But, how strange! Everything around you starts to shake. The scene grows blurred. All of a sudden, time begins to spin rapidly backwards! Cars and asphalt melt away. Cobblestones spring up in the streets. Horses clatter past swiftly – backwards. Then they, too, are gone. Now, the palace roof is flying off! Walls fall away and windows and bricks career about in a frenzy. For a moment all is still. But see! A fire! Flames shoot up into the bright sky. Behind them you glimpse the walls, spires and towers of another castle. Three golden crowns glimmer atop the tallest tower. Suddenly, storey after storey crumbles and crashes down onto the ones below. The whole castle is shrinking. And where are the bridges and quays? They’ve all vanished. But the water is still there. It has risen and is now lapping against the bare lake shoreline. On a hill stands a single tower of grey stone. You’ve travelled back to the 12th century …. 4
5
“OUR GREATEST WISH IS TO BUILD” Thus writes Johan III in one of his letters. He’s very interested in architecture and brings in foreign building contractors and artists. He’s constantly building, rebuilding and renovating.
Churches torn down by his father, Gustav, rise once more and old fortresses in Sweden and Finland are modernised and made more comfortable. It’s all very magnificent – and hugely expensive.
The three golden crowns
Latrine
Johan III turned the old Tre Kronor fortress into a modern castle. All the outer walls were painted white. He was particularly proud of a room that he made his bath chamber. It held a large tub made of copper and tin, and had running
34
ater that was pumped up from the waters outside the castle, w through hollowed-out logs. The drain went into the moat. The arrow on the right shows a tall, narrow ‘box’ on the castle wall. This was a latrine.
THE ROYAL TREASURE HAS VANISHED! Unfortunately, Gustav Vasa’s Silver Chamber is now empty. Where has all the treasure gone? No-one knows, so Erik must have taken it. Johan questions Erik’s servants. They tell him nothing. Nor does Karin Månsdotter say where the treasure is, even when Johan promises her land and estates of her own. But, eventually, the head gardener says he has heard that Erik managed to hide 50,000 gold coins and large amounts of silver just before his brothers seized the castle. Someone else claims that the treasure is hidden at a spot where three trees grow – one that only has leaves, one that has borne fruit and one that has withered. That must be in Erik’s castle garden, thinks Johan, and orders it to be searched. The garden is dug over again and again. But nothing is found. The royal treasure has quite simply vanished.
Perhaps Erik paid all his expenses with it? Or maybe it still lies buried somewhere in the grounds of the Stockholm Royal Palace…
35
Kristina is stubborn. She doesn’t get on very well with her mother, who to make matters worse doesn’t like being in Sweden now that Gustav Adolf is dead. This makes the Royal Council uneasy. Kristina is queen, after all, so she must like her country. In their opinion, it would be better if she didn’t have to be with her mother. So they ask Kristina’s aunt to come to the castle and look after her instead. Whether her mother likes it or not. COUSIN KARL GUSTAV Kristina’s aunt moves in. Her own son, Karl Gustav, also lives in the castle. He is a few years older than Kristina and they often play together. Sometimes when Karl Gustav is away, he and Kristina write letters to each other in secret code. They’re planning to marry when they’re older. But that never happens. By the time Kristina has come of age and taken control of the country, she has changed her mind. She doesn’t want Karl Gustav as a husband, although he asks her time and again. In fact, she doesn’t want to get married at all! Karl Gustav is made a hereditary prince instead. He is the one who will inherit the crown after Kristina. This was not what Karl Gustav had been hoping for. He’s disappointed.
48
Kristina’s cousin, Karl Gustav, became a skilful military leader. He was fairly short and grew very fat. Twice a day he ate 24 dishes and also drank large amounts of wine and beer. Karl Gustav himself felt that the biggest problem was that he smoked too much. The Royal Armoury contains some of his clothing, and this is how we know he measured 134 cm around the waist when he was 30 years old.
POORHOUSE CHILDREN AT THE CASTLE On 24 March 1647, Kristina gets a big surprise. She is just leaving a meeting in the Hall of State but suddenly comes to an abrupt halt. There on the floor in front of her, eleven poor girls and six boys have fallen to their knees. What do they want?
They’ve come from the poorhouse to tell the queen that they haven’t been paid for their work this year. This means they’ve been unable to pay for their food, and soon they’ll have no clothes to wear, either! Nothing like this has ever happened at Tre Kronor Castle before. The children are brought before the town council, and the secretary notes the following:
First, each child was asked if anyone had talked them into calling on Her Majesty. All answered: No. The children have been fed for two months by people in the neighbourhood without paying, and now those who have given them food wish to take their clothes as payment. Therefore they were obliged to turn to Her Royal Majesty to escape this dire predicament.
49
One summer day, Karl wrote a note to his teacher. It was on 20 August, 1664, and Karl was eight. He wrote: “Preceptor, Sir, today is Saturday and I therefore grant you leave in both morning and afternoon. Farewell. Carolus� (Preceptor means teacher and Carolus is Latin for Karl.) This is Karl at the age of six. The crown on the table shows that he is king. But Karl was not yet able to rule, of course. A regency* council governed instead. All noble gentlemen were expected to wear swords. Karl was given this one by Kristina, as a Christmas present when he was five. It is 45 cm long. The hilt is of real gold. Today, the sword can be seen at the Royal Armoury in Stockholm.
58
TROUBLE AT ‘SCHOOL’ A lot of people want to have a say in Karl’s education. After all, when he grows up he’ll reign over Sweden, which is now larger and more powerful than ever. So it’s important that he should learn a lot about history, geography, Christianity and other subjects. He gets his own tutor at the royal castle. But he still doesn’t make much progress. Karls finds writing and reading a struggle. When he reads, he often begins in the middle or at the end of a word. And when he writes, he gets the letters mixed up. He also tires quickly and starts thinking about other things. However, he’s very good at remembering what people tell him. (Karl had dyslexia, but this problem was unknown in the 17th century.) Since Karl is sickly as a child, his mother makes sure he gets plenty of outdoor exercise. This makes him healthier and stronger, and he becomes remarkably good at fencing and riding. Little King Karl had his own servants who looked after him round the clock. One of them slept in the same room as him. Early each morning, Karl crept into his chamberlain’s bed to cuddle up.
59
1697
FIRE, FIRE!
it’s almost two o’clock on the afternoon of Friday, 7 May 1697. Hedvig Eleonora’s ladies-in-waiting have just finished their lunch and the servants are carrying the plates into the kitchen. Mattis Hansson is hanging about inside, as he often does. He’s hoping for a chance to taste the food. Actually, he shouldn’t be there at all. He’s a fire guard and is supposed to be up in the castle attic keeping watch.
68
Suddenly, thick smoke billows past the windows! Mattis springs into action, rushing out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the attic floor above the Hall of State. That’s where he should have been – and that’s where the fire is! The attic contains fire pumps and huge vats of rainwater. But they can’t be reached because the flames are already too fierce. Not even the fire master himself can get to them. He tries, but he, too, is forced to turn back, covered in sweat, his face black with soot. The fire spreads rapidly. Soon the whole castle is burning. It’s so hot that the copper roofing begins to melt. The princesses’ rooms are in flames and the whole of the old Tre Kronor stone tower is starting to collapse. The golden spire with the three crowns falls off. And with a mighty roar, eight cannon and a giant church bell come crashing down from the top floor of the tower to the cellar far below, where they land on Hedvig Eleonora’s stock of precious wines. EVERYONE JOINS IN The ladies-in-waiting tell Hedvig Eleonora what is happening. She is so shocked that four footmen have to help her down the stairs and through the stable passageway to Helgeandsholmen. The princesses and Prince Karl go with her. Normally, several hundred people work at the castle, including maids, stable boys, cooks, table-layers, firewoodcarriers, craftsmen, courtiers, coachmen, secretaries and officials. Some live in the castle with their families.
Now, both their workplace and their homes are rapidly going up in flames. Everywhere, people are fighting the fire. They carry out clothing, furniture, paintings and other articles for as long as they can. Armfuls of important documents and fragile, easily damaged books are thrown down into the stony courtyard from the castle windows. Cartload after cartload of water from other parts of town pass through the castle gateway. But they make little difference. In just over an hour, all the old parts of the castle have burnt down. The new northern wing is slightly less damaged. WHOSE FAULT IS IT? That evening, Prince Karl rides out to Karlberg to sleep. His sisters and his grandmother, Hedvig Eleonora, spend the night in one of the palaces on Riddarholmen. At eight o’clock the next morning, they are joined by the Government, the Royal Council and Prince Karl. Hedvig Eleonora begins with a short speech. She says it was lucky the fire occurred in the daytime. Had it happened at night, no-one would have escaped. But in the end, everyone had managed, at great peril, to survive. Hedvig Eleonora also wants a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire. “Have all the fire guards performed their duties properly?” she asks.
69
In the summer of 1791, Gustav travels to a German town close to the border with France. He’s going to try to help his friends MarieAntoinette and Louis XVI and their children to escape. He also wants to lead an army to crush the French revolution. But his plans misfire and a couple of months later he’s back in Stockholm again. Surprisingly, Gustav did not choose his brother Karl to rule in his place. Instead, he left his son Gustav Adolf in charge of the government, although he’s only 12 years old. MURDER AT THE OPERA There are not many people at Gustav’s dinner table nowadays. The court mainly consists of the nobility, and most of them don’t want to be around him any more. So he mostly lives with a few friends in a small pavilion out at Haga. From there he can keep watch on how the fine new palace is taking shape. On Friday 16 March, 1792, Gustav travels from Haga to attend a masked ball at the new opera house. He eats a late dinner with his friends in one of the beautiful rooms there.
102
Just before midnight, a footman enters and gives him a letter. Gustav reads through it twice. Written in pencil, it says that both in Stockholm and beyond there are people who want to harm him. But no-one has signed the letter. Gustav folds it up and puts it in his pocket. Then he stands for a while gazing down at the stage before putting on a three-cornered hat, a white mask and a black cloak. Arm in arm with one of his friends, he goes down to join the dancing guests. Anyone can see that it’s the king. Suddenly a shot rings out! Gustav staggers. “Aah, I’m wounded!” he says in French. A close circle of men are gathered around him, all wearing similar masks, round hats and black cloaks. Someone moves them away. On the floor lie two pistols and a sharpened knife.
The clothes Gustav wore to the masked ball can be seen at the Royal Armoury.
103
Princess Sofia Albertina, aged about 15, with a theatre mask. For some reason, the portrait was never finished, as you can tell by the way the hands and the dress are painted.
154
THE FANTASTIC THEATRE When Adolf Fredrik’s and Lovisa Ulrika’s children are growing up, the family spend much of their summers at Drottningholm. Crown Prince Gustav and his brothers and sister like nothing better than to act in plays and dance. They rehearse for hours on end before giving performances before the assembled court. The park contains a small outdoor stage with hedges as the wings, as well as a proper theatre where French actors perform. For Gustav’s wedding in 1766, his parents order a new theatre to be built, since the old one had then burned down. The new one is larger and equipped with some wonderful machinery that changes scenes with the aid of strong ropes and wooden wheels. For performances, 35 people are needed to operate everything by hand. There are trapdoors in the stage floor through which the actors appear and disappear. They can also sit in a cloud wagon that is wound down from the ceiling. Up in the attic is a rumbling thunder machine and behind the beautifully painted scenery is a wind drum with howling cloth. Waves that can roll across the stage are also waiting in the wings. Rocks glide to and fro along grooves in the floor, and thin silver strips are running water. On the ground floor of the theatre are elegant rooms for the royal family and their guests. A number of the actors also live in the building with their families. The stage mechanic and his fellow-workers live in the basement.
Drottningholm Palace Theatre is still in use, and opera performances are staged there every summer, with all the musicians dressed in 18th century costumes.
155
Queens and kings, castles and things Come with us on an exciting journey through Sweden’s royal history! Meet fantastic, true stories and vivid images, paintings and photos of the real people involved, their possessions and the amazing places they lived in. A lively book for children and adults alike.
Jure fĂśrlag www.jure.se
9 789172 235250
ISBN: 978-91-7223-525-0