We know the British royal family like the back of our hand, but there’s another European dynasty that is piquing our interest for all the right reasons: the Swedish royal family.
While the monarchy tends to keep a low profile, we were surprised to learn that their journey to the throne wasn’t a total breeze. From declining citizenship to losing titles, keep reading for everything you need to know about the Swedish royal family.
Meet King Carl XVI Gustaf and his wife, Queen Silvia, who hail from the House of Bernadotte. In 1973, King Carl XVI Gustaf inherited the throne from his grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf, at age 27. (Carl’s father, Prince Gustaf Adolf, tragically died in a plane crash shortly after his birth, making him the rightful heir.)
One year before he became king, the royal met his now-wife, Queen Silvia, at the Munich Summer Olympics. Their relationship was a big deal at first, since she was a commoner who worked as an interpreter. To top it off, she didn’t grow up in their home country. (She resided in both Germany and Brazil.)
Nevertheless, Queen Silvia married King Carl in 1976, making her the first Swedish royal to have had a career. They have three children together: Crown Princess Victoria (42), Prince Carl Philip (40) and Princess Madeleine (37).
She’s the firstborn child and the first in line to the Swedish throne. She’s formally known as the Duchess of Västergötland.
In 2010, she married her personal trainer, Daniel Westling, who inherited the title of H.R.H. Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland. They share two children together: Prince Oscar (3) and Princess Estelle (7), who is second in line to the throne behind Crown Princess Victoria.
Although he was born the Crown Prince, that all changed when Sweden changed its laws to ensure the first-born child, regardless of gender, would inherit the throne. Therefore, the Duke of Värmland was forced to resign the title to his older sister, Victoria.
In 2015, the prince tied the knot with his now-wife, Princess Sofia, who is a well-known model and reality TV star. They have two young sons together, Prince Alexander (3) and Prince Gabriel (2).
She’s the youngest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia and is often referred to as the Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland. In 2013, the princess married Christopher O’Neill, a British-American businessman, whom she met while visiting New York.
Unlike Westling, O’Neill didn’t take the Bernadotte name, which means he’s not an official member of the family and doesn’t hold any royal titles. Although he declined Swedish citizenship, the same can’t be said for the couple’s three children—Princess Leonore (5), Prince Nicolas (4) and Princess Adrienne (1).
Since King Carl XVI Gustaf has no current plans to vacate the throne, the line of succession will remain the same for the time being. Crown Princess Victoria is at the top of the lineup, followed by her two children and then Prince Carl Philip.
