KING STRIPS FIVE GRANDCHILDREN OF ROYAL PERKS

The King of Sweden has removed five of his grandchildren from the country’s royal house. In a surprise decision, King Carl XVI Gustaf on Monday ruled that the children of his two younger offspring, Princess Madeleine and Prince Carl Philip, would from now on be treated as private citizens. They will no longer have the title of royal highness, will not be expected to carry out official duties and can no longer expect a share of the royal “appanage,” the king’s state-funded annual allowance, when they become adults. “We have a growing royal family and the king finds it proper to define who within the royal family should be expected to perform official duties in the future,” said Fredrik Wersall, the marshal of the realm.