Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf 80th birthday celebrations: Royals from across Europe to attend gala event on April 30 in Stockholm

In three weeks, royalty from across Europe and Britain will descend on Stockholm for what is expected to be the largest gathering of kings and queens and heads of state in years.

Major celebrations will be held in honor of the country’s 80th birthday Swedish King Carl VXI GustafEurope’s longest-reigning monarch, on April 30.

The guest list is expected to include a who’s who list of royals, stretching from Europe to Britain and even to Asia.

Overnight stay, the Danish Royal House confirmed King Frederick And Queen Mary will travel to Sweden for the historic occasion.

They will be accompanied by Queen Margaret II and her younger sister Princess Benedkeek. Queen Margrethe and King Carl are cousins.

The royal families of Sweden and Denmark, and Norwayhave long been historically linked thanks to the Kalmar Union, when the kingdoms of the three Scandinavian countries were brought together under one monarch from 1397 to 1523.

It is unclear whether the future Queen of Norway, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, will be involved in the festivities following recent revelations about her previous relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

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Crown Princess Mette-Marit and her husband Crown Prince Haakon would normally be high on the list of invitees, but the Royal House of Norway has not yet confirmed whether they will attend the gala event.

Mette-Marit also has one long break from public life because of her chronic lung condition and the criminal trial against her eldest sonMarius Borg Hoiby.

Norway’s King Harald V, 89, who was invited along with his wife Queen Sonja, has had his fair share of health problems in recent years and in February he was hospitalized after contract an infection during a holiday in Spain.

Other royals likely to attend the birthday celebrations include King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium.

The Spanish head of state, King Felipe V, and his wife Queen Letiziacan also be included, just like Monaco’s Prince Albert II And Princess Charleneand that of Japan Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako.

King Charles And Queen Camillefrom Britain, will not be in Sweden for the king’s 80th birthday, as will be the case in the US for a state visit. The Prince and Princess of Wales could attend instead, or the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh could intervene. The late Queen Elizabeth II and King Carl XVI Gustaf were third cousins, related through Queen Victoria.

The last time Sweden hosted such a large gathering of visiting royals was for the king’s 70th birthday in 2016.

This time, the Royal Household will have a full day of events to celebrate the country’s longest-serving monarch.

The festivities begin with a thanksgiving service, known as a ‘Te Deum’, in the Royal Palace Church.

The Swedish Armed Forces will then hold a military parade in the courtyard of the Royal Palace and the public will have the opportunity to see the King and his family.

A gala dinner will take place at the palace and guests will wear their finest outfits, royal orders and military uniforms, including tiaras for the women.

King Carl XVI Gustaf is the head of the Bernadotte familya dynasty that has ruled Sweden for over 200 years.

His family will be in attendance, including Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel and their children Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia and their four children, and Princess Madeleine and Christopher O’Neill and their three children

The king wrote history on September 15, 2023when he became Sweden’s longest-reigning monarch, celebrating 50 years on the throne.

He became Europe’s longest-serving monarch in 2024, when Denmark did so Queen Margrethe II abdicated the throne after a reign of 52 years.

King Carl XVI Gustaf was 27 when he came to the throne in 1973 and is Sweden’s 74th monarch.

He was given the top position when his grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf, died at the age of 90, because his father, and then heir apparent, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf, died in a plane crash in Denmark in 1947.

King Carl XVI Gustaf was only nine months old when his father died.

A year after he was crowned, the Swedish parliament stripped the monarchy of its constitutional powers, making the monarch a symbolic head of state.

He married commoner Silvia Sommerlath in 1976, making her the first woman in 200 years to marry a reigning king of Sweden.

They had met in 1972 during the Munich Olympics, where Silvia had worked as an interpreter.

The couple later had three children: Crown Princess Victoriain 1977, Prince Carl Philip in 1979 and Princess Madeleine in 1982.

On June 19, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. A holiday is planned for June 13, including a church service and a carriage ride through the city.

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