STOCKHOLM, Sweden (Reuters) — With the ever-rising costs of raising the royal family and keeping up the palace and parklands, even a monarch can face a budget crunch.
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has exceeded the royal household's government-paid budget by more than $205,500, or some 5 percent, in the first half of the year.
So he has requested more money from the state coffers to cover his costs, including the needs of Crown Princess Victoria, who returns from the United States next year after completing her studies, the tabloid Aftonbladet said today.
The princess will need suitable housing, office and staff, it said.
The paper also said more crowns were needed to spruce up the park surrounding the palace and maintain furniture, works of art and other heirlooms. The king is not without resources. His private fortune is worth some 320 million crowns.
A justice ministry official told Aftonbladet that the government had never covered surplus royal outlays. "The king will have to fix this himself," the official said.
A palace official said the king had been forced to tap his private fortune ever year to make ends meet.