Royal Chapel at Drottningholm Palace in Ekerö Municipality, Sweden

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

The Royal Chapel on the left at Drottningholm Palace; Credit – Av Arild Vågen – Eget arbete, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26866832

Drottningholm Palace is located in Ekerö municipality on the island of Lovön in Lake Mälaren, west of Stockholm, Sweden. It is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. Drottningholm Palace was designed by Swedish architect Nicodemus Tessin the Elder. When he died, his son Nicodemus Tessin the Younger continued his work and completed the interior designs. Construction began in 1696 and was completed in 1728. The palace grounds include a beautiful baroque garden and other gardens featuring numerous sculptures and statues, along with several fountains and water features.

The Royal Chapel; Credit – Wikipedia

The Royal Chapel, which this writer has visited, is on the northern end of Drottningholm Palace with an entrance leading directly into the palace. It is a church of the Church of Sweden, an Evangelical Lutheran Church. The building is completely round with three slightly protruding middle sections and is covered by a copper dome with windows topped by a lantern. The main entrance is located on the west side facing the gardens. The construction of the Royal Chapel was completed in 1728 and during the following years, Swedish architect Carl Hårleman oversaw the interior decoration work. The altarpiece depicting The Last Supper was done by the court painter Georg Engelhard Schröder. In 1730, the church was consecrated and it has been in continuous use since then. The altar is facing north, opposite the royal pew. The pews in the side aisles in the east-west direction were installed from 1910 – 1912.

The christening of Princess Leonore, granddaughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf, in 2014

The local Lovön Parish conducts services in the chapel on the last weekend of each month. The Royal Chapel has been used over the years for regular worship and events by members of the Swedish royal family. Below is a list of some royal events that have occurred at the Royal Chapel at Drottningholm Palace.

  • August 29, 1744 – Wedding of the future King Adolf Frederik of Sweden and Princess Louisa Ulrika of Prussia
  • December 7, 1976 – Wedding of Prince Bertil of Sweden, Duke of Halland (son of King Gustav VI Adolf) and Lilian Craig
  • September 9, 2016 – Christening of Prince Alexander, Duke of Södermanland (son of Prince Carl Philip, grandson of King Carl XVI Gustaf)
  • December 1, 2017 – Christening of Prince Gabriel, Duke of Dalarna (son of Prince Carl Philip, grandson of King Carl XVI Gustaf)
  • June 8, 2014 – Christening of Princess Leonore, Duchess of Gotland (daughter of Princess Madeleine, granddaughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf)
  • October 11, 2015 – Christening of Prince Nicolas, Duke of Ångermanland (son of Princess Madeleine, granddaughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf)
  • June 8, 2018 – Christening of Princess Adrienne, Duchess of Blekinge )daughter of Princess Madeleine, granddaughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf)
  • August 14, 2021 – Christening of Prince Julian, Duke of Halland (son of Prince Carl Philip, grandson of King Carl XVI Gustaf)

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Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Drottningholm Palace – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drottningholm_Palace> [Accessed 2 December 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2019. Swedish Royal Christenings. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/swedish-royal-christenings/> [Accessed 2 December 2021].
  • Kungligaslotten.se. 2021. Gift dig i Drottningholms slottskyrka. [online] Available at: <https://www.kungligaslotten.se/vara-besoksmal/drottningholms-slott/drottningholms-slottskyrka/gift-dig-i-drottningholms-slottskyrka.html> [Accessed 2 December 2021].
  • Kungligaslotten.se. 2021. The Royal Chapel at Drottningholm. [online] Available at: <https://www.kungligaslotten.se/english/royal-palaces-and-sites/drottningholm-palace/the-royal-chapel-drottningholm.html> [Accessed 2 December 2021].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. 2021. Drottningholms slott – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drottningholms_slott> [Accessed 2 December 2021].
  • https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drottningholms_slottskyrka