When King Carl XVI Gustaf turned 74, he treated himself to a new luxury car: a BMW M8 Competition with a whopping 625 horsepower, worth just over 1.7 million.
He has been caught on film in it on several occasions, and a couple of times, judging by the videos, it has gone rather quickly. An example occurred in May 2021, when a car driver saw a driver on the highway at the height of Järsta who he thought resembled the king.
A little research on the registration number later, it was clear that it was Carl XVI Gustaf who was out and about – and it must have gone fast.
– The king’s car literally blew me, the driver must have been driving around 140 anyway, the car driver, who caught the overtaking on video, told The Express shortly after the event.
“It smelled like burnt rubber”
Another car driver testified about a similar speeding in 2004, where the king is said to have driven at 150-160 kilometers per hour.
– They were driving incredibly fast and it smelled like burnt rubber, another driver said The evening paper.
The viral clip of the king – blowing past at E4
In a clip that is currently being shared on Tiktok, the king is seen and Queen Silvia blow past in a quick overtaking on the E4 at the height of the Dragon Gate. According to the account that posted the video, the clip was filmed in April 2021.
How fast the car is traveling is not clear from the video, which in two days received close to 600,000 views and over 70,000 likes.
The king cannot be punished
In the comments section of the video, there is a discussion about whether King Carl XVI Gustaf could be held responsible for possible speeding – and the answer to that question is no.
He has immunity from criminal law that applies both on duty and in private, and thus cannot be prosecuted for crimes.
Genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression are exceptions to the king’s immunity from prosecution. He can also be charged before the International Criminal Court.
Can the police stop the king if he drives too fast?
According to the motor journalist Robert Collin on the other hand, shouldn’t it be forbidden for the police to stop the king if he is caught driving too fast, only that he cannot be held accountable for the act legally.
But when Carl XVI Gustaf, by pure chance, was stopped at a traffic control in February 2020, he was allowed to pass without being checked.
“It is important to keep to speed limits,” writes Hovet’s information manager Margaret Thorgren to News24.