Days at Drottningholm

The royal domain of Drottningholm is a world heritage site of the highest order, with its well-preserved palace and extensive parkland, its unique theatre and charming Chinese Pavilion. But it is also, and always has been, a place that queens and kings, princesses and princes through the ages have called home. Princess Christina has loved Drottningholm for a very long time. She has spent Christmas there every year since her childhood and has often been a guest on official and unofficial occasions. Its history, settings and personalities, especially the strong women who have made their mark there, have always fascinated her. In this lavishly illustrated volume she uses individual dates in history as her starting point for bringing royal figures, rooms, details and memories to life. She writes of the young widow Hedvig Eleonora, who initiated the grand construction project, of dance performances in the historic theatre, of her grandfather Gustaf VI Adolf’s plans for the gardens and some unusual Christmas fare, of playing in the snow with her brother and sisters in the palace park, whispering games in the Chinese Pavilion, her wedding waltz with her husband Tord Magnuson in Karl X Gustav’s Gallery and much, much more. The text has been written in collaboration with journalist Carl Otto Werkelid, formerly arts editor of Svenska Dagbladet and cultural counsellor at the Swedish Embassy in London. The beautiful picture material is the work of one of Sweden’s best-known photographers, Ralf Turander.