A time to rejoice: Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf at 50

Scandinavian Review, Autumn 1996 by Jagerblom, Michael

King Carl Gustaf and Silvia Sommerlath announced their engagement in March 1976, and their wedding in Stockholm Cathedral on June 19 that year made her the very beloved Queen Silvia of Sweden. Her warm personality, beauty and charisma are an enormous asset to the Swedish monarchy. The King's marriage has certainly helped him to develop the glamour and authority that now adhere to him.

King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia have three children: Crown Princess Victoria, born in 1977; Prince Carl Philip, born in 1979; and Princess Madeleine, born in 1982. In accordance with a new Act of Succession from 1980, the succession to the throne of Sweden is fully cognatic. That means that the eldest child of the King and Queen is first heir to the throne, regardless of sex. Crown Princess Victoria came of age in 1995 and may now be the Regent of Sweden when her father is abroad or unable to reign for some other reason, such as severe illness.

The Royal family resides at Drottningholm Palace near Stockholm, but the King and Queen have their offices at the Royal Palace in the Swedish capital. They enjoy a happy and harmonious family life, spending as much time as possible with their children. They like skiing in winter and spend the summer holidays at the Solliden Palace on the island of Oland, in the Baltic Sea. There they practice water sports, riding, outdoor life and gardening. They frequently attend church on Sundays and are members of the Church of Sweden. The Royal family lives an exemplary life and has mercifully been spared from any scandals, which are very rare among Scandinavian Royalty in any case.

Carl XVI Gustaf has great knowledge of environmental affairs and natural history. He is chairman of the Swedish branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature. The King has been invested with the United States Environmental Protection Agency Award for his environmental commitment. Apart from their formal duties, the King and Queen appear each year at hundreds of occasions, for which their schedules are filled at least a year in advance.

Foreigners sometimes ask what purpose a monarch serves in an otherwise egalitarian country like Sweden. It would require far more space than we have here to give a full explanation but one could mention a few aspects.

The King has managed to combine a lineage of Royal tradition with modern attitudes in a way that is truly appreciated by the vast majority of Swedes. He somehow embodies the nation's best qualities: sincerity, honesty, a practical sense of duty, humanitarian vision and a general credibility. The King remains Head of State for a long time, while prime ministers and governments come and go. In a sometimes uncertain and insecure world, the King symbolically stands for a kind of continuity and stability, despite the many changes constantly occurring in modern society. And most Swedes dislike the idea of having presidential elections every fourth year!

The jubilation throughout Sweden as the King's 50th birthday festivities were celebrated in April made it vividly clear that Swedes wished Carl XVI Gustaf many more years in his exalted role as their nation's preeminent representative.