The Royal Court

The Bernadotte Chapel

The Bernadotte Burial Vault. Photo: The Royal Court.
In 1858-60 this chapel was built for the present royal dynasty of Sweden, the Bernadotte family.

The architect of the chapel was Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander (1816-1881). The exterior design of the chapel is well adjust to the older ones; a late renaissance brick work exterior with decorative ornamentation of sandstone.

The stained glass windows were added in 1888. They depict national and regional coats of arms and royal mottos. The text on the walls honors the deeds of king Carl XIV Johan, the first monarch of the Bernadottes.

King Carl XIV Johan rests in the monumental sarcophagus in the back of the chapel (A).  The sarcophagus is made out of Swedish porphyry and took some eight years to produce. The weight is some 15 tons and it was taken from the quarry of Älvdalen wintertime 1856 to nearest harbor and then shipped to Stockholm.

Queen Désirée (1777-1860), spouse of Carl XIV Johan, rests in the sarcophagus in the middle (B). It was placed there in 1911 and made out of Swedish kolmårdsmarble.

During the 1910´s the sarcophaguses along the walls were added to the chapel. There rest four kings and their queens in the following order:

1) King Oscar I (1799-1859)
2) Queen Josefina (1807-1876)

3) King Carl XV (1826-1872)
4) Queen Lovisa (1828-1871)
 
5) King Oscar II (1829-1907)
6) Queen Sofia (1836-1913)
 
7) King Gustaf V (1858-1950)
8) Queen Victoria (1862-1930)
 

The Burial Vault


In the vault, below the chapel, the following members of the royal family rest:
1) Prince Gustaf (1827-1852)
2) Princess Eugenié (1830-1889)
3) Prince August (1831-1873)
4) Princess Therésè (1836-1914)
5) Prince Carl Oscar (1852-1854)
6) Prince Erik (1889-1918)

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