STOCKHOLM This year the King of Sweden Karle XVI Gustav half a century has passed since the coronation.
There are many events in the jubilee year. King and Queen Silvia plan to visit, among other things, all 21 counties in Sweden.
However, the king dismayed many at the start of his jubilee year In a TV interview (you switch to another service). In it, he repeated his opinion that the change in the order of succession to the constitution was done incorrectly.
According to the king, the crown would belong to his son, the prince, after him For Carl Philip.
At Stockholm’s Kungsholmen Lars Bundsten says he understands the king, but adds:
– But in hindsight, that’s how it really is.
By Sandra Kinnmark according to the king’s motto and speeches, there is now a big contradiction.
– “For Sweden, in time.” It doesn’t quite match now, Kinnmark reflects.
A crown for Victoria
of the Swedish women’s organization (you will switch to another service) general secretary Clara Berglund reminds that the king was already critical when the law change was enacted in the 1980s, but he finds it shocking that the king is still so.
– It is completely unacceptable that Sweden, which is one of the most equal countries in the world, has a head of state who defends the patriarchal order of inheritance.
According to Berglund, only one conclusion can be drawn from the king’s TV interview.
– It’s time to hand over the crown to a more qualified woman who lives in this time, i.e. the crown princess For Victoria.
Sveriges Kvinnoorganisation is an umbrella organization that includes 50 women’s organizations in different fields, representing a total of 130,000 women and girls.
According to Berglund, the king’s interview will cause the most harm to himself, not so much to the royal household or to the highly popular Victoria.
The interview gives new energy to women’s organizations.
– We are often told that feminism has already gone too far and that the goals have been achieved. This is a good reminder that this is by no means the case.
Berglund says that Sweden is clearly behind Finland and many other countries in getting women to the highest positions.
– Only last year, Sweden had a woman as prime minister for the first time, and Crown Princess Victoria is the first woman monarch in 300 years.
– And clearly there are people in Sweden, like the king, who want to keep the glass ceilings. It gives us strength and shows that there is still work to be done.
Those in power resist change
In the king’s opinion, it was wrong that the law on the order of inheritance was changed retroactively.
The amendment to the constitution entered into force at the beginning of 1980, i.e. a few months after the birth of the prince. According to the new entry, the crown is inherited by the ruler’s eldest child.
In practice, Prince Carl Philip lived his first months as heir to the crown, but a change in the law transferred the crown to the firstborn, i.e. Victoria.
History researcher My Hellsing The University of Stockholm does not share the king’s interpretation of the incorrect adjustment of the order of succession.
Hellsing reminds that it is a constitutional amendment that requires the approval of two parliaments. The change work started already in 1977, i.e. clearly before the birth of the prince.
Hellsing reminds us that the king rarely gives interviews, and they have often been followed by uproar, just like now.
After the uproar caused by this interview, King Karle XVI Kustaa announced on Facebook text (you will switch to another service)in which he wrote that he is not against the order of succession for women or Crown Princess Victoria, but criticized the way the law change was made.
According to Hellsing, the king’s reluctance to change may be due to the fact that during his reign, the royal palace has been subject to changes all the time.
Hellsing thinks that the king’s interview may rather be a sign of what those who have studied 19th- and 20th-century monarchies have observed: those in power tend to keep everything the same and resist change.
– The older, ruling generation belongs to the preservers, while the younger ones, i.e. the heirs to the crown, look more to the future, perhaps move in wider social circles and receive new influences. In this way, a kind of balance is created in the royal rooms.
According to Hellsing, the king’s interview did not necessarily destabilize the royal house, but it probably strengthened the position of Crown Princess Victoria.
– If the interview has any effect, it will surely open his way even further. Victoria is considered more of a person of the time than a king.
Kingdom or Republic?
Hellsing reminds us that historians do not like to predict the future. To the question of whether he believes that Sweden will remain a kingdom, he answers after consideration as follows:
– There will probably be more crises, but probably Sweden will remain a kingdom.
And if it’s up to Lars Bundsten, the kingdom will survive.
– The president is almost like a party leader, if he is not good, we will replace him. I think the royal house should be preserved.
But Kungsholmen’s morning traffic also has other opinions, such as for example Susanna Zivkovic.
– I would vote for the republic. I don’t think people should have privileges like royalty. And I don’t really see a place for the royal family in modern Swedish society.
Sandra Kinnmark admits that she hasn’t given much thought to the matter.
– I feel that the king’s room is part of Swedish traditions and it is difficult to see that changes would come at least in my lifetime, Kinnmark thinks.
The steepest position is represented Marcus Hector.
– If I’m honest, I don’t care much about the monarchy.
So are you in favor of the republic?
– Well, at least I don’t support the kingdom.
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