Carl Philip is the son of the current king of Sweden.
He built his reputation as a designer with the launch of a fireguard in the shape of a castle.
He branded it as "designed by Prince Carl Philip 2010".
As it turns out, designer Eric Ericson is the creator of the fireguard. "It was I who designed the fireguard," Eric Ericson told the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper.
"I didn't work with this for a very long time and the conditions changed as time passed. At first I thought I was just going to be his tutor but then it is became apparent that I was to do his stuff. In hindsight, it all really feels bloody wrong. It wasn't a serious collaboration but I don't want to blacken his name. He has only studied (design) for a short time. He can become a designer but it takes a lot of hard work and you must enter the profession to be successful. He might be world's nicest guy but he doesn't have to get up at five in the morning and slave to pay the rent.”
The product was marketed and sold by the Svensk Tenn interior design company that have since scrubbed Carl Philip's signature off the fireguard. It retails for 14,500 kronor ($2,200).
Ericson's remarks follow a damning editorial by Form Editor-in-Chief Bo Madestrand who slammed the prince for being a "fake".
The editorial pointed out that "Carl Philip is not guilty of plagiarism – because he hasn’t designed his own products. If Prince Carl Philip had better advisers – and worked a little harder – he might succeed better at his chosen profession. The question is, why does he continue? Who benefits from Carl Philip’s playing at being a designer, when, like his father, he’d really rather be tearing up the roads behind the wheel of a sports car?"
No matter what, the Prince's brand had suffered from devastating damage.
