Why the Swedish King Just Cut 5 of His Grandchildren From the Royal House

Five of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden’s seven grandchildren will no longer have to perform royal duties and will no longer receive taxpayer support, the Swedish Royal House announced Monday.

The King has three children. His eldest daughter and heir to the throne, Crown Princess Victoria, has two children, Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar, who were exempt from the Monday decision (as the current second and third in line). But the children of Carl’s younger children, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine, were stripped of their royal titles.

Carl Philip’s children, Prince Alexander and Prince Gabriel, and Madeleine’s children, Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas, and Princess Adrienne, “will continue to be members of The Royal Family,” a statement from the Royal House read. “However, they will no longer enjoy the style of Royal Highness and, in the future, will not be expected to perform duties incumbent on the Head of State.

The children will retain the Duke or Duchess titles they have already been granted. Alexander and Gabriel are the Dukes of Södermanland and Dalarna respectively; Leonore and Princess Adrienne are the Duchesses of Gotland and Blekinge respectively, and Nicolas the Duke of Ångermanland.

Both Prince Carl and Princess Madeleine shared their support for the decision on social media.

Princess Madeleine announced on Instagram that the change had been planned for a long time, and said her husband, Christopher O’Neill, who is an American citizen and therefore unable to have a “Prince” title, believed it was a good idea. “Our children now have a greater opportunity to shape their own lives as individuals in the future.

Similarly, Carl Philip announced on Instagram that he and his wife, Princess Sofia, favor the king’s decision, adding that his family will continue to participate in royal events as they wish.

The decision came amid increasing conversations in Sweden as to who in the royal family should receive taxpayer money, according to the BBC. Swedish historian Dick Harrison told the BBC Monday that royal house was, prior to King Carl’s ruling, the largest in 100 years, and argued it wasn’t necessary for Swedish taxpayers to fund members of the family who may not be needed to perform official duties.