The Swedish nobility () has historically been a legally and/or socially privileged class in Sweden, and part of the so-called "frälse" (a derivation from Old Swedish meaning "free neck"). The archaic term for nobility, "frälse", also included the clergy, a classification defined by tax exemptions and representation in the diet (the Riksdag). Today the nobility does not maintain its former privileges although family names, titles and coats of arms are still protected. The Swedish nobility consists of both "introduced" and "unintroduced" nobility, where the latter has not been formally "introduced" at the House of Nobility ("Riddarhuset"). The House of Nobility still maintains a fee for male members over the age of 18 for upkeep on pertinent buildings in Stockholm.