It has been announced that His Excellency the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron will pay a State Visit to Sweden upon the invitation from His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf.
This will be the first French State Visit to Sweden since 2000 when President Jacques Chirac visited the country. It will be the third State Visit from France during the 50-year long reign of the Swedish King.
Other State Visits between the two countries:
1908 President Fallières visited Sweden and King Gustaf V
1908 King Gustaf V visited France and President Fallières
1964 King Gustaf VI Adolf visited France and President de Gaulle
1980 King Carl XVI Gustaf visited France and President Giscard d’Estaing
1984 President Mitterrand visited Sweden and King Carl XVI Gustaf
2000 President Jacques Chirac visited Sweden and King Carl XVI Gustaf
2014 King Carl XVI Gustaf visited France and President Hollande
Golden Jubilee of the Reign of His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf (1973 – 2023)
On 15th September this year (2023) His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf can look back on 50 years on the Swedish throne – and what a spectacular Silver throne it is! But for his reign to begin a sad occasion had to come to pass: the death of his predecessor as King of Sweden. That man was King Gustaf VI Adolf, the grandfather of the current King. Carl XVI Gustaf was 27 years old when his grandfather left this earthly life. It was now up to the young new King to shape the future of the Swedish monarchy. Because when King Gustaf VI Adolf took his last breath it was an uncertain time for the Swedish Royal Family.
The Swedish socialist government of the time did not look very favourably upon the monarchy as an institution, through the Prime Minister was said to have great respect for the old King personally. This respect was shared with the Swedish population in general. So even though the government would have preferred a new republic such a move would probably not have had sufficient support from the Swedish people at that time. So instead the government went out of its way to reduce the importance and impact of the monarchy and its traditions. It was for instance decided to abolish the glittering yearly event of the State Opening of Parliament. This had been a longstanding and was a fabulous display of pomp and ceremony with the King and Princes in their uniforms and orders, the Queen and Princesses in court dresses and blazing jewels (with tiaras), the Royal Household in their splendid court uniforms, members of the diplomatic corps in white tie or shiningly embroidered diplomatic uniforms with their wives in long gowns – some with magnificent jewels – and politicians in white tie, coats and top hats.
Another aspect of the traditions and workings of the monarchy that the Swedish government announced would cease was the honours system. The Royal Orders (those of the Seraphim, the Polar Star, the Sword and Vasa) could still be awarded to foreigners and to members of the Swedish Royal Family, but no longer should they be awarded to ordinary Swedish citizens. Fortunately the winds have changed and this specific rule has now recently been overturned and hopefully we should again see Swedish citizens being awarded for their valuable contribution to society soon. It will be very gratifying seeing the Swedes again wear the different Orders of their own country with pride at the various events where Orders should be worn.
These decisions had not yet come into effect though when King Gustaf VI Adolf passed away on after having spent four weeks hospitalised at Hälsingborg hospital to where he had been brought from his beloved summer retreat Sofiero Palace. So the new King still had a very grand swearing in ceremony (the last Swedish Coronation had taken place in 1873 – exactly 100 years previous). And so it also fell to His Majesty to open the first Parliament of his reign delivering the King’s speech (written by the government) in the old grand style.
On 1st January 1975, however, the new decisions made by the government finally came into effect. Consequently the King was left more or less as nothing more than a symbol for the country. It cannot have been easy for the young King in the beginning. He did not have decades of experience like his late grandfather. Nor had he had the time to build up the kind of respect enjoyed by his late grandfather as Head of State who could considered himself almost like a grandfather to his nation. Add to that the fact that he was single, though he of course had the help of his uncle Prince Bertil and his sisters. Things could easily have gone array. But the King embraced the challenge and felt the responsibility to preserve what was left of the monarchy but at the same time also to keep up with the times. His motto states it clearly: “For Sweden – with the Times”. Naturally there have been ups and downs, but the King can now celebrate his golden jubilee knowing that he has reigned longer than any other Swedish monarch and that the future of the Royal Family and the Monarchy seem secure in the person of the popular Crown Princess and her daughter Princess Estelle.
It looks like the celebrations in connection with the Golden Jubilee of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden are going to be rather glittering affairs. At least the banquet which will be held at the Royal Palace where we can expect white-tie and tiaras. And even more Royal tiaras than were perhaps expected before the confirmations of attendance were known. Normally in Scandinavia it is only the (Nordic) Heads of State that attend these kind of jubilee celebrations outside of the family of the monarch that is celebrated. But as we saw from the confirmation from Denmark both the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess will also attend together with the Queen. And now it has also been confirmed that it is not only the King and Queen of Norway that will attend but also the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway. This means that we can hopefully expect two more tiaras than would have been the case had only the Heads of State (with consorts) attended.
Photo: Thron Ullberg / Kungl Hovstaterna
I do hope that they all will remain in good health and that there will be no cancellations at the very last minute. Both the King of Norway and the Crown Princess of Norway have had to cancel some engagements lately due to illness.
Celebrating the longest reign of any Swedish monarch His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustav is marking his 50 years on the throne with a series of special events. The most exciting one for Royal watchers who relish in the grander events is naturally the banquet held on 15th September. A concert at the Drottningholm Palace Theatre has also been announced to take place the day before, but it is unlikely that this will be a white-tie and tiara event.
As per today 30th August it has been reported that Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark, Their Royal Highnesses the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess of Denmark and Her Majesty the former Queen of the Hellenes have all confirmed their attendance.
This certainly indicate that it is not only the Scandinavian Heads of State who have been invited to the party. Instead it looks like also heirs are on the list of invited guests and even foreign Royalty. Whether that implies that invitations have gone out to the rest of the European Royal courts has yet to be seen as we wait for further confirmation of attendance. It has to be taken into consideration still that the former Queen of the Hellenes is a close family member of the Swedish King, Her Majesty being his first cousin, and maybe that is why she has received an invitation.
Photo: Thron Ullberg/Kungl Hovstaterna
Apart from his children it is also very likely that His Majesty’s four sisters will add to the glitter on this occasion and there will certainly be representatives from the Norwegian Royal Family present.
For the first time since November 2019 Their Majesties the King and Queen of Sweden invited to a splendid official dinner at the Royal Palace on April 6th. Usually such a dinner is held at least once each year in Sweden. But due to the exceptional situation with Covid, lock-down and several waves of the virus made such gatherings impossible until now. An official dinner had in fact been planned for March 4th in 2020, but it had to be cancelled at the very last minute.
The guests, who numbered about 150, were welcomed by the Royal Family in the Vita Havet. Unlike previous years, due to the Covid pandemic that hit Sweden hard, there was no handshaking between the Royal Family and the guests. Among the guests were politicians, members from the Diplomatic Corps, representatives from various authorities, science, sport, business and culture, as well as people the Royal Family had met on their visits. Many of them had been invited to the dinner which had been planned in 2020. A list of the guests can be found here.
After all the guests had been welcomed the party moved into the Karl XI Gallery which had been converted to a magnificent dining room. The 48 meter long table had been covered with white table linen – a gift to King Gustaf VI Adolf in 1959. The plates where from a set gifted to King Carl XVI Gustaf in 1996 for his 50th birthday by the Riksdag and the Swedish Government. It had been designed by Karin Björgquist and made by Hackman-Rörstrand Gustafsberg. Another gift to the King and Queen – this time in connection with their wedding in 1976 – from the Riksdag and the Swedish Government was the crystal used. Kosta had used the design by Sigurd Persson to create this wonderful set.
Adding to the beauty of the table was the Brazilian Silver Service, an heirloom from Queen Josephine’s sister Empress Amalia of Brazil. It ended up in Sweden after the Empress death in 1873.
Her Majesty combined her stunning Sapphire parure with a cornflower blue dress by Georg et Arend, a German Fashion House. On her right wrist could also be seen a Diamond bracelet. With this the Queen wore the pale blue Sash and the Breast Star of the Order of the Seraphim. Pinned to her gorgeous gown she also wore the King’s portrait in a Diamond frame.
The honour of escorting Her Majesty to the table had been bestowed on the Minister of Justice, Mr Morgan Johansson. He would in fact only a few days later cause a minor clash with the Royal Court when he published a Government proposal to remove several official flagging days; including the one on Her Majesty’s birthday once Crown Princess Victoria succeeds her father to the throne. His Excellency the Ambassador to Ukraine to Sweden Andrii Plakhotniuk was seated to the Queen’s right at the table.
Her Royal Highness had chosen an elegant red evening gown created by Pär Engsheden. The Crown Princess has worn this at several occasions already and it suits her perfectly. With this she wore the Laurel Wreath tiara and the Queen Josephine Corsage necklace she inherited from the late Princess Lilian. In her ears the impressive Diamond Floral earrings from the Swedish Royal Jewel Collection glittered and the Ruby brooch pinned to the pale blue Sash of the Order of the Seraphim. Rubies seem to feature in the bracelet on the Crown Princess’ right wrist too, a row of them being bordered by a row of of Diamonds on each side. Another Diamond brooch was pinned to the Sash at the back and like the Queen the Crown Princess also wore the portrait of her father the King in a Diamond frame.
The honour of escorting Her Royal Highness to the table befell the Minister for Financial Markets Mr Max Elger. The Minister of Justice was placed to her right at the table.
Princess Sofia wore an emerald green silk gown created by the house of Dagmar. It is not a new purchase as the Princess also wore this to the Nobel Ceremony back in 2018. The rich colour of the creation was a perfect match to the Emeralds worn in her Palmette Wedding tiara and the dark green stones (Emeralds also?) in her earrings. A slim Diamond bracelet graced the Princess’ left wrist. Additionally Her Royal Highness wore an antique Pearl and Diamond brooch with a Pearl pendant and a small Diamond brooch at the back. The brooches were used to fasten the Sash of the Order of the Seraphim that she wore together with the Order’s Breast Star. Pinned to her gown was also the portrait of King Carl XVI Gustaf in Diamonds.
The Ukrainian Ambassador escorted the Princess to the table while the Ambassador of Iceland was seated to her right hand side.
A very nice surprise was to see His Majesty’s sister Princess Christina Mrs Magnuson attend the dinner. Wearing a purple chiffon gown with sequin embroidery and see-through sleeves. She combined the outfit with the Six-Button Diamond tiara, two strings of sizeable Pearls with a Pearl pendant and a Pearl button brooch. Even in her ears she wore Pearl pendant earrings. Crossing over from her right shoulder to her left hip was the pale blue Sash of the Order of the Seraphim with the corresponding Breast Star pinned to her gown. Like all the other Royal ladies she wore the portrait of the King in a Diamond frame. She even wore another honour bestowed upon her by His Majesty and that was the King’s Medal in Brilliants Size 18 on a chain.
Princess Christina was escorted to the table by the Ambassador of Iceland.
The Royal gentlemen all looked very smart in their white-tie and orders. His Majesty and Their Royal Highnesses Prince Daniel and Prince Carl Philip wore the Sash and Breast Star of the Order of the Seraphim and the black Neck-tie of the Order of the Polar Star. The King also wore the Breast Star of the Order of Vasa pinned to his jacket. The other main difference was the medals worn by all three. His Majesty wore five commemorative medals marking: the 90th anniversary of King Gustav V (1948), the 85th anniversary of King Gustav VI Adolf (1967), the 100th anniversary of the birth of King Haakon VII of Norway (1972), the Silver Jubilee of King Olav V of Norway (1982) and the Silver Jubilee of King Harald of Norway (2016). Prince Daniel only wore two medals on his lapel: the Ruby Jubilee (40 years reign) of King Carl XVI Gustaf (2013) and the 70th anniversary of King Carl XVI Gustaf (2016). Five medals were also worn by Prince Carl Philip: 70th anniversary of King Carl XVI Gustaf (2016), the Ruby Jubilee of King Carl XVI Gustaf (2013), the 50th anniversary of King Carl XVI Gustaf (1996), the Wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel (2010) and finally the Uppland Medal of Merit (2008).
The King escorted the Second Deputy Speaker Lotta Johnsson Fornarve to the table. Prime Minster Magdalena Andersson was seated to His Majesty’s left. Prince Daniel lead the Ambassador of Finland Maimo Henriksson to the table and Second Deputy Speaker Lotta Johnsson Fornarve was seated to his left. Prince Carl Philip had the Prime Minster to his right while seated to his left was the Ambassador of Denmark Vibeke Lauritzen.
Mr Tord Magnuson was also in white-tie and could be seen wearing a few orders too. Although no Swedish Orders have been awarded to Swedish citizens since 1975 Mr Magnuson was created an officer in the Order of Vasa in 1972 and thus wears the badge around the neck in the Order’s green ribbon. In addition he wore the King’s Medal in the 12th Size in a ribbon around his neck in the same pale blue colour as the Order of the Seraphim. Pinned to his jacket could also be seen the badge as an Officer in the Order of the Legion of Honour (France).
Menu
Steamed Norwegian king crab, marinated rutabaga, grapefruit and aromatic herbs
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Baked Icelandic monkfish, fresh lumpfish roe, butter-baked white asparagus, Sandefjord sauce and chives
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Braised spring lamb from Mälardalen, lamb gravy with wild garlic and glazed celeriac
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Lemon meringue, citrus sorbet, juniper berry oil, last year's elderflower, fennel pollen and French meringue
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Wines
Château Coucheroy 2015 Pessac-Léognan
Château Mancèdre 2010 Pessac-Léognan
Château du Juge 2011 Cadillac
The official dinner in Stockholm was not the only tiara event this week. In the Netherlands the King and Queen welcomed the President of India for a State Visit. As is usual the first day ended with a State Banquet at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. Luckily it was a white-tie event, which meant tiara sightings, and not the rather low-key suit and tie dresscode which was observed in Belgium two weeks ago when the President of Austria visited Brussels.
To read more about the State Visit, you can press here. It will bring you to the page created on this blog on the Indian State Visit.
Ever since it was announced that a Spanish State Visit to Sweden would take place in November excitement had been building up for this event. On November 23rd the King and Queen of Spain flew up to Stockholm. The State Visit did not officially begin until today (November 24th), but the King and Queen made the most of the evening previous to this to attend a reception at the Spanish Embassy for the Spanish community in Sweden.
Today the King and Queen of Sweden have received the Spanish King and Queen at the Royal Mews, as per the tradition created for State Visits, before riding in State Procession to the Royal Palace for the rest of the official welcoming ceremony.
More on the visit by going to this page here, which will be updated as new information emerge.
As was announced already before King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia left for Stockholm the King have awarded Spanish honours to the Swedish Crown Princess, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia. And it is expected that Queen Letizia will be awarded the Order of the Seraphim by King Carl XVI Gustaf during the exchange of official gifts:
Inför det spanska statsbesöket till Sverige har kung Felipe utnämnt kronprinsessan Victoria till storkors av Isabella den katolskas orden. Även Fredrik Wersäll, Andreas Norlén och Ann Linde får samma orden. pic.twitter.com/a4DoX2RLy7
It was not only King Carl XVI Gustaf, his family and the Presidential couple who wore colourful order insignia at the State Banquet which took place on the first evening of the State Visit. Both politicians and aides / courtiers were awarded honours in recognition of their meticulous planning and execution of the program which made the visit a success.
To see an initial list of those who received orders and those who wore them, press here.
Up to now most of the content on this site has been grand Royal events from the past, like State Visits during the reign of HM King Haakon VII of Norway and HM King Christian X of Denmark for instance. But when the German State Visit to Sweden took place earlier this month it was such a joy to again see some proper glitter and splendour that it deserved to be mentioned on this site.
Some Covid restrictions are still in place, though. Thus it was not possible to invite as many guests as is usually the case for the State Banquet that took place on the first evening. But we were at least able to see that the Queen and the Crown Princess brought out some of their best jewels for the occasion. And they looked spectacular. Some more details about the State Banquet and the engagements on the first day here.
It is so nice to see some glitter and elegance – and colours! – again after such a long time. Both Her Majesty the Queen of Sweden and Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess looked wonderful and His Majesty and the two Princes looked very elegant in their white-tie and the Sash and Star of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. A page will be created to cover this State Visit, but before that is up and published here is a nice video from the State Banquet at the Royal Palace hosted by Their Majesties in honour of their German guests:
In 1974 the new Swedish King paid a State Visit to Norway as one of the first State Visits made in his reign. It was a glittering visit, as was usually the case in those days, with three grand gala events. Fortunately the press had been allowed to take photos at all three of the events and it was widely reported in the newspapers – both in Sweden and Norway. After all, it was an important visit to a great friend and neighbouring country.
REGAL EVENTS 