Of palaces and princesses

This past Sunday (1 April 2007), our friends AB and GM took H and me to visit Drottingholm Palace, the official residence of the Swedish Royal Family. One wing is open to the public as a museum, while the other continues to serve as the royal family's living quarters. (Celebrity news note: the youngest princess, Madeleine, has been entertainingly trying to ditch her reputation as the Swedish Paris Hilton; no denying she's pretty--as is her sister, Crown Princess Victoria--but I think they both seem rather too sensible to aspire to the awe-inspiring embarrassingness that is Paris Hilton. Besides, I think PH dips herself in ugly two or three times a week.) Architecturally, both the building and its French-style gardens are obviously inspired by, if not out-and-out copies of, the Chateau de Versailles.

Excuse me, you two. You're blocking my view of the palace. OK, thanks.

In perusing the museum--which contains several notable paintings and craft objects--H was most impressed by the number of portraits of women in which the content and composition both suggested that the women depicted not only held nominally but exercised practically real power. Women with architectural plans splayed before them or with scepters in their hands. I most enjoyed the ceiling frescoes in the grand stair, which contained a few really excellent examples of anamorphosis. (No photos were permitted indoors.)

We also visited the Chinese Pavilion, a collection of buildings on

the majestic grounds of Drottningholm.

King Adolf Fredrik surprised Queen Lovisa Ulrika on her birthday in 1753 with a small Chinese pleasure palace in the Drottningholm Palace park. It was a highly appreciated birthday present as chinoiserie was all the rage in Europe at the time.

The original wooden building was replaced in the 1760s by a more permanent one, which today contains one of the finest European rococo interiors with chinoiserie.

Recipe for architectural whimsy: (1) Visit China. (2) See Chinese architecture. (3) Take notes. (4) Give notes to Swedish workmen. (5) Instruct Swedish workmen to build "authentic" Chinese pavilion. (6) Enjoy.

One of the smaller buildings was apparently also used by the royal couple as a kind of dinner pavilion. The kitchen (now a café which bustles on the weekends) is in the basement, and the section of the floor upon which the dinner table sits actually moves up and down like an elevator. The king and queen were thereby able to have a full-service meal without any servants hovering about. Very clever.

Notice the dark line around the feet of the table...

We had another delightful afternoon with AB and GM, we learned a bit about Swedish history and culture, and the weather was glorious. What more can one ask of a Sunday afternoon?