Queen Silvia says one of the Swedish royal family's palaces is haunted but there is nothing to be afraid of.

The queen says phantoms at their private Drottningholm Palace are "pretty friendly" in a documentary to be aired on public television channel SVT.

Silvia says smilingly "there are ghosts, many" before adding "you feel you get a little excited" when talking about them.

Asked whether she had experienced the ghosts herself, she replied "of course. But they are friendly".

Located on an island in Stockholm's archipelago, the royals' private residence was originally built in the late 16th century.

Silvia, born in Germany as Silvia Renate Sommerlath, is married to King Carl XVI Gustaf, Sweden's ceremonial head of state.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.