The Royal House cancels the National Day celebrations

 

The Swedish royal family
The royal palace cancels parts of the celebration on June 6
There will be no "Open Castle" on National Day

Jenny Alexandersson

Updated 11.38 | Published 09.28

The Royal Palace cancels the popular "Open Castle" celebration on National Day.

They are also forced to close several of the royal castles to visitors this summer due to austerity measures.

- It is of course sad to have to close part of the castle, as we feel great pride in this unique cultural heritage and are happy to show it to visitors, says governor Staffan Larsson.

There will be no "Open Castle" on National Day this year. Usually, someone from the royal family welcomes visitors to the castle by opening the grand castle gates on the morning of National Day. Several thousand visitors usually have coffee, look at exhibitions and royal salons.

–The Royal Palace is open to visitors seven days a week, all year round. On National Day, June 6, the castle usually also opens the gates to the inner castle garden, unfortunately this does not happen this year because the Castle State has a savings requirement to balance the economy after, among other things, the pandemic and high inflation. Our goal is to have the inner castle garden open on National Day next year. But again, the public parts of the castle are open just like other days, says the court's information manager Margareta Thorgren.

 

Last year, the Crown Princess family opened the gates to the "Open Castle". This year the event is cancelled. Photo: TT

Must save millions

In December last year, Marshal Fredrik Wersäll announced that the royal family must save SEK 20-25 million because the costs have risen more than the appropriations.

This also means that several royal castles must be closed to visitors this summer.

- The castles that we closed this summer are Rosersberg Castle, Rosendal Castle, Gustav III's Pavilion and Strömsholm Castle. We have also closed H.M. The king's court stables, the castle church and Gustav III's antique museum, says governor Staffan Larsson.

He adds that the other destinations will be open as usual, with Stockholm Palace, Drottningholm Palace and Gripsholm Castle being the destinations that receive the most visitors. Work will be concentrated on the destinations that have the highest visitor numbers.

The savings depend on several factors. During the pandemic, tourists stopped visiting the royal palaces and then followed the Ukrainian war and increased inflation.

The stable closes to visitors this summer due to austerity. Photo: Claudio Bresciani/TT

The tourists stopped coming

The state grant that the Castle State receives each year does not cover all costs, the idea is that the royal destinations should bear part of the costs themselves. The visitors contribute with ticket revenue, purchase of souvenirs and more. But if the visitors don't show up, that income drops drastically.

- Now it seems that 2024, at least based on the first five months, will be a good year, as we see that many tourists again seem to want to visit Sweden. We can only hope that this trend continues and that no new international crises emerge, says Staffan Larsson.

His hope is to be able to return to normal opening hours already next year.

- At least that is the ambition we are currently working on, says Staffan Larsson.

Staffan Larsson is governor of the Royal Palace. Photo: Aftonbladet

 

FACTS

The appanage

The state grant to the court is also called appanage and consists of two parts. One goes to the Court State and the other to the Castle State.

•  The court's money goes, among other things, to salaries, representation, the purchase of necessary things that belong to the office, but also to certain housing and security as well as certain living expenses.
• The Castle State's money goes to the operation and maintenance of castles and related activities, but also art collections and other things that belong to our cultural heritage.

In 2024, the king will receive SEK 162.8 million.