The new mobile game, Pokémon Go has caused security issues at Solliden Palace in Öland, where King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia, alongside Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Princess Estelle, and Prince Oscar are currently in residence for the summer. This is the traditional location of where the Crown Princess family and the King and Queen meet with well-wishers for Victoria’s birthday every year. She celebrated her 39th birthday just a couple weeks ago on 14 July.
According to Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, the security team at Solliden were alerted one night to a possible security concern when they noticed a group of people approaching the gates of the palace with their mobiles and flashlights. It turned out to just be a group of teenagers on the hunt for the fictional creatures. Sven Stensson, the head of security at Solliden, remarked to Aftonbladet, “When they saw the people with their torches trying to enter a garden, they became suspicious. They went over and did a check and it turned out they were Pokémon hunters.”
Since the young Pokémon hunters had a “reasonable explanation” and never stepped onto palace grounds, they were not punished. Stensson said that the teenagers were welcome back during the public operational hours “to chase all the Pokémon they want.” He was asked if he thought the King played the new mobile game that has taken the world by storm, to which he replied that he did not think so, with a laugh.
Solliden Palace Photo: Denisbin (CC BY-ND 2.0) via Flickr.
Solliden Palace is open to the public during the day from 11am to 6pm CET. It is the personal property of His Majesty, King Carl XVI Gustaf and has been the royal family’s summer residence for decades. It was built by His Majesty’s great-grandmother, Queen Viktoria of Sweden and completed in 1906. Carl Gustaf inherited the palace after his great-grandfather, King Gustaf V, passed away in 1950. His Majesty has remarked about Solliden Palace, “It is my intention to preserve Solliden, so that future generations will be able to enjoy its unique and glorious gardens.” Crown Princess Victoria calls Solliden “paradise” and spends hours picking berries in the garden.
Lesson learned here: If you want to play Pokémon Go at Solliden Palace, you are free to do so. Just make sure it is not during closed hours, as a group of young Pokémon Go players recently found out.
