Summers in Europe are becoming increasingly hot due to climate change with several southern popular tourist destinations being hit by heat waves and forest fires. Coolcations in northern destinations are becoming increasingly popular. Maybe an idea for the planning of your next gay vacation? I went to Stockholm to refresh. I was mainly curious about what the Sweden’s capital has to offer to LGBTQIA+ tourists. The Scandinavian country has a gay-friendly reputation, taking a top 10 place in the 2026 Rainbow Map of ILGA Europe alongside the other Scandinavian countries. But is Stockholm really hot as gay destination? It was time to take the temperature in person!
Some gay guys like nothing more than calling themselves kings and queens. I have a few gay friends who are even into everything concerning the monarchy. I live in Belgium, a constitutional monarchy. Sweden is a monarchy too. There is no apparent gay link. Or is there? Maybe the real gay royals in Sweden are to be found on a film set rather than in an actual palace …
Three crowns
Since I was in Stockholm, I decided to visit the royal palace. I am talking about Kungliga slottet, the official residence and major workplace of the Swedish monarch. It’s located in the old town.
Since I know little about the royal family I took a guided tour. A young woman of both German and Swedish blood with an academic background in politics showed me around the palace.
The current royal palace is not the historical royal palace of Stockholm, my guide pointed out. At the same place stood Tre Kronor (‘Three Crowns’), a palace that burned down completely in the seventeenth century. In the eighteenth century the Swedes completed the construction of the current palace.
Nonetheless the Three Crowns remains a symbol of the Swedish monarchy. It is used in coats of arms and can be found in decorations inside and outside the royal palace.
Banquets and royal orders
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia are the current core members of the royal family with their daughter Victoria bound to take over as ruling queen if Gustaf were to pass away. They don’t actually live in Kungliga slottet. The Swedish king and queen live in Drottningholm Palace, situated on an island near the capital. They’ve moved there in 1981 and have used it as their private residence ever since.
But that doesn’t make Kungliga slottet less interesting. It remains the most important working place of the royal family.
For example the state apartments in the palace are used for organizing gala banquets during state visits. In turn the hall of state is being used for official state occasions like the fiftieth Jubilee of His Majesty’s reign in 2023 and the coming of age of Crown Princess Victoria in 1995.
The Hall of the Order of the Seraphim is dedicated to Sweden’s highest order.
The Order of the Seraphim can be attributed to foreign royalty and heads of state. Belgian’s current king was for example given the order when he was still a prince. When a person is awarded the order, a shield with their coat of arms as Knights of the Seraphim is painted.
It’s worth finding out if some of your compatriots have been given this honor by having a look at these coats of arms.
Enchanting
The palace is beautiful. You can admire eighteenth- and nineteenth-century ceiling paintings, tapestries and historical portraits by prominent European and Swedish court artists.
Karl XI’s Gallery, a late-baroque state gallery, is inspired by Versailles. It is a true gem with its expansive ceiling painting and ornate wall mirrors. In all honesty: Kungliga slottet is not as abundant as some other royal residences I have visited before. It doesn’t have the grandeur of the Versailles Palace or the deep-rooted history of the Tower of London but it’s quite enchanting in its own right.
As a matter of fact: the Swedish family doesn’t show off their wealth as much as other European royal families. A bit similar to the Dutch royal family they have tried to connect as much with the general public as they possibly can.
Popularity
Stockholm is pretty proud of its royal status. Many royal references can be found in the entire city in the form of street names, royal institutions and depictions of the Three Crowns.
The Swedish royal family is one of the oldest in Europe and it seems they are not going to disappear anytime soon. A 2016 survey held in three of the biggest cities of Sweden showed that 74% of the respondents want to keep the royal family. Also more recent polls show that a vast majority of the Swedish respondents approves of the royal family.
A sticking point is however the aging king. Studies show that Swedes are longing for Victoria to take over the role of her 80 year old father, Carl Gustaf. But he seems keen on ruling until he dies.
Gay-friendly image
The Swedish royal family doesn’t have any openly gay or lesbians members. But it is known for its support of the LGBT community.
Especially Victoria has a gay-friendly image. In 2013 she surprised many people by appearing at the QX Gay Gala to present the award of ‘Gay, Bi, Trans of the Year’ to author Jonas Gardell. In 2020 Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel made a first-ever official royal visit to the national office of RFSL, the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Rights. In that same year Victoria delivered the opening speech of Stockholm Pride, an edition that took place online because of the covid crisis. In 2022 the Swedish Crown Princess again attended the QX Gay Gala to present awards, this time accompanied by Prince Carl Philip.
The royal family has clearly embraced the LGBT community as an indisputable part of Swedish society.
Young Royals
The best known gay link between Sweden and the royals is however fictional. The teen drama ‘Young Royals’ achieved an incredible international success in 2021. In this Swedish television series the fictional Prince Wilhelm of Sweden, portrayed by Edvin Ryding, is being sent to the fictional elite boarding school Hillerska. There he falls in love with fellow student Simon Eriksson, played by Venezuelan-Swedish actor Omar Rudberg. This results in a lot of royal drama, enough to turn it into a series with three seasons.
The series has catapulted Edvin Ryding and Omar Rudberg into international fame with fans all over Europe and the US. I have seen the entire series myself and I am a fan too. It’s mostly the focus on intimacy rather than sex between the main characters Wilhelm and Simon that appealed to me. And to give it to you straight: yes, I find Omar Rudberg an absolute delight to watch!
Royal journey
So I went on a royal journey all the way to Kaggeholms gård which served as the main filming location of the fictional boarding school Hillerska.
This eighteenth century manor is situated in Ekerö, about 30 kilometers away from Stockholm’s city center. Still it feels so far away, as it is situated in a rural area and you have to take several busses to reach it.
Nonetheless I am glad I went. The whole place is pretty recognizable from the series.
Especially when you are standing in the driveway where the highly emotional last season’s final took place, you get a sense of belonging.
And I am obviously not the only person who was touched by the series. The bus shelter in front of the manor has become a sort of place of condolence for fans who regret the series has ended.
Conquering the king
The mega fans can still book a Young Royals tour that will take them inside the manor. The guide walks you through the different filming locations and tells you some history and background facts. My adoration of the series wasn’t so extreme to take this tour.
I have limited myself to walking around the manor. Nearby is a lake and a wood that’s worth visiting.
Right behind the manor you have Kaggeholms Strandbistro, a decent bistro where I had a nice beer and a shrimp salad.
Next to their terrace you have a cute reference to the royal character of this surrounding in the shape of a huge chessboard. Being a solo traveler I had no one to play with.
And Ryding and Rudberg didn’t stick around this place. So I decided to head back to Stockholm. Let’s face the facts: the real kings and queens who want to be conquered live in the big city!
Summers in Europe are becoming increasingly hot due to climate change with several southern popular tourist destinations being hit by heat waves and forest fires.…