Does BTS have a familial connection to William and Kate's bedroom design? You be the judge!

Much in common with Marcus E: Royal connections,  my Poang chair

 

A recent article in Hello! magazine revealed that Prince William and Kate shake up the norm for bedroom placement at Kensington Palace (Prince William and Kate Middleton's unique bedrom set-up at London home revealed). That type of headline is what gives "click bait" its name, and, of course, we had to check it out. Turns out, they buried the lead. There's an "Engman" connection to a part of their family bedroom design and that's our one degree to the private domain of the residents of Kensington.

First, not to string my dear readers along any further, the "unique bedroom set-up", as noted in Hello!, deals with the location of  William and Kate's master suites (there are two). While the majority of multi-level homes have bedrooms upstairs, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have their  bedchambers on the first floor. The live-in staff resides on the second floor. 

Initially, I was a bit let down, because which level William and Kate's respective ensuites are on is not even close to where the imagination starts when the "unique bedroom set-up" flag is waved. But, when I saw my family name connected to certain areas of  the Cambridges' royal apartment, I was twice bitten and zero shy.

Marcus Engman, formerly of IKEA, a relation of BTS blogger?? (picture from Ingka website)

Engman is my maiden name - my dad's parents emigrated from a Swedish settlement in Finland at the beginning of the last millennial - and, as Hello! reported, it is also the surname of  IKEA's former Head of Design, Marcus Engman.  When Kate met Marcus during a 2018 visit to the National Museum of Architecture and Design in Stockholm, she shared with him that they outfitted the bedrooms of both  Prince George and Princess Charlotte with IKEA furniture. 

Marcus, pleased to hear that news, said, "I'm proud that we can suit everybody. That's what we want IKEA to be - for the many people of he world, both royalty and ordinary people".

Niece and daughter in Finland

An Engman at the arctic circle

                                       

While there aren't many Engmans in our part of the world, there's a fair amount in Sweden and Finland where lots of our family still resides.  Our Engman cousins have visited our homes over the decades and my husband and I and our children, along with my brother, Ed and his family, made the trek to Finland in 2001, staying with even more Engmans.  While there we toured many of our ancestors' homes, including the family plots at a village cemetery (where the Engman name is also on display). 

Visiting Engmans in Finland, past and present

With that context, I reread the article a few times and saw no mention of other Engmans or tea or BTS. But, nonetheless, I feel a connection with Marcus. He has met the wife of the future King of England, and I've met Prince William's uncle, and brother of the late Princess Diana, Lord Charles Spencer.  My house is appointed with  Poang chairs and Billy cabinets, and, although I don't have the fair-hair genes, Marcus and I do share a prominent Engman trait - those  facial indents that only show up when one is smiling. 

                                                                                                                                                                                   

BTS blogger with William's Uncle, Lord Spencer

So, while we found that we are different from the Duke and Duchess as far as bedroom location, we did find a common denominator in home design.  And, while there may be six degrees of Kevin Bacon, there appear to be far less between  Marcus Engman and your BTS blogger.