Swedish News:

Thief changed his mind. King wants more money. Madeleine officially "sambo" Malin Akerman on ABC. Mona Sahlin's bag for sale 

  • Thief changed his mind
    The museum Kulturen in Lund has gotten back the silver and gold jewelry that had been stolen last year. The items went missing right before Christmas. “We are very happy, and we are not thinking about inflicting penalty on anyone,” says Kulturen’s Press Officer Erik Roman. It was a masked man with an axe who stole the items from their glass display cases on December 20. One hundred nine items in silver and gold disappeared before the man left the museum, passing the guards. On February 29, however, an employee at the museum found a bag placed near the personnel entrance, and inside the bag were the stoles pieces. It is not yet known whether all items were returned, since the museum immediately gave them to the police for a technical examination. “We are very excited to get the bag back and to identify just how many pieces are there,” says Roman.

  • King wants more money
    King Carl XVI Gustaf wants a raise. He wants close to 12 million SEK more ($1.8 million) from taxpayers for the next three years. Meanwhile, new parents Victoria and Daniel cost more since they’ve had their baby. “The Crown Princess was alone before, now they are two. Then the number of inquiries and arrangements grows,” says director and keeper Jan Lindman, who works with the king’s finances. But first and foremost the money is to go to the king’s appanage, as well as for the upkeep of the palaces. Though what costs the most is the Crown Princess’ family, especially Prince Daniel. Their home, the Haga Palace, has become an expensive affair for Swedish taxpayers, but just in time for Estelle’s birth, the palace is more or less repaired and renovated. Not all agree that it is right for the king to demand more money. Aftonbladet columnist Rebecca Weidmo Uvell writes, “We have two royal children around the age of 30, and I don’t want to be the first one to say it, but hello Madeleine and Carl-Philip: You are royal children but you are no longer children. You aren’t even the youngest in the family anymore, hardly even young. Time to cut the cord and say with pride: I support myself. I pay my own living, I am not dependent on either the king or the state.”

  • Madeleine officially "sambo"
    The Swedish Royal Court has confirmed it: Madeleine has moved in with her American boyfriend, Chris O’Neill. It’s not even that new—the love birds have been sharing a nest since November of last year. “They have lived at the same address for some time,” says Bertil Ternert, director of Information and Press at the Court. Madeleine, who is 29, and Chris, who is 37, met in New York following Madeleine’s dramatic break-up from former fiancé Jonas Bergström. Their relationship became official when a Spanish tourist filmed them in January 2011 at the Boat House restaurant in New York’s Central Park. Chris was introduced to Queen Silvia, Madeleine’s mother, when she visited New York, and sources say he has also met the rest of the family at the Solliden Palace on Öland. During the past months, it seems the relationship has gotten more serious.

  • Malin Akerman on ABC
    Swedish movie star Malin Akerman will soon be seen on television, in the pilot episode of the new comedy "The Smart One" on ABC. Åkerman (yes, it has the ring over the a), known for "Watchmen" and "Childrens Hospital," will play Portia de Rossi’s sister in the comedy from “Samantha Who?” co-creator Donald Todd and Ellen DeGeneres. The show follows the sisters: de Rossi's smart one and Åkerman's dumb one. De Rossi's character goes to work for her dim but more popular sister who is a former beauty queen currently serving as the mayor of a city.

  • Mona Sahlin's bag for sale
    Should you want a little memento from former leader of the Swedish Social Democrats, Mona Sahlin, now is your chance. Her red handbag is up for grabs. The luxurious purse (a Louis Vuitton, worth around 6000 SEK – over $900) aroused a great deal of feeling when it was photographed during a debate in 2010, and a hot war of words followed. Many felt it was inappropriate that a leader of the Social Democrats should carry a bag with a price tag equivalent of what a nurse assistant pays in taxes. Now the bag will be auctioned off at Bukowski—an auction house in Stockholm—and the proceeds will be donated to the youth activities of RFSL (the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights). The asking price is 2000 SEK ($300), but according to Paulina Sokolow, communications officer at Bukowski, the final bid will be significantly higher than that. “A photo of people dressed up as bunnies, taken by (singer) Eva Dahlgren had an asking price of 5000 SEK ($755), but was sold for 85,000 SEK ($12,838). This bag is just as interesting,” she says. As for Mona Sahlin herself, she says: “The bag has served me well (it was a present for her 50th birthday). If it can bring money to a well-deserved cause, then it is time for me to part with it.”