by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2014
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden; Photo: Sara Friberg, Kungl. Hovstaterna / Sara Friberg, The Royal Court of Sweden
In the spring of 1946, Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, wife of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, was pregnant for the fifth time. The couple was parents of four daughters, none of whom could be in the line of succession to the throne due to the succession laws at that time. Prince Gustaf Adolf’s grandfather King Gustaf V was the reigning King of Sweden and his father, the future King Gustaf VI Adolf, was the Crown Prince. As his father’s eldest son, Prince Gustaf Adolf was second in the line of succession. On April 30, 1946, Princess Sibylla gave birth to a son at Haga Palace. The newborn prince was third in the line of succession to the Swedish throne after his grandfather and father.
Prince Carl Gustaf is a descendant of Queen Victoria through both of his parents. His paternal grandmother was Princess Margaret of Connaught, daughter of Queen Victoria’s son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. His maternal grandfather was Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the posthumous son of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, Queen Victoria’s youngest son.
- Unofficial Royalty: Ancestors of King Carl XVI Gustaf
- Unofficial Royalty: First Cousins of King Carl XVI Gustaf
Four Generations: The infant Prince Carl Gustaf held by his great-grandfather King Gustaf V. Seated on the left is the prince’s grandfather, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf (the future King Gustaf VI Adolf), and standing is the prince’s father, Prince Gustaf Adolf; Photo: Swedish Royal Court
The infant prince was christened Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus on June 7, 1946, in the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. He was given the title Duke of Jämtland on the day of his christening. His godparents were:
- Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, his paternal uncle by marriage, later King Frederick IX of Denmark
- Crown Princess Ingrid of Denmark, his paternal aunt, later Queen Ingrid of Demark
- Crown Prince Olav of Norway, paternal grandfather’s second cousin, later King Olav V of Norway
- Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, later Queen Juliana of the Netherlands
- King Gustaf V of Sweden, his paternal great-grandfather
- Friedrich Josias, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, his maternal uncle
- Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, later King Gustaf VI Adolf, his paternal grandfather
- Crown Princess Louise of Sweden, his paternal step-grandmother, later Queen Louise of Sweden, born Princess Louise of Battenberg, in 1917 Lady Louise Mountbatten
- Count Folke Bernadotte af Wisborg, his paternal grandfather’s first cousin
- Countess Maria Bernadotte af Wisborg, the wife of his paternal grandfather’s first cousin
Carl Gustaf with his parents and four elder sisters; Credit – Wikipedia
Carl Gustaf has four elder sisters:
- Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler (born 1934) married John Ambler, has one daughter and two sons
- Princess Birgitta of Sweden (1937 – 2024) married Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern, had two sons and one daughter
- Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld (born 1938) married Baron Nils-August Silfverschiöld, had one son and two daughters
- Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson (born 1943) married Tord Magnuson, had three sons
On January 26, 1947, when Carl Gustaf was only nine months old, his father died in an airplane crash at Kastrup Airport near Copenhagen, Denmark. At that time, Carl Gustaf became second in the line of succession behind his grandfather. Carl Gustaf’s great-grandfather King Gustaf V died on October 29, 1950, and his grandfather became King Gustaf VI Adolf while four-year-old Carl Gustaf became Crown Prince.
Until he was six years old, Carl Gustaf was educated at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. In the fall of 1952, he began school at the Broms School, a private school in Stockholm. He then attended the Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket, a boarding school in Sigtuna, Sweden, and graduated from its upper secondary school in 1966.
After completing school, Carl Gustaf spent two and a half years in the Swedish Army, Navy, and Air Force. The Crown Prince passed the Naval Officer Examination in 1968 and served as an officer on various ships in the Swedish Navy. He later completed a command course at the Swedish National Defense College.
From 1968-1969, Carl Gustaf attended a program at the University of Uppsala where he studied history, sociology, political science, financial law, and economics. Next, the Crown Prince followed a specially designed program of field trips to national and local institutions, industries, factories, laboratories, and schools. He studied the Swedish judicial system, social welfare organizations, trade unions, and employer associations. The program included a special emphasis on the work of the Riksdag (the Swedish Parliament), the Government, and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. To gain international experience, Carl Gustaf worked at the Swedish mission to the United Nations in New York, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency in Africa, the Hambro Bank, the Swedish Embassy, and the Swedish Chamber of Commerce, all in London, and at the Alfa Laval factory in Nevers, France.
At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, Carl Gustaf met Silvia Sommerlath who was serving as an interpreter and hostess. She was born in Heidelberg, Germany to German businessman Walther Sommerlath and his Brazilian wife Alice Soares de Toledo. Previously, Silvia worked at the Argentinean Consulate in Munich and was Deputy Head of Protocol of the Organizing Committee for the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. Carl Gustaf has said that the couple immediately “clicked” upon meeting. While the couple was courting, Carl Gustaf’s grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf, died on September 15, 1973, and Carl Gustaf became king at the age of 27. He was invested as King Carl XVI Gustaf in the Hall of State at the Royal Palace of Stockholm on September 19, 1973.
The engagement of King Carl Gustaf and Silvia Sommerlath was announced on March 12, 1976. The couple was married at Stockholm’s Storkyrkan Cathedral on June 19, 1976. The night before the wedding the Swedish group ABBA performed the first live Swedish television performance of their song Dancing Queen at a gala in honor of Carl Gustaf and his queen-to-be.
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Princess Madeleine, Princess Sofia, Prince Carl Philip, Helena Norlen, King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Andreas Norlen, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Estelle, and Prince Daniel celebrate Sweden’s national day in 2019
King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia have three children:
- Crown Princess Victoria, Duchess of Västergötland (born 1977), married Daniel Westling, had one daughter and one son
- Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland (born 1979), married Sofia Hellqvist, had three sons
- Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland (born 1982), married Christopher O’Neill, had two daughters and one son
Drottningholm Palace; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer
The King and his family moved to Drottningholm Palace, a short distance from Stockholm, in 1980. The official offices remain at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. On April 26, 2018, King Carl XVI Gustaf became the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history surpassing King Magnus IV who reigned for 44 years and 222 days from July 8, 1319 – February 15, 1364.
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