The king saves and reuses

The royal house's plan: "It's in our DNA"

The increased appanage must not go to electricity bills  

 

Of:  

 

Jenny Alexandersson  

 

Published: Today 09.20  

 

Updated: Today 12.52  

 

Crisis winter  

 

The king gets 18.7 million extra in appanage next year.  

 

But the money does not go to increased costs in the wake of the crisis.  

 

Saving and reusing is the only solution - a solution that has been used for centuries. 

 

- It is in our DNA throughout our organization, says Governor Staffan Larsson.  

 

We duck under beams and low stairs when we step down from the attic. Castle bailiff Erik Kampmann and governor Staffan Larsson have shown us the solar cells on the roof. One of several ways to keep electricity costs down.  

 

It smells like an old library. We move along the stone walls facing the inner castle courtyard. It's like being in another world. An ingenious system of narrow corridors and rooms behind the large pompous halls.  

 

Erik Kampmann opens an inconspicuous door in a flash and suddenly we are in the middle of the royal halls. The council hall, Karl XI's gallery and the White Sea where the royal family often receives guests.  

Erik Kampmann is a bailiff at the Royal Palace. He tells us that it takes about a year to restore a royal hall. A certain type of rubber is used to erase soot and dirt from the walls. Photo: Andreas Bardell  

 

The work to restore the royal halls of the castle is ongoing. Photo: Andreas Bardell

 

"It takes forever"  

 

A couple of the halls have recently undergone renovations, restorers have used special rubber to erase soot and dirt from the walls. Small squares of dirty wall have been saved so that you can see the big difference. 

 

- It takes forever, not a job for me, says one of the castle guides who hears us talking. She laughs out loud. 

 

Behind her stands a giant steel scaffolding on wheels where the restorer works. 

 

It can take over a year to clean a royal hall. Reusing, repairing, restoring and finding solutions to an aging building is everyday life for everyone who works at the castle.  The floor we walk on in one of the corridors is limestone tiles taken from another royal property. Nothing is thrown away. Everything is saved.  

 

Year after year – and used again when the need arises. 

 

- Each royal generation is its own historical legacy. What has been used becomes part of our shared cultural history. It is preserved so that in the future we will know what our generation of royalty has been up to. It is in our DNA throughout our organization, says Staffan Larsson.  

 

Staffan Larsson is governor and is head of the Governor's Office, which is responsible for the king's disposition rights to the royal castles with associated buildings, parks, gardens and forests. Photo: Andreas Bardell   

 

Lagging behind on the electric car front 

 

That work has been a matter of course for centuries. But since 2019, before the economic crisis hit, the governor's office has a written sustainability strategy and action plan. 

 

This has resulted in several measures.  

 

* Mostly only low-energy lamps are used. 

* 90 percent of the machines and tools in the parks are electric.  

* No pesticides are used in the parks either.  

* They have invested in robotic lawnmowers to avoid the carbon footprint and to get better care of the grass surface itself.  

* To save money, lawns have been allowed to grow again and become meadow land.  

 

- Not having to cut these surfaces saves an incredible amount of energy. It also means a lot for biological diversity. So it is completely in line with what my two bosses, ultimately the king, think is extremely important, says Staffan Larsson. 

 

According to Staffan Larsson, they are lagging behind on the electric car front. There are a few electric cars.  

 

- We need to invest more in charging posts and a good electricity supply and we are not quite there yet, says Larsson.  

 

Three generations of royalty: Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Estelle and King Carl XVI Gustaf. The royal castles must be preserved for all future generations. Photo: Thron Ullberg/King.   

 

The court states The money does not go towards electricity bills  

 

In 2023, the king will receive an extra 18.7 million in state funding. The proposed sum for the royal court and palace state is SEK 167.9 million. In 2022, the corresponding sum was SEK 149.1 million.  

 

When the government presented the budget, critical voices were raised, many assumed that the increase was about increased heating costs and electricity bills.

That's not true. 

 

Director of Information Margaretha Thorgren makes it clear that the money is earmarked for security-enhancing measures and the king's throne jubilee next year. Then the king celebrates 50 years on the throne by visiting all 21 counties in the country. 

 

- It is important to remember that this extra grant does not go towards the royal family's living expenses, she writes in a text message.  

 

Staff changed tasks  

 

Only 20 percent of the budget is fixed money for the governor's office, the rest must be contributed by the visitors in the form of ticket revenue, purchase of souvenirs and so on. 

 

This system makes it hard when the tourists fail.  

 

During the pandemic, the court lost a large part of the visitors to the royal castles.  

 

The state governor's office's solution was a general call among the employees to change tasks during the pandemic. In this way, 30 million could be saved, partly thanks to the fact that the court did not have to hire summer staff. 

 

- When there is a crisis, you feel solidarity. I myself was out cutting grass on Gripsholm. I had some colleagues who were up in the castle floor and took pictures of me. They sent me the picture and wrote "yes it looks good but you missed a spot over there", says Staffan Larsson. 

 

Queen Silvia in 1995 and Crown Princess Victoria in 2018 in the same dress from Nina Ricci. Both are keen to reuse their performance clothes and have a strategy around sustainability. Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT Janerik Henriksson/TT 

 

Victoria has a strategy  

 

The economic thinking and the sustainable strategy go from the manager level (the king) down to the employees. The cleaners have switched to using environmentally friendly and more affordable cleaning products.  

 

Several sources at the court say that the crown princess, just like Queen Silvia, has a strategy regarding her representational clothes. Dresses and shoes have to be reused and designer dresses are often mixed with cheaper garments. The clothes become another way of communicating sustainability.

 

As the royal castles are part of our cultural heritage, strict rules apply regarding what you can and cannot do with properties and rooms. The castles must be preserved for all future generations and most are open to the public. Photo: Andreas Bardell  

 

You choose the cheapest  

 

Finances around travel are always reviewed and you try to choose the cheapest option. For shorter journeys, it is better to choose the train before flying if possible. 

 

Sometimes the simplest solution is the best. We stop at a small window that faces the inner castle courtyard.  

 

- Here we have hung curtains that effectively shut out the sun and heat in the summer, and which act as insulation in the winter. It is more effective than you might think, says Erik Kampmann.