King Carl Gustaf of Sweden turns 75

Carl Gustaf - SilviaPhoto: Pontus Lundahl / TT NYHETSBYRÅN / NTB

King Carl Gustaf of Sweden turns 75 on Friday. He has sat on the Swedish throne for almost 50 years.

Already as a 27-year-old, he had to step in as king when his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, died in 1973.

His own father, Gustaf Adolf, died in a plane crash when Carl Gustaf was one year old. But it was only when his great-grandfather Gustav V Adolf died when he was four, and his grandfather became king, that he became crown prince.

As king, he is the seventh monarch of the Bernadotte family. He is descended from Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, one of Napoleon’s generals, who became King Charles XIV Johan of Sweden, and King Charles III Johan of Norway, in 1818 due to a coup against the sitting king after Sweden lost Finland in the Finnish War.

Married for 45 years

Three years after ascending the throne, in the Great Church in Stockholm, he got married to Brazilian-German Silvia Sommerlath, whom he met during the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972, where she worked on the preparations of the event.

The royal pair, who has now been married for 45 years, has three children, including Crown Princess Victoria.

The Queen has stood by Gustaf Adolf’s side for all these years, despite the many scandals and rumors about infidelity, parties, and strip clubs that have appeared in the media.

He has also been arrested a number of times for reckless driving with expensive cars, but he escaped fines since he has immunity.

A popular king

Carl Gustaf has, over the years, become reasonably popular with the Swedes, and he takes his duties as king seriously, even though the Swedish royal house has lost all constitutional functions except representation – to an even greater extent than other European monarchies.

In the podcast Värvet, he recently said that he likes the job and that it gives him the opportunity to keep up with developments.

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

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