A £5,000 Fortnum & Mason hamper, designer Armani and Tom Ford clothes and dozens of vibrant house plants.
Those are just some of the lucrative items amassed by Anders Fernstedt over the last few years. They are housed in what is now a sprawling estate on billionaire’s row in London‘s Knightsbridge
But the 57-year-old is not a millionaire, nor does he even own a home on the exclusive street.
Rather, Fernstedt has been sleeping rough on the steps of Britain’s most expensive home after losing his job – with his newfound accommodation having trebled in size in the space of just one year.
The Swede, who hails from the tiny town of Borås, an hour outside Gothenburg in Sweden, arrived in the UK 1996 to study at Edinburgh Botanic Gardens having worked in the USA in software development at the dawn of the World Wide Web.
He has no family and after allegedly being made redundant and losing his houseboat he found himself destitute with nowhere to go.
Despite a rocky few months which saw him convicted for an assault involving swans and banned from Hyde Park, Fernstedt appears to be living the high life – working out on gym bars he found in the street and showering for free in nearby Victoria.
He also receives donations including food and clothing from neighbours, who he claims actually like him living there.
Anders Fernstedt, 57, says he has been homeless in London’s Knightsbridge for two years after losing his job as a botanist
He has amassed a lucrative collection of items at his makeshift shelter on the steps of Britain’s most expensive home
Fernstedt is seen here back in December 2024. His newfound accommodation has since trebled in size in the space of just one year
Fernstedt lives in the portico of an abandoned and gutted 45-room £210 million ‘private palace’ spread over 60,000 square feet.
It is Britain’s most expensive home and allegedly owned by the disgraced Chinese billionaire and Communist Party Secretary Hui Ka Yan.
He has no family and after allegedly being made redundant and losing his houseboat he found himself destitute with nowhere to go.
The eccentric Swede told MailOnline: ‘Now I’m part of the neighbourhood, yesterday I had two or three different meals.
‘The council listens to other people’s complaints but the neighbours have sorted it out, they like me here. The council comes by every so often, has a chat and see you later.’
A golf-style umbrella keeps the rain off his belongings but it is not fool-proof, having had most of his belongings drenched in the storms over the weekend.
Trouble is few and far between but he blames several incidents of saboteurs moving his belongings on his new-found recognition.
‘They don’t damage or steal, but things are moved or knocked over, people are strange’, he says.
Fernstedt (pictured) lives in the portico of an abandoned and gutted 45-room £210 million ‘private palace’ spread over 60,000 square feet
Fernstedt receives donations including food and clothing from neighbours as well as plants, stuffed toys and a variety of other weird and wacky items
Fernstedt now spends his days immersed in novels by William Dalrymple and economists and has created an encampment complete with a mattress, wardrobes, dozens of plants and soft toys.
He works out on gym bars he found in the street and can pull off a variety of impressive gymnastic moves for passers by.
He showers at a location in Victoria and can use the bathroom at a nearby church, which he attends as a practicing Russian Orthodox Christian.
Fernstedt also says, despite his living situation, he is looking for love – and has already had some interest.
‘If you’re asking how I explain things if I invite somebody over, well maybe I have! I should keep that to myself but I will nod my head in all directions.
‘To put it this way, I’d say in the three years in the parks, maybe twice have I thought I could get married today. There have been two or three people.
‘Of course, to paraphrase Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I would like to find the everlasting gobstopper.
‘I wouldn’t be accused of kissing swans in the Crown Court if there wasn’t love in my heart, right!’
Despite his living situation, Fernstedt (pictured) says he is looking for love – and has already had some interest
Fernstedt works out on gym bars he found in the street and can pull off a variety of impressive gymnastic moves for passers by
‘I’m not here for a reason, I am here because nobody that I know can put me elsewhere – it is a “who knows?” situation’, he explained.
Westminster City Council say Fernstedt intentionally made himself homeless.
In June, the 57-year-old became the subject of an extraordinary Crown Court trial after being caught embracing swans in Hyde Park.
Southwark Crown Court heard how Fernstedt ‘stroked, cuddled and kissed’ after enticing the birds with food which drew the attention of swan volunteer Jon Ferguson, who warned the Swan-lover Fernstedt he could spread Avian flu if he carried on.
When local resident Viriginia Grey filmed the Fernstedt’s swan embraces, he rammed his bike into her causing her to tumble.
The court heard as Mr Ferguson apprehended Fernstedt, the Swede attacked him, leaving him needing stitches on the inside of his mouth, blurred vision and in need of painkillers for his bruised ribs following the March 30, 2023 incident.
Fernstedt was sentenced to a 15-month community order with a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement which the judge said would focus his mind.
He is now banned from Hyde Park’s Kensington Gardens and was slapped with a restraining order against his victims, whom he must not contact for two years.
A golf-style umbrella keeps the rain off Fernstedt’s belongings – or at least those that are most important to him
He sleeps next to many of the items which have been donated, including food from a Fortnum and Mason hamper – valued at £5,000
Last year, he received a £500 Armani jacket and trousers to keep him warm
Following the four day trial, where he represented himself, he remains defiant and has decided to teach himself the law of the land with old law school textbooks.
He said: ‘The great irony is why people had to go to war with me because I hugged the bird?
‘The legal system is so convoluted. The unbelievable thing is that it was exactly as I anticipated, all I need is one enemy somewhere and they win.
‘What he [the judge] said about me and my conduct and character are the funniest things I’ve heard. In a way, that was my graduation here in London!’
The 2023 fracas in Hyde Park is not the only swan-related chaos Fernstedt has found himself embroiled in.
‘A week ago I was chased out of Barnes Green by two pensioners because of the swans!’, he recalls laughing.
The Swede believes he has an affinity with the Royal-protected waterfowl and admits he misses interacting with them, claiming how a friendship with a swan ‘is a great gift’.
Fernstedt’s background remains somewhat of a mystery and he is coy about many aspects of his life.
Fernstedt (pictured) lives in the portico Britain’s most expensive home – allegedly owned by the disgraced Chinese billionaire and Communist Party Secretary Hui Ka Yan
Last year, Fernstedt also received a towel from the Wimbledon Tennis Championships
Answering cryptically to a series of questions about his childhood, he said: ‘The best thing for a child is benign neglect. It was all the stuff a boy needs, sports, nature and no dangers.’
During his conversation with MailOnline, a Russian man approached to shake Fernstedt’s hand, explaining how he sees him at services and congratulated him on his ascetic lifestyle.
Asked if he’s happy, Fernstedt, who wears cashmere socks in bed, replied: ‘Yes I am. I smile a lot, I laugh a lot.
‘I’m not running from anything, I’m also not running to everything. I’m not my own enemy.
‘I live like I’m retired, I’m not stuck in the past or future.’
Westminster City Council were approached for comment.
