Characters

THE CHEYENNE FAMILY

Leif Cheyenne was born in 1975. He is of mixed Dutch-Swedish descent. He grew up in Leiden and studied at Leiden University. Each year, he spent summer holidays with his maternal grandparents in Västerås in Sweden. For some years, he maintained a friendship with Count Göran Hammarcreutz, a distant relative. As a student in Leiden, Leif joined the fraternity group called 'Nemo'. He pursued his studies towards a PhD and defended his dissertation in 2006. He now lives in Stockholm, working at an international institute for peace studies.
Hein Cheyenne was born in 1944 and descends from a Dutch family that had emigrated to Wyoming in the United States in an earlier generation but eventually returned to the Netherlands. He was affiliated with the Faculty of Law at Leiden University, from 1990 onwards as a professor-cum-director of a small research institute, and retired in 2007. After getting divorced he moved to The Hague. He is the father of Leif Cheyenne.
Gunilla Edlund was born in 1949 in Västerås in the province of Västmanland in Sweden. In 1973 she married with Hein Cheyenne. She has been living in the Netherlands ever since. Until retirement she worked part-time in an old people's home. She lived with her family in the so-called Professors' Quarter in Leiden. Following her divorce, she moved to a flat in Leiden. She is the mother of Leif Cheyenne and the aunt of Carola Edlund.

THE EDLUND FAMILY

Carola Edlund was born in 1980 in the small town of Lindesberg in the province of Västmanland. She is the daughter of Arvid Edlund and his first wife who died when Carola was still a small child. She was in fact brought up by her stepmother Agneta Svedberg. In 1999 she completed secondary school at Lindeskolan in Lindesberg and moved to Västerås to study at the local university, Mälardalens Högskola ('Polytechnic of the Mälar Lake Valley'). While studying, she boarded with her grandparents Harald and Hildur Edlund. After they had passed away in 2005, she moved to a terrace house of her own at the outskirts of Västerås. Now she has a good position at a private company in Västerås. She has kept in contact with her best friend Märta Madesjö in Lindesberg. Carola is the cousin of Leif Cheyenne.
Pelle Edlund is Carola's elder brother, born in Lindesberg in 1974. Like his sister, he was for the most part raised by his stepmother Agneta Svedberg. He stayed in Lindesberg running a small business that he took over from his father, Arvid Edlund. During the years 2000-2005 he was married to Ann-Sofie Bo-Ell from the village of Surahammar in Västmanland. Her daughter Bella is Pelle's stepdaughter.
Bella Bo-Ell was born in 1997 in Surahammar in Västmanland and lived as a child with her mother and stepfather in Lindesberg. She moved to Västerås after their divorce in 2005. Since 2013 she attends secondary school at the prestigious Rudbeckianska School in Västerås. Since her mother's departure for Paraguay, she lives on her own near the school. She has good contact with Carola, the sister of her former stepfather.
Lars Madesjö was born in 1998 and is strictly speaking not a family member. He is the son of Märta Madesjö, the best friend of Carola Edlund. He is a notorious student at Lindeskolan in Lindesberg. He sometimes visits Carola in Västerås. His best friend is Kaj Jonsson.

THE HAMMARCREUTZ FAMILY

Stellan Santander is the stepson of the presumed deceased Count Göran Hammarcreutz. He is born in Stockholm in 1997 as the son of Alice Santander without an officially registered father. In 2010, when his mother married Göran Hammarcreutz, he moved to the mansion Stora Skena, not far from Lindesberg. He still comes regularly to Stockholm. He did not fit in very well at Lindeskolan in Lindesberg and got permission to move to the Rudbeckianska School in Västerås by the autumn term in 2014. He is one of the possible heirs to Stora Skena.
Alice Santander is the widow of Count Göran Hammarcreutz. She is born in Stockholm in 1973 as the daughter of the businessman Bo Santander and his wife, Greta Hammarcreutz. Her parents died in an accident in the United States in 2000. Alice's mother was the sister of Countess Götilda Hammarcreutz. Alice studied dentistry and used the inheritance from her parents to set up a clinic for well-to-do clients in Stockholm. She had a love relationship with Count Göran Hammarcreutz, her nephew, and they got married in 2010. After having moved to Stora Skena in the countryside, she retains her clinic and penthouse in Stockholm.
Götilda Hammarcreutz is the mother of Count Göran Hammarcreutz. She was born in 1946 and descends from a branch of the family belonging to the lesser nobility. She married Count Gösta Hammarcreutz and got two children, Göran and Desirée. She became a widow in 1996 and lives at Stora Skena. She is the great-aunt of Stellan Santander and the grandmother of Kaj Jonsson.
Desirée Jonsson, née Hammarcreutz, is the younger sister of the presumed deceased Göran Hammarcreutz. She was born in 1978. In 1998 she married the lawyer Svante Jonsson in Lindesberg. She is the mother of Kaj Jonsson.
Kaj Jonsson is the grandson of Götilda Hammarcreutz and a nephew of Göran Hammarcreutz. He was born in 1999 and lives in Lindesberg, where he attends secondary school at Lindeskolan. His best friend is Lars Madesjö. He is one of the possible heirs to Stora Skena.
Sixten von Röök von Rääf is the great-uncle of Göran Hammercreutz. He is born in 1919 as the son of Per August von Röök von Rääf, an army officer who died in 1920, and Countess Mia Hammarcreutz, deceased in 1919. He was brought up at his uncle's mansion Stora Skena and enlisted with the army. He became an officer in due course. Since retirement, he lives in downtown Stockholm, not far from Alice Santander. His twin sister Svea became the grandmother of Göran and passed away in 1994. Sixten and Svea von Röök von Rääf had a half sister, Hildur Lindqvist, who eventually became the mother of Arvid and Gunilla Edlund and the grandmother of Carola Edlund and Leif Cheyenne.

THE RITMEESTER FAMILY

Rick Ritmeester is born in 1994 as the youngest son of Richard Ritmeester and Evelien Everts. He grew up in The Hague, completed secondary school in 2012 and is since a student at Leiden University. He joined the fraternity group 'Nemo' and lives with two fellow members of 'Nemo' in a student house in Leiden. He gets a job as an assistant to Leif Cheyenne.
Richard Ritmeester was born in 1944. He studied law and was a fellow student of Hein Cheyenne. He worked at the law-court in The Hague and retired in 2009. He married three times, with Rita van Regteren Altena from Aerdenhout, Gladys Everts from Blaricum and Evelien Everts from Den Helder, respectively. He has three children, one from each marriage. He is the father of Rick.
Evelien Everts originally comes from Den Helder and was born in 1972. She took up a study at the Art Academy in The Hague and boarded with her cousin Gladys Everts. However, she got into a relationship with her landlord Richard Ritmeester, her cousin's husband, which resulted in them getting divorced. They married in 1993. She lives in The Hague and devotes much time to making abstract paintings. She is the mother of Rick.
Jelle Ritmeester is the eldest son of Richard Ritmeester. He was born in 1974 and grew up in Aerdenhout after his parents' divorce. He studied at Leiden University and joined the fraternity group 'Nemo' together with his fellow students Leif Cheyenne and Nick van Regteren Altena, his nephew. He works at a government office in The Hague and lives in the village of Rijnsburg near Leiden. He has been married but has no children. He is Rick's half-brother.
Madeleine Ritmeester is the second child of Richard Ritmeester. She was born in 1984 and grew up in Blaricum with her mother after her parents' divorce in 1992. She studied at Leiden University and works as a lawyer in The Hague. She lives in Wassenaar and is single. She is Rick's half-sister.