Today, the Bernadottes begin a multi-day celebration of the Golden Jubilee of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Before the festivities begin later today, here’s a guide to the engagements on the program—and the royals we should expect to see at some of the glittering events of the celebration!
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden ascended to the throne on September 15, 1973, the day that his grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf, passed away. (Coincidentally, Carl Gustaf’s future son-in-law, Prince Daniel, was born on that exact day as well.) The new King of Sweden was 27 years old and unmarried at the time, though he was already dating his future bride, Silvia Sommerlath. King Carl XVI Gustaf took a solemn oath before the Swedish cabinet four days later, on September 19, 1973, and revealed a royal motto for his reign: “For Sweden—with the times.”
Carl XVI Gustaf has now reigned in Sweden for fifty years. Over the past half century, his family has grown exponentially. He married Queen Silvia in 1976, and they have three children—Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl Philip, and Princess Madeleine—and eight grandchildren.
The King’s early reign was marked by changes to the country’s Instrument of Government, which removed all remaining formal political powers from the monarch. However, he remains Sweden’s most senior and seasoned diplomat, receiving ambassadors and hosting foreign guests. He also opens parliament annually and holds regular council sessions with members of the Swedish government.
Over the next four days, members of the royal family, plus other dignitaries and a group of foreign royal guests, will celebrate King Carl Gustaf’s Golden Jubilee with a series of receptions, galas, and concerts. Here’s a closer look at some of the major events.
Reception for the Riksdag and the Government (Wednesday, September 13 at 4:30 PM CET/10:30 AM eastern): Representatives from the Riksdag (Sweden’s parliament) and the government will present an official gift to the King at the Royal Palace. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia are scheduled to attend.
Royal Swedish Opera Performance (Thursday, September 14 at 6:00 PM CET/noon eastern): The Royal Swedish Opera will give a special Golden Jubilee performance in the historic Drottningholm Palace Theatre, accompanied by the Royal Swedish Ballet, the Royal Court Orchestra, and a choir and soloists. King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip, Princess Sofia, Princess Madeleine, and Christopher O’Neill are all scheduled to attend. Also planning to attend are King Harald V, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon, and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, as well as Queen Margrethe II, Crown Prince Frederik, and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark with Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.
Private Dinner (Thursday, September 14, at 8:30 PM CET/2:30 PM eastern): King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia will host a private supper at Drottningholm Palace after the opera performance.
I would wager that the Thursday evening theatre gala/dinner will have a black-tie dress code, based on similar events held over the years in Sweden. That would mean we’d see the royal ladies wearing evening dresses and plenty of jewels, but likely no tiaras. (See the example above from a performance/dinner during Carl XVI Gustaf’s Ruby Jubilee a decade ago.) If all goes as planned, we’ll have evening jewels from Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine, Princess Sofia, Queen Sonja, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Queen Margrethe II, Crown Princess Mary, and Queen Anne-Marie.
Te Deum Service (Friday, September 15 at 10:30 AM CET/4:30 AM eastern): A service of thanksgiving will be held in the King’s honor in the castle church at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. The service will be broadcast on Sweden’s SVT television channel and streamed online. We should see the entire Swedish royal family (King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip, Princess Sofia, Princess Madeleine, and Christopher O’Neill) at the service, as well as the Norwegian royals and the Danish royals.
Here’s what King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia wore for the Te Deum service celebrating his Ruby Jubilee in September 2013. I’d expect to see similar clothing and jewels for Friday’s service. We should see daytime jewels at the service from Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine, Princess Sofia, Queen Sonja, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Queen Margrethe II, Crown Princess Mary, and Queen Anne-Marie.
Special salute and musical tribute (Friday, September 15 at noon CET/6:00 AM eastern): Outside the Royal Palace, a special salute will be fired in the King’s honor. Afterward, the King and Prince Carl Philip will attend the changing of the guard, during which military bands will play. After that, a musical tribute will be performed for the monarch by several choirs in the gardens outside the palace. The entire Swedish royal family is scheduled to attend, and I’d guess that the Danish and Norwegian royal guests will be there as well. All of this will also be broadcast by SVT on television and online.
Televised royal address (Friday, September 15 at 7:20 PM CET/1:20 PM eastern): King Carl XVI Gustaf will deliver a special ten-minute televised anniversary speech. The address will be aired on SVT on television and online.
Golden Jubilee Banquet (Friday, September 15 at 7:30 PM CET/1:30 PM eastern): Inside the Throne Room of the Royal Palace in Stockholm, a grand royal banquet will be held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the King’s reign. The entire Swedish royal family (King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip, Princess Sofia, Princess Madeleine, and Christopher O’Neill) should be there, as will King Harald V, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon, and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, plus Queen Margrethe II, Crown Prince Frederik, and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark with Queen Anne-Marie of Greece. The banquet’s speeches will be shown by SVT on television and online.
The banquet should be the most formal event of the entire celebrations, with guests in white tie, evening dresses, decorations, and tiaras and jewels. I’d expect similar attire to that worn for Queen Margrethe II of Denmark’s Golden Jubilee banquet last autumn—but with Swedish royal decorations, of course. That means tiaras from Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine, Princess Sofia, Queen Sonja, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Queen Margrethe II, Crown Princess Mary, and Queen Anne-Marie!
Golden Jubilee Procession (Saturday, September 16 at 2:30 PM CET/8:30 AM eastern): King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia will process through Stockholm to celebrate the jubilee, first riding in an open carriage and then boarding the royal barge to sail along Stockholm’s waterways.
Both the carriage procession and the barge journey will be shown on SVT, both on television and online.
Golden Jubilee Concert (Saturday, September 16 at 4:00 PM CET/10:00 AM eastern): After the procession has ended, the King and Queen will be joined by the other members of their family (Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip, Princess Sofia, Princess Madeleine, and Christopher O’Neill) at the Norrbro outside the Royal Palace for a special concert, featuring Swedish hits made during the King’s 50-year reign. The concert will be shown by SVT on television and online.
I’m planning to cover the Riksdag reception, the opera performance, the Te Deum service, the banquet, and the procession here at The Court Jeweller this week, as long as images are available from each event for me to license. I’ll be popping up new articles this week as events happen/content becomes available, instead of on our usual schedule. Check back often, and cross your fingers that we’ll have plenty of glitter to enjoy! Which Scandinavian royal jewels do you hope to see on display?
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