Karl XVI. Gustav
Date of Birth: 30.04.1946
Karl XVI. Gustav (Swedish Carl XVI. Gustaf) has been King of Sweden since September 15, 1973. His full title is: By the Grace of God, King of Sweden, of the Goths and of the Wends. Before his ascension to the throne, he was Crown Prince and by birth the Duke of Jämtland.
Place of Birth. Education. King Karl XVI was born on April 30, 1946, at Haga Palace in Solna, Sweden. He was the only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. His parents already had four daughters, three of whom later married non-royal men.
Prince Gustaf Adolf died in a plane crash near Copenhagen on January 26, 1947, when his grandfather, Gustav V, and his father, later Gustav VI, were still alive. Karl was nine months old at that time. When Gustav V and then his grandfather Gustav VI Adolf passed away and he ascended in 1950, Karl became the heir to the throne. His mother, Princess Sibylla, died in 1972.
The heir, Carl Gustav, finished his boarding school education in Sigtuna near Stockholm in 1966.
He then served two and a half years of military service in various parts of the military - in the army, air force, and navy. He was particularly interested in maritime affairs and has since kept a special interest in the sea.
After his military service, the heir completed a special education program at Uppsala University within a year. This program included courses in history, sociology, political science, tax law, and economics. The prince subsequently continued his study of economics at Stockholm University.
He also gained international experience by studying the work of the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations in New York, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) in Africa, the Chamber of Commerce in London, and the Hambro Bank.
Ascension to the throne. When he ascended to the throne in 1973, the 27-year-old (the youngest of the Bernadotte dynasty) King Karl XVI Gustav replaced his 90-year-old grandfather Gustav VI Adolf.
The new constitution of Sweden came into force in 1974 during Karl Gustav's reign and formally stripped the new king of some powers, including the appointment of the Prime Minister and the status of Commander-in-Chief of the country's armed forces. According to the new constitution, the king was to carry out only representative and ceremonial duties. The 1974 constitution retained the king and his formal political powers while solidifying the introduction of a parliamentary system of government that was established in 1917. The king officially appointed the Prime Minister, although in practice, he was almost always the leader of the majority party or coalition in the parliament. Moreover, legislative proposals passed by the parliament did not require the king's signature to become legally binding.
He is the principal representative of Sweden and undertakes state visits abroad, opens the annual session of the parliament, holds regular information talks with the Prime Minister and the cabinet, chairs meetings of the Foreign Policy Council, and receives letters of credence from foreign ambassadors to Sweden. He voluntarily refrains from voting in parliamentary elections in Sweden. According to the provisions of the Government Form Act of 1974, which came into force on January 1, 1975, King Karl XVI Gustav no longer holds the position of Commander-in-Chief but retains his ranks and uniforms, although he has no military command authority outside of his military staff at the palace.
Worldwide, Karl XVI Gustav is best known as the annual Nobel Prize presenter. He also awards the Polar Music Prize. The king holds honorary doctorates from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, the Royal Institute of Technology, the Stockholm School of Economics, and the University of Åbo in Finland.
Hobbies. As a young boy and an active member of the scouting organization, the prince was very interested in nature and enjoyed spending time outdoors. In 1977, he was appointed honorary chairman of the World Scout Foundation. Early on, he took a clear stand on environmental protection and is the president of the Swedish branch of the 'World Wide Fund for Nature' organization.
The king loves water sports, enjoys diving, and is involved in skiing. He has participated several times in the famous annual 90-kilometer ski race, the Vasaloppet, held in honor of King Gustav Vasa.
Family. At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Karl met Silvia Renate Sommerlath. On June 19, 1976, he married her, making Silvia the Queen of Sweden. The royal couple has three children: Crown Princess Victoria (born July 14, 1977), Prince Carl Philip (born May 13, 1979), and Princess Madeleine (born June 10, 1982).
Prince Carl Philip was Crown Prince and heir to the throne of Sweden from his birth until January 1, 1980. However, the constitutional reform of 1979 changed the order of succession according to the principle of absolute primogeniture and made his older sister, Princess Victoria, the heir.
29.04.2022