Grenades found at Royal Palace in Stockholm
A routine inspection of the Royal Palace of Stockholm in early February uncovered two decorative grenades. The explosive devices could have been lying gathering dust for over four decades, according to a military report reviewed by The Local.
The two mysterious objects were uncovered by a royal guard doing the rounds of the baroque palace.
"I had them both x-rayed where they lay with the help of the police, which did not tell us much except that they had thick shells and were probably filled with gunpowder," according to a mine clearance report filed with military headquarters and the Swedish EOD and Demining Centre (SWEDEC).
The objects, which measured 43 centimetres in length, were identified as a type of antique grenade and were taken with the help of the police bomb squad to Kungsängen in northern Stockholm and detonated.
"The explosion of the first resulted in an extensive diffusion of shrapnel and fragments noticeable with the help of traces in the snow...It therefore seems not unlikely that they were filled with gunpowder," according to the report undersigned by Björn Örtby at the army's mine sweeping unit.
The report cites the guard who found the offending objects and who presumed that they had been lying in the royal palace for some time.
"They have always stood there as far as I can remember, I think I saw them when I was a conscript in 1967," the guard is reported to have said.
The Local called the Swedish military headquarters on Monday for confirmation of the incident but was refused a comment.
The Royal Palace of Stockholm is the daily place of work of the Swedish king and queen as well as for various departments that make up the Royal Court.
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The two mysterious objects were uncovered by a royal guard doing the rounds of the baroque palace.
"I had them both x-rayed where they lay with the help of the police, which did not tell us much except that they had thick shells and were probably filled with gunpowder," according to a mine clearance report filed with military headquarters and the Swedish EOD and Demining Centre (SWEDEC).
The objects, which measured 43 centimetres in length, were identified as a type of antique grenade and were taken with the help of the police bomb squad to Kungsängen in northern Stockholm and detonated.
"The explosion of the first resulted in an extensive diffusion of shrapnel and fragments noticeable with the help of traces in the snow...It therefore seems not unlikely that they were filled with gunpowder," according to the report undersigned by Björn Örtby at the army's mine sweeping unit.
The report cites the guard who found the offending objects and who presumed that they had been lying in the royal palace for some time.
"They have always stood there as far as I can remember, I think I saw them when I was a conscript in 1967," the guard is reported to have said.
The Local called the Swedish military headquarters on Monday for confirmation of the incident but was refused a comment.
The Royal Palace of Stockholm is the daily place of work of the Swedish king and queen as well as for various departments that make up the Royal Court.
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