Sweden’s King Carl lost his father in a tragic plane crash when he was nine months old
Sweden’s King Carl and Queen Silvia will be among the royal attendees at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday 19 September.
Britain lost its longest-reigning monarch on 8 September, marking the start of a 10-day mourning period in Britain. Her Majesty breathed her last at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
The Queen’s coffin arrived at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, September 13, according to BBC. King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla were in attendance, along with Prince William and Prince Harry, who were both accompanied by their wives, Catherine and Meghan.
Her Majesty’s coffin now lies in Westminster Hall, where thousands of mourners queue to pay their respects.
A look at King Carl’s early years caught up in the death of his father
King Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus was born in 1946 to the heir Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sibylla.
He has four older sisters – the princesses Margaretha, Birgitta, Désirée and Christina – who are called the “Haga princesses”.
The royal house reveals that His Majesty lost his father when he was just nine months old.
Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf died tragically in a plane crash on January 26, 1947. The accident occurred outside Copenhagen Airport Kastrup when the heir traveled from Amsterdam to Stockholm, according to Royal Central.
During the plane’s landing in Copenhagen, its rudder was locked. The lock was never removed, making it impossible for the pilot to check it in the air. The plane crashed, killing all 22 passengers.
After his father’s tragic death in 1950, Carl Gustaf became Sweden’s crown prince.
He went to Brom’s school in Stockholm and then moved to Sigtuna Humanistiska Läroverk for high school.
When he came of age in 1965, the heir swore the oath of allegiance before his grandfather, the king, at the opening of the parliamentary session.
A year later, it was time for the future monarch to join military training and participate in a round-the-world voyage aboard HMS Älvsnabben.
The Crown Prince joined the army and air force after his naval training. He attained the rank of second lieutenant in the tri-armed forces.
In 1968 he began his special academic education program at Uppsala University where he studied history, sociology, political science, financial law and economics.
The then future king had a close collaboration with LO and the Swedish Employers’ Association. He also spent a period at the Swedish UN delegation in New York and the Swedish embassy in London.
After his education, the prince was finally ready to ascend the Swedish throne.
Monarch ascended the throne in 1973
After the death of his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf, Crown Prince Carl became King of Sweden at the age of 27.
King Carl, who is 76 years old today, is the seventh king of the House of Bernadotte and is Sweden’s longest-reigning monarch.
After his ascension, the king toured all of Sweden’s counties. His first state visit was to Norway in 1974.
At the age of 30, His Majesty became engaged to Miss Silvia Renate Sommerlath, and the couple tied the knot in June 1976.
The royal couple share three children: Crown Princess Victoria, born in 1977, Prince Carl Philip, born in 1979, and their youngest, Princess Madeleine, born in 1982.
Dignitaries arrive for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral
The BBC reports that invitations to the Queen’s funeral went out to 500 heads of state and foreign dignitaries.
Sweden’s King Carl and Queen Silvia accepted the invitation, as did Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia and Norway’s King Harald and Queen Sonja.
Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, and the Netherlands’ King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will also attend Her Majesty’s funeral services, along with the former Dutch Queen, Princess Beatrix.
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark will also attend the funeral in Westminster Abbey.
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, as well as Britain’s newly elected Prime Minister, Liz Truss, will pay tribute to the late Queen.
Other world leaders attending the Queen’s funeral will be French President Emmanuel Macron, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Italian President Sergio Mattarella and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
In other news, what time will the Queen’s funeral be broadcast in the US?