Swedish History and Royalty

The history of the Kingdom of Sweden spans 1000 years,

To understand Sweden's history, we must go back to the last ice age, approximately 13,000 years ago, when the ice retreated and parts of Scandinavia became inhabited. The country was first settled in what is now southern Sweden, via Denmark, and then 10,000 years ago from the North. A few thousand years later, all of Sweden was populated. A major change occurred about 6200 years ago during the Stone Age with the Funnelbeaker culture, which was the first agricultural culture in the Nordic region. This was later followed around 2900 BC and replaced by the Battle Axe culture. It declined in 2400 BC, followed by the Late Neolithic period, which marks the end of the agricultural Stone Age. Then came the Early Neolithic and Middle Neolithic periods around 2400-1800 BC. Around 1800 BC, the Bronze Age began. The old stone objects were now replaced with bronze, and this happened approximately 1500 BC.

Middle Ages 1050-1520

Early Vasa Period 1521-1611

Age of Great Power 1611-1718

Age of Liberty 1718-1772

Gustavian Era 1772-1809

Union Period 1809-1905

Breakthrough of Democracy 1905-1920

Interwar Period 1920-1945

Post-war Period

Sweden is built 1968-1991

Present Day

Joined the EU 1995

The name Svearike (Sweorice and the Svea people appear for the first time in the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf epic (a manuscript from the 11th century).

With Eric the Victorious as the first king. In 1521, Gustav Vasa came to power and is often called the founder of the modern Swedish state. The monarchy in Sweden is one of the oldest in the world and is based on traditions established by over 70 monarchs who have reigned over the last 1000 years.

In 1810, the Frenchman Jean Baptiste Bernadotte was elected king, and since then, the Bernadotte family has inherited the right to be king.

Today, King Carl XVI Gustaf is the King of Sweden. He became king in 1973 after his grandfather Gustaf VI Adolf.

In 1976, the King married Silvia, who then became the Queen of the country. They have 3 children together, and their eldest daughter Victoria is currently the Crown Princess. She will become queen when the King dies or abdicates. Victoria has 2 siblings, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine.

The Crown Princess married Daniel in 2010, who then became Prince Daniel. The wedding was the first Crown Princess wedding in Sweden. Together they have 2 children. Princess Estelle, born in 2012, is the eldest and is the country's heiress presumptive, meaning she will inherit the throne after her mother and is second in line to the throne today. Her brother Prince Oscar, born in 2016, is third in line to the throne.

The Crown Princess family is very popular in Sweden and lives together at Haga Palace in Solna, Stockholm. The older members of the royal family attend the Nobel Banquet, where the King presents the awards. On the Crown Princess's birthday, the Crown Princess family and the King and Queen have a tradition of celebrating the Crown Princess on Öland. They also usually participate in celebrating Sweden's National Day at Skansen. In addition to these duties, they travel both within Sweden and abroad in their roles as representatives of Sweden and the Royal House.