söndag 29 oktober 2023

The royal price tag on the houses: Half a billion

Royally  

Carl XVI Gustaf  

The king's properties are worth billions  

Jenny Alexandersson  

Published 12.39  

The king has castles, villas and holiday homes valued at many billions.  

One of the castles is rented by the king from the state for 1,000 kroner per year. Another he inherited from his great-grandfather. But the king also has some unexpected houses in his possession - including an inconspicuous fishing cabin in Forsavan.  

Fastighetsnytt has mapped all the king's properties. 

In addition to owning castles and villas privately, the king also has so-called disposition rights to extremely exclusive castles and apartments. Those properties are also included in the newspaper Fastighetsnytt's large survey - even though they are not owned by the king.  

The value of the king's holdings is a staggering 74.8 billion kroner according to Fastighetsnytt - and then the newspaper made a low estimate and did not count priceless buildings such as the Royal Palace and Drottningholm Palace.

The mapping includes all land and all properties that are in some way connected to the king - either as private property or via the right of disposition.  

It is about royal castles, about apartments on Djurgården in Stockholm and on Strandvägen and much more. 

Kungen utanför favoritslottet Stenhammar slott. Fastigheten hyr kungen av staten för 1000 kronor per år.

The king outside the favorite castle Stenhammar castle. The property is rented to the king by the state for 1,000 kroner per year. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT 

The King's private properties  

Valued at SEK 517 million 

* Solliden Castle - the king inherited the castle from his great-grandfather Gustaf V. The castle was built as a summer residence for Sweden's future Queen Victoria and completed in 1906. The castle is pretty much priceless because it is so unique and has such an exciting royal history. At the entrance you enter a large parade hall with wooden panels. Inside the hall is the dining room, a living room called the White Salon and a small tea room. On the ground floor is the kitchen and on the upper floor there are bedrooms and several guest rooms. On the attic floor there are staff quarters and a laundry room.  

* Villa Mirage  – The large stone villa on the Riviera was Prince Bertil and Lilian's favorite place. Especially during the years that the prince and Lilian lived in obscurity and could not marry. The 300 square meter house is a bit worn after all the years, but it has a terrace facing the sea and its own small private beach. The king bought the house next door a while ago and has created a courtyard. The road outside the house is much busier than in Prince Bertil's time. The house is valued at around SEK 50 million according to Fastighetsnytt.  

* The king's sports cabin in Storlien - the house is 105 square meters in size and not particularly luxurious from the outside. It was originally a wedding present to the king's parents from the Swedish Ski Promotion. The king bought the land from the high mountain hotel for SEK 1 million 10 years ago.  

* The king's fishing cabin in Forsavan – The cabin has a kitchen, a living room and a couple of bedrooms and is quite simple by royal standards. According to old drawings, the house is built of planks with board lining. The building material had to be transported four miles through the wasteland. A couple of years ago, the house was broken into and the thieves stole fishing rods worth SEK 40,000 and took the opportunity to drink up the king's whiskey. 

Solliden slott på Öland är kungafamiljens sommarslott. Kungen ärvde slottet efter sin farfars far Gustaf V.

Solliden Castle on Öland is the royal family's summer palace. The king inherited the castle from his great-grandfather Gustaf V. Photo: TT  

Cheap rent at the king's favorite castle  

One property that stands out in the survey is the king's favorite castle Stenhammar castle in Sörmland. It is completely owned by the state and the king rents it from the state for 1,000 kroner per year. 

It was court marshal Robert von Kraemer and his wife who in 1903 wrote in their will that they wanted the castle to be held by a "Swedish subject who was a prince of the reigning royal house" in perpetuity.  

One day Prince Carl Philip will take over the castle and after him Prince Alexander. Since Alexander's possible future children will not have princely titles, the castle will then pass on to someone else in the family with a princely title.  

Marknadsvärdet för Stenhammar slott ligger på runt 360 miljoner kronor enligt tidningen Fastighetsnytt om det skulle läggas ut till försäljning idag.

According to the newspaper Fastighetsnytt, the market value for Stenhammar Castle is around SEK 360 million if it were to be put up for sale today. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT  

At the palace, the royal couple live a slightly more relaxed life and they usually do not want as many staff there as at Drottningholm Palace.  

They like to cook their own food and the king likes to be out on the grounds and participate in the work and the care and the planning.  

According to Fastighetsnytt, the market value for Stenhammar Castle is around SEK 360 million if it were to be put up for sale today. But it is therefore money that would go to the state, not to the king.  

Kronprinsessan Victoria utanför sin bostad Haga slott. Kungafamiljen fick tillbaka dispositionsrätten över slottet i samband med att Victoria och Daniel förlovade sig 2009.

Crown Princess Victoria outside her residence Haga Castle. The royal family got back the right to dispose of the castle in connection with Victoria and Daniel getting engaged in 2009. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT 

Priceless treasures and antique furniture  

Another property that stands out in the newspaper's mapping is a 6,700 square meter warehouse building in Ekerö. The building is well hidden in a wooded area and was completed in 1998.  

The walls are bricked with hygroscopic properties so that what is stored inside is not affected by the climate or moisture. Nothing must be destroyed.  

Inside the walls are stored the royal castle's chattels, for example furniture, art, gold and antique furniture, but also much else. There are also precious gifts that the royal family received on state visits and on similar occasions.  

Over hundreds of years, the royal families have accumulated objects and jewels and the value of these things is impossible to determine - they are priceless.  

Prinsessan Estelle och prins Oscar med hunden Rio i en av salongerna på Haga slott.

Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar with the dog Rio in one of the salons at Haga Castle. Photo: Kate Gabor/Kingl.  

The court states FACTS  

Royal disposition right In 

1809, the Riksdag made an agreement with King Karl XIII, who was old and suffering from poor health. The king came to play a very important role in history. He was married to Charlotta and together with her he had a child who died very young, so the Riksdag therefore appointed a new crown prince - Christian August of Augustenburg.  

He was adopted by Karl, but died quickly in May 1810. At the Riksdag three months later, a Frenchman, Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, was chosen instead as the new crown prince. And with him the family saga of the Bernadotte family begins.  

The agreement made with Karl XIII was about the king gaining control over about 10 castles with surrounding buildings, properties and commercial premises in Stockholm's inner city, as well as full control over the Royal Djurgården.  

What is special about the agreement is that the king does not own the residences, but he has the right to use them for life. The king's children will get the same right and then their children in turn. It is like a perpetual right of possession.  

It is the king himself who decides who will be allowed to live in his residences.  

Prins Carl Philip hade tidigare en våning på Slottsbacken 2 som ligger mittemot Kungliga slottet.

Prince Carl Philip previously had a floor at Slottsbacken 2, which is opposite the Royal Palace. Photo: TT 

FACTS  

All the king's properties  

The properties where the king has the right of disposition are owned by the state, but the king has the right to use the properties.

  • The Royal Palace - royal right of disposition.
  • The Oxenstierna annex - royal right of disposal. 4 bostäder.
  • Royal Court Stables - royal right of disposition. 44 apartments and premises. 
  •  Slottsbacken - royal disposition right. 31 apartments.
  •  Riddarholm church - royal disposition right.
  •  Haga Castle - royal right of disposition. 1 castle and 18 houses.
  • Ulriksdal castle - royal disposition right - 1 castle and 30 villas.
  • KTH site - royal right of disposition. 1 plot next to the Royal Institute of Technology.
  • Drottningholm Palace - royal right of disposition.
  • Rosersberg Castle - royal disposition right.
  • Tullgarn Castle - royal disposition right. 1 castle and 7 residences.
  •  Strömsholm Castle - royal disposition right. 1 castle and 16 residences.
  •  Gripsholm Castle - royal disposition right. 1 castle and 10 residences, a school, a B&B, clubhouse, etc.
  • Djurgården - royal right of disposition. 1 castle and 120 homes and cultural centers, etc. 
  • Stenhammars castle – 1 castle, stables, barn, croft, schools, etc. The king rents the castle from the state for 1,000 kroner per year.
  •  Solliden castle (villa Solliden) – privately owned. 1 main building, guest villas and outbuildings.
  • Size - privately owned. 1 house.
  •  Villa Mirage - privately owned. 1 house and 1 gatehouse.
  • Forsavan - privately owned. 

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