First King Carl Gustaf of Sweden (76) vented his heart in a TV interview a few days ago and explained that he still doesn’t think the retrospective change in the Swedish throne in 1980 is okay.
Now the newspaper “Expressen” reports that his son Prince Carl Philip (43) – who should have been heir to the throne instead of his sister Princess Victoria (45) and was even a few months after his birth in 1979 – not only the throne, but also lost a bunch of money.
Napoleon’s will
It is an ancient will that Carl Philip would have brought in an estimated five million euros. Emperor Napoleon himself drew up this will. In 1813 he bequeathed the Duchy of Galliera in present-day Italy to Princess Josephine von Leuchtenberg, his stepson’s daughter. She later married the Swedish Crown Prince, who later became King of Sweden under the name of King Oscar I.
As the granddaughter of Empress Joséphine of France (Napoleon’s wife), Josephine not only brought a lot of jewels – including the famous Leuchtenberg diadem – into the family, but also the duchy.
After years of negotiations, the Swedish king sold the duchy to an Italian marquis. He got some money and a collection of paintings with 60 works from the 15th to 17th centuries. The funds were invested in the Galliera Foundation. The foundation is now worth around five million euros.
According to the will, the collection and endowment go to the heir to the throne, i.e. to the king’s first-born son.
When Princess Victoria became heir to the throne as a result of the change in the law in 1980, there was trouble with the foundation’s statutes. What should one do? They agreed peacefully. In 2012 the foundation statutes were changed with the consent of Carl Philip. In the future, the foundation will be passed on to the firstborn, regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl. Victoria will be able to dispose of it after her father’s death.
Princess Victoria (l.) Gets the Napoleon fortune instead of her younger brother Prince Carl Philip (r.). The royals are pictured with their respective spouses – Prince Daniel (2nd from left) and Princess Sofia (2nd from right) – at Stockholm Palace on October 11, 2022
The change in the constitution annoyed the king
In 1980, when Princess Victoria was already three years old as the firstborn and Carl Philip was seven months old as the heir to the throne, the Swedish constitution was changed. As of this year, the firstborn child will inherit the throne, not the firstborn son. The retrospective change in the law meant that Victoria, being a girl, received a much more modest christening than her little brother, who was hailed as the future king at birth.
Father and daughter cross-country skiing on January 9, 2023. The two get along well
At the time, King Carl Gustaf was angry about the change in the law and admitted this several times in the 1980s. Last week, in January 2023, he confirmed his anger in an interview with the public TV broadcaster SVT1: “In my opinion, it was wrong to change the Basic Law retrospectively. My son Carl Philip was already born, and suddenly everything changes.”
When the journalist asked if he felt that was unfair as a father, he replied: “Yes, as a father I thought it was terrible.” He then added that there was no argument between the siblings because of this. “Carl Philip took it well.”
The excitement in Sweden was so great after this interview that the court subsequently published a statement from the king: “It pains me deeply that the comments have been interpreted as not standing behind my daughter, Crown Princess Victoria. I would therefore like to make it clear that my statement is not a criticism of the succession to the female throne or of Crown Princess Victoria (…) The Crown Princess is my successor. (…) I am proud of her and her tireless commitment to Sweden.”
Carl Philip has never complained
On Monday, the court also published a photo showing the father and daughter skiing together.
Carl Philip also seems extremely content with his situation. He has never once complained about being placed retroactively on the reserve bench and spends a lot of time with wife Princess Sofia and their three sons. The prince also loves his hobby, racing, and has had his own design company for years.