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Approximately 20,000 Swedes are diagnosed with dementia each year. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form, accounting for about 70 percent of all cases. In the run-up to Alzheimer’s Day, the Queen talks about her many years of commitment to generating public opinion on dementia.
– This is an extremely important subject on which I have tried to shed light for 25 years, says the queen.
The podcast in the royal palace in Stockholm is carried out by the journalist Henrik Frenkel, 70, founder of the Alzheimer Life Foundation. He himself was diagnosed: Mild disease of memory Easter 2019.
They are seated at a suitable crown distance in the dining room, in the next room is the green sofa where the king uttered the winged words “just said click” in engagement.
– Klick said it and still is, says the queen.
The crown pandemic has forced, like everyone else, the royal couple to change their lives and throughout the spring they remained isolated in Stenhammar Castle, completely alone only the two without visits from relatives or acquaintances.
– Both the king and I belong to the group of 70+ and I have never felt so much as now. Before the pandemic, I had a lot to do, organize, visit, give speeches, etc., but now the king and I were quarantined for several months in Stenhammar.
The King and Queen in Quarantine at Stenhammar Castle.
Photo: Kungl. Hovstaterna, Kungl. The States of the Court
The queen describes the riots about someone in the family who fell ill with covid-19, but also about how the pandemic would unfold in Sweden. The rising death toll took her hard and it was with sadness in her heart that she saw how the people became just a number.
– The churches were closed and the people were alone with their pain. It was very difficult to see and not be able to help, he says.
When the Swedish Public Health Agency published the restrictions, the 76-year-old queen has started to resume her work where dementia is an important part and began in connection with her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
– I realized that I was visiting after my father passed away that something had happened to him. These were the first symptoms and the first questions that came to me that everything was not as it should be: it could not be organized, it could not pack and things like that.
An examination showed that the mother had Alzheimer’s disease.
– I had heard of dementia but then 25 years ago it was thought that being a little forgetful was natural and not a disease.
Later, the mother moved home with the royal couple in Drottningholm, where they took care of her. The queen says that it was not easy to explain to the children why their grandmother, for example, said that they had not visited her even though they had already, several times. Or to cope with the mother’s growing worries, anxiety, and confusion.
– There were situations in which we did not understand, she could, for example, be very afraid of a carpet.
Speaking publicly about the disease and her experience, the queen wants to increase awareness and reduce the stigma that still exists around dementia.
– I think it is important to talk openly about dementia. The family member must be made to understand why the sick person does it in different ways.
The commitment also led the Queen to take the initiative to found Silviahemmet in 1996. The foundation trains healthcare personnel with a certification and contributes to the development of knowledge about dementia diseases. The business has received a lot of attention, also internationally.
Since Alzheimer’s is a hereditary disease, the queen is at higher risk of being affected and advises anyone who is unsure, feeling forgetful or at risk to see a doctor.
– I believe that everyone can develop this disease and if I suffer from it myself, I hope to have the support of a family that understands what it is and can handle it professionally and who is by my side and includes me. It is important that you not only end up in an institution, but that you have your family with you.
