In 2018, the royal regalia from Strängnäs Cathedral in Sweden was stolen. Following a long hunt for the thieves, the regalia was found in 2019. Now, after being restored for a longer period the regalia is ready to come back home. Sometime during this week the stolen funeral regalia will be brought back to Strängnäs Cathedral. On Midsummer Eve, Tuesday next week, they will be shown again to the public.
Christofer Lundgren, priest in the Strängnäs Cathedral said to the Swedish press upon the news: “It feels great. They belong in the cathedral. We had not dared to hope that the restoration would be as successful as it has become. It is a fantastic job that has been done”.
It was on July 26 2018 when parts of the Swedish Royal Regalia were stolen from the Strängnäs Cathedral. Among the items stolen were the two royal crowns of King Karl IX and Queen Kristina as well as one royal orb that was stolen by two unidentified men. In August 2018 police raided two locations in the hunt for the regalia but nothing was found. The Crown Jewels were finally recovered in February 2019. According to Swedish media, they were found by Police hidden in a rubbish bin.
In February 2019 22 year old Swedish man, Johan Nicklas Bäckström, received a sentence of four-and-a-half years in prison from Eskiltuna District Court for the theft of the royal regalia. The jewels were estimated to be worth 65 million kronor (£5.3 million), but a police spokesman called them “invaluable items of national interest”. The suspect was arrested in conjunction with the case back in September 2018 but denied his involvement. He later admitted his guilt after his DNA was found on the jewels.
Karl IX was King of Sweden from 1604 until his death in 1611. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I and his second wife. He was the uncle of Sigismund who at one point was king of both Sweden and Poland.
