King Carl Gustaf’s 70th Birthday

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden turned 70 on April 30th. There were a variety of events, including a Concert, Te Deum service, Armed Forces celebration, and a Lunch at Stockholm City Hall.

Photo: Kungahuset.se

There were a number of official photos released earlier this week, to mark the occasion.

Embed from Getty Images

In the evening of April 29th, members of the Royal family attended a concert at the Nordic Museum in Stockholm. There was a large turnout of family and members of the Swedish Government, a notable absence was Princess Sofia, because she has given birth last week. A number of foreign Royal guest attended including: Princess Takamado of Japan, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Crown Princess Margareta of Romania, Crown Prince Alexander & Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia, and Prince Leopold of Bavaria with members of his family. After the concert, the King said in a speech: “What an extraordinary concert we have got to be involved tonight! It is hard to imagine a more beautiful prelude to this evening. […] On the eve of my 70th birthday, it feels useful to gather representatives of both Swedish society and the Swedish people. It is an occasion to look back but also to look ahead. And above all, to say: Thank you! ”

Embed from Getty ImagesEmbed from Getty Images

The dress code was quite informal, the men were in suits, while the ladies wore cocktail dresses. Crown Princess Victoria wore H&M with a unique gold necklace, Princess Madeleine wore Erdem. Queen Silvia, wore a blue evening gown, with the earrings from the Leuchtenberg sapphire parure and a diamond riviére.

Embed from Getty ImagesEmbed from Getty ImagesEmbed from Getty Images

On April 30th, all the members of the Swedish Royal family attended a Te Deum service in the Royal chapel, viewed an Armed Forces celebration and the King received flowers from children in the courtyard of the Royal Palace of Stockholm. Princess Sofia made her first public appearance after the birth of Prince Alexander last week. There were additional royal guests including Kings Juan Carlos of Spain, and Simeon of Bulgaria, with the Queens of Denmark, Spain, Bulgaria, and the former Queen, now Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands.

Embed from Getty Images

The Royal family and the foreign representatives listened to a Norrbro, a two-thousand-strong choir sang under the direction of Caroline af Ugglas, supported by the Armed Forces Music Corps. Prince Oscar, the newborn son of Crown Princess Victoria, made his public debut today on the Balcony. There were a number of tender moments captured by the cameras, including Crown Princess Mary of Denmark taking pictures with her god-daughter; Princess Estelle of Sweden.

Embed from Getty Images

After a carriage ride through Stockholm, the King and Queen arrived at Stockholm City Hall, and listened to a communal singing of ‘All You Need is Love’,before sitting down to lunch in the Golden Hall.

Embed from Getty Images

In the evening there was a Banquet in the Hall of State at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. There were many foreign Royal guests, but as there are no high quality photos available, I will do a post about the Banquet tomorrow, when we have better pictures.  I wish HM The King a very Happy Birthday, and may he have many more to come!!

 

Special thanks to The Royals and I for keeping me updated on social media, and identifying the clothes of the Swedish Royal ladies almost instantly.

One thought on “King Carl Gustaf’s 70th Birthday

Leave a Reply