On 15 September 2023 we celebrated King Carl XVI Gustaf’s 50th jubilee

50 years as king! Quite a feat! 

King Carl XVI Gustaf, Sweden’s current monarch, ascended the throne on 15 September 1973. Carl XVI Gustaf is the seventh king of the House of Bernadotte and the longest reigning monarch in Swedish history.

But he’s been in the public eye even longer than that. Since day one, you could say, as the first and only son of Hereditary Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sibylla.

Immediately after his birth on 30 April 1946, announcing the news that an heir to the Swedish throne had been born, cannons at all salute stations across the country and larger naval ships were fired. How’s that for pomp and circumstance?

Less than a year later, on 26 January 1947, Hereditary Prince Gustaf Adolf died in a plane crash, and Carl Gustaf and his four sisters were left fatherless.

On 29 October 1950, Carl Gustaf became Crown Prince of Sweden as his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf ascended the throne, following the death of King Gustaf V.

From his early school years, via confirmation, upper secondary school graduation and military service at the Royal Navy, to ascension, marriage to Queen Silvia and the birth of his three children, King Carl XVI Gustaf seems to always have been in the company of a photographer capturing the moment – all the way up to today. We’re thankful for that!

To mark the occasion of his 50-year anniversary, King Carl XVI Gustaf has been paying visits to all 21 of Sweden’s regions during the months leading up to this day. These visits have offered him and Queen Silvia a chance to meet with the people.

According to the 1974 constitution, the Swedish monarch has no political affinity or formal powers. His duties are mainly of a ceremonial and representative nature.

We congratulate His Majesty!