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Sweden

King Carl XVI Gustaf concerned about crisis in Swedish Academy

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has expressed his concerns about the ongoing crisis in the Swedish Academy in a short interview yesterday. The King made the statement as he attended the annual meeting of the ICC at the Grand Hôtel in Stockholm.

Currently, the Swedish Academy is going through a crisis. The background of the crisis is a vote on one of its members, Katarina Frostenson. Her husband is accused of sexual assault and harassment. Therefore, some members of the Academy wanted to exclude Ms Frostenson by a vote. However, the vote ended in 8-6 in her favour. Because of this, three members have chosen to leave their seats on Friday.

The Swedish Academy has 18 members who are elected for life. For the members, it is not possible to resign. You can only be voted out. The three members who have left their seat are being listed as non-active. The Swedish Academy is an essential institution which makes among other things the decision on who will be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

King Carl XVI Gustaf is the Swedish Academy’s supreme patron, and each year the Royal Family attends the opening of the Swedish Academy. The Academy was founded by King Gustav VIII in the 18th century. It is, thus, safe to say that the Swedish Royal Family has close ties with the Swedish Academy.

On Friday, the King requested a meeting with the Permanent Secretary of the Academy, Sara Danius. The Royal Court commented: “The King is the Supreme Patron of the Swedish Academy and at important events, the King should be kept informed. After today’s events, the King, therefore, has requested a meeting.”

The meeting with Ms Danius took place on Sunday evening at the King’s residence, Drottningholm Palace. The Royal Court told the Swedish newspaper Expressen: “They had an informative meeting about the current situation in the Academy, and they discussed various solutions for a positive development for the Academy.”

On Monday, the King attended the annual meeting of the ICC in central Stockholm. He was awaited by the press and spoke for the first time about the ongoing crisis. He said: “I am the patron of the Academy as Kings have been for generations. It is a very important institution. I keep myself informed of the developments. It is a sad development that has occurred.”

Even though the King acknowledged the problems, he remains hopeful. “I hope we will be able to resolve it in some way. All problems are to be solved, and I think we will do that sooner or later. It just takes a little time,” said King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

The King didn’t want to give any more information on the topic at this point. The story will be updated once new information is available.

About author

Laura is from Belgium and has a passion for all things royal. She is Europe Correspondent for Royal Central since October 2016 and has contributed to other news websites. In her daily life she is a fulltime student in EU-politics and political communication.