
The State Apartments are located at the 2:nd floor in the northern part of the main building (see the map marked with green colour and a red dot).
The State Apartments were originally intended for the use of the King and Queen but when King Adolf Fredrik and Queen Lovisa Ulrika moved in at the Royal Castle in 1754 they preferred the Bernadotte Apartments. The first to stay here were instead the Crown Prince Gustav (King Gustav III) and the Crown Princess Sofia Magdalena from 1766.
The State Apartments today are a museum but are still used by the Royal family for larger receptions, festivities and other special occasions. When that happens the State Apartments are closed for visitors. The total area is 2 600 square meter (28 000 square foot) and the rooms in the State Apartments are:
The Guard Room (West) which was used as a guard room by the Royal Guard once.
The Royal Dragoon Room (West) was also used as a guard room but only when the King was in the apartment since the Royal dragoons were the Kings lifeguards. The room is more lavished ornated than the ordinary guard room. There are 3 marble statues pictures King Gustav II Adolf, King Karl XI and King Karl XIV Johan by the artist Johan Niclas Byström in 1829 in the room that was originally intended for a museum at the Rosendal Castle. The same statues in full size are to be seen at the West Arch.

The Cabinet Room. Photo by Holger Ellgaard 2011
The Cabinet Room was originally King Gustav III's State Dining Room where invited guest could watch him eat. In the room there are tapestries from 1760 pictures the fairy tale Jason and Medea. There are also a number of busts and the great painting o King Karl XIV Johan sitting on a horse by the artist Fredrik Wsetin in 1838.
A number of times per year this room is closed for the public when the Cabinet meetings with the King and the Swedish Government are held in this room. These meeting have also given the room its name.

The Audience Room. Photo by unknown 1950.
The Audience Room was the room were the King received foreign ambassadors 1771-1818 and this has given the room its name. Today this takes place at the East Octagonal Cabinet of the Bernadotte Apartments.
The room is dominated by the very large tapestry picturing landscapes and was given to the Queen Kristina at her coronation in 1650. If you look closely you will see Queen Kristina's cipher "C".

King Gustav III:s State Bedchamber. © Royal Court
King Gustav III's State Bedchamber is one of the most extraordinary rooms in the Royal Castle. The idea of a State Bedchamber came as an influence from France and the court of King Louis XIV (The Sun King). In this room King Gustav III received persons while doing his morning toilette. It was also in this room he died after being shot at the masquerade ball in 1792.
The most important piece of furniture in the room is of course the great bed behind the balustrade. Behind the great bed at the wall is the famous tapestry picturing the marriage of Roland and Angelica from "Les fragments d'Opera". The tapestry was made by Les Gobelins 1734-1737 and was a gift from King Louis XVI in 1784.
The ceiling painting pictures King Karl XII growing up under the protection of the Greek mythology gods Apollo, Fama and Hercules. The painting was made by Jacques Foucquet in 1700. The desk belonged to King Gustav III and was made by the great Swedish craftsman Georg Haupt in 1778 and the two large busts on each side of the room pictures King Gustav III (by the artist Tobias Sergel) and King Karl XII (by the artist Philipe Bourchardon) in 1748.

King Karl XI:s Gallery. Photo by Christopher Marcurak 2008
King Karl XI:s Gallery is the most magnificent room in the Royal Castle and has the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles as its role model. In the Gallery more than 170 persons can have dinner together, it's 47 meter long and the table will be dressed at special occasions with Swedish and Austrian silver from the early 19:th century.
The very large ceiling painting pictures the war against Denmark in 1675-1679 by the King Karl XI, the central part pictures the victory at Lund in 1676 where King Karl XI is portrayed as a Roman Emperor. The painting is made by the artist's Jacques Foucquet and René Chauveau in 1730. At each side of the centre of the Gallery are the two busts of King Karl XI and Queen Ulrika Eleonora made by the artist Philippe Bouchardon. If you look closely you can also see that each bust has a theme. The Theme for the bust of King Karl XI is war and the theme of the bust of Queen Ulrika Eleonora is peace.
The west part of the Gallery is called the "War Cabinet" while the east part of the Gallery is called the "Peacet". The smaller ceiling paintings picture the positive personal characteristics of King Karl XI as a regent and as a person. At several spots in the ceiling painting you can also see the North Star which at the time was a royal symbol.
Queen Sofia Magdalens State Bedchamber is the equivalent of King Gustav III's State Bedchamber where she received persons while doing her morning toilette. This room was designed by the architect Jean Eric Rehn in 1770. The ceiling painting pictures mother Svea surrounded by 4 women symbolising the 4 continents, Europe, Asia, Africa and America. Please note the North Start above mother Svea which was a royal symbol at the time. The paining was made in 1732-1734 by the artist's Guillaume Taraval and Antoine Monnoyer.
The crescent shaped tables are made by Jean Baptiste Masreliez in 1743 and the paintings pictures Queen Josefina's parents, the French general Eugéne de Beauharnais and the Princess Augusta Amalia of Bayern. All the painting are made by the artist Francois Gérade in the early 19:th century.

The Don Quijote Salon. Photo by unknown 1940.
The Don Quijote Salon has got its name from the tapestries in the Salon picturing the deeds of hero Don Quijote from the stories of Miguel de Cervantes. The tapestries are made in paris by Les Gobelins in 1770 and was a gift by King Louis XVI to King Gustav III at his visit to France in 1784. If you look closely you can see the cipher of King Louis XVI at the tapestries closest to the windows.
The great ceiling painting is picturing the Roman Mythology Queen Juno surrounded by the 4 winds, Boreas, Zephyrus, Notos and Eurus. The painting was made by the artist Guillaume Taraval in 1735.

The White Sea Hall. © Royal Court
The White Sea Hall is the Royal Castle's ballroom and the origin of the name is not known, but from the beginning this room was made up by two rooms, King Karl XIV Johan's dining room and a guard room. In 1845 the two rooms were joined by King Oscar I who decided not to live in his father's apartment and instead turned it into a State Apartment and then a large hall for festivities was needed.
The White Sea Hall became the ballroom of the Royal Castle where the great parties were held. In the south end of the hall was a balcony constructed for a small orchestra where the cipher of King Oscar I and Queen Josefina is still to be seen. The White Sea Hall was designed by the architect Axel Nyström.
The great ceiling painting in the south part of the hall (former guard room) pictures "The Spoils of Victory" by the artist's Guillaume Taraval and Johan Pasch. The ceiling painting in the north part of the hall (former dining room) pictures "The Triumph of Svea" made by the artist Demencio Francia.