With the King of Sweden marking 50 years on the throne, we give you a breakdown of who’s who in the Swedish Royal Family.
King Carl XVI Gustaf
King Carl Gustaf was born on 30 April 1946 to Prince Gustaf Adolph and Princess Sibylla; he has four older sisters. His father died in a plane crash in Denmark when he was nine months old. Carl Gustaf became Crown Prince of Sweden at age four when his great-grandfather, King Gustaf V, died. He later became monarch after the death of his grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolph, on 15 September 1973.
He married German-born Queen Silvia on 19 June 1976 at Stockholm Cathedral. They have three children: Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine. Crown Princess Victoria is married to Prince Daniel (nee Westling), and they have two children: Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar. Prince Carl Philip is married to Princess Sofia (nee Hellqvist), and they have three sons: Princes Alexander, Gabriel and Julian. Princess Madeleine is married to American-British Chris O’Neill, with whom she has three children: Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas and Princess Adrienne.
Queen Silvia
Silvia Renate Sommerlate was born on 23 December 1943 in Heidelberg, Germany, and spent part of her life in her mother’s native Brazil. She is a polyglot who speaks six languages (her native German, plus English, Swedish, Portuguese, French and Spanish) plus Swedish sign language. Silvia met then Crown Prince Carl Gustaf at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, where she was working as an interpreter and hostess, and they married in 1976, giving her the title of Queen of Sweden.
Queen Silvia founded the World Childhood Foundation in 1999 to protect children against violence, exploitation and sexual abuse. It now has offices in Sweden, Germany, Brazil and the United States. She is known to be a devoted grandmother to their eight grandchildren.
Crown Princess Victoria
Crown Princess Victoria was born on 14 July 1977 with only the title of Princess of Sweden. In 1980, the succession laws changed, making Sweden the first European country to allow absolute primogeniture (meaning women and men have equal rights to the throne). Victoria then replaced her younger brother, Carl Philip, as heir to the throne and became Crown Princess of Sweden.
She is married to Prince Daniel, her former personal trainer. They married on 19 June (her parents’ anniversary) 2010 in Stockholm Cathedral. They have two children: Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar. Victoria is the most popular member of the Swedish Royal Family.
Prince Daniel
Olof Daniel Westling was born on 15 September 1973 (his future father-in-law’s ascension to the throne day) to a modest family in Örebro. Prior to his marriage, he worked as a personal trainer and owned a gym.
Daniel married Victoria in 2010 and has since proven himself a hardworking future consort.
Princess Estelle
Princess Estelle is the elder of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel’s two children. The future queen was born on 23 February 2012 and is second in line to the throne after her mother. She was the first future queen to be born with the knowledge that a younger brother could not jump her in the line of succession.
She currently attends the private Campus Manila in Stockholm and appears alongside her parents at certain royal events. Estelle and her brother are the only grandchildren of the King and Queen to be members of the Royal House.
Prince Oscar
Prince Oscar was born on 2 March 2016. Like his sister, he’s been in the spotlight since birth. He is third in the line of succession.
Oscar attends the same school as his older sister.
Prince Carl Philip
Originally born as Crown Prince Carl Philip, the royal is the second child of the King and Queen. He was born on 13 May 1979 and held the heir to the throne position for just a few months before the new laws of succession took effect in January 1980. From that point on, the eldest child, regardless of gender, was first in line, and Crown Prince Carl Philip was replaced in the line of succession by his older sister, Victoria. As a result, he was demoted to just Prince Carl Philip and is now fourth in the line of succession behind his sister and her children.
An avid race car driver, the Prince is married to Princess Sofia. They married on 13 June 2015 and now have three sons: Princes Alexander, Gabriel and Julian.
Princess Sofia
Sofia Kristina Hellqvist was born as the second of three daughters on 6 December 1984. Her young adult life was more controversial as she was a glamour model and appeared on reality television, which would later cause a little controversy in Sweden when her relationship with Prince Carl Philip was revealed.
Sofia founded Project Playground in 2010 alongside her friend Frida Vesterberg, which “offers vulnerable children and young people safe and secure places where, through capacity-building, training and development programs as well as psychosocial support, they are given room to grow in their personal development.” It’s present in Sweden, South Africa and the Gambia.
Prince Alexander
Prince Alexander is the first of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia’s sons. He was born on 19 April 2016 and is fifth in line to the throne.
He was born with the style of Royal Highness and membership in the Royal House. However, in 2019, the King revoked the styles and membership in the Royal House from Carl Philip and Sofia’s sons and Princess Madeleine and Chris O’Neill’s children to allow them to have a more private life in the future. They remain members of the Royal Family.
Prince Gabriel
Prince Gabriel was born on 31 August 2017 and is sixth in line to the throne.
Like his brother, he no longer holds the style of Royal Highness or place in the Royal House.
Prince Julian
Prince Julian is the youngest of Carl Philip and Sofia’s children and the only one to be born without the style of Royal Highness or place in the Royal House.
The Prince was born on 26 March 2021 and is seventh in the line of succession.
Princess Madeleine
Princess Madeleine was born on 10 June 1982 as the King and Queen’s youngest child and is eighth in the line of succession. She married American-British finance Christopher O’Neill on 8 June 2013. They have three children: Princesses Leonore and Adrienne and Prince Nicolas.
Madeleine has spent a lot of her adult life outside Sweden. She lived for a while in London, and after her broken engagement in 2009, she moved to New York, where she met O’Neill. She and her family have lived in New York, London and Miami. They are expected to move back to Sweden in 2024.
Chris O’Neill
Christopher Paul O’Neill was born on 27 June 1974 in London and holds dual American-British citizenship. He was primarily raised in London, Austria and Germany but now works in the United States.
He occasionally appears at royal events alongside Madeleine, but for the most part, he prefers to stay away from the spotlight. He declined a royal title when the pair wed in 2013.
Princess Leonore
Princess Leonore is Madeleine and Chris’s firstborn. She was born in New York City on 20 February 2014. As a result, she holds dual American-Swedish citizenship and is the closest American in the Swedish line of succession (she’s ninth).
Leonore lives in Miami with her family and usually returns to Sweden during the summer.
Prince Nicolas
Nicolas was born in Stockholm on 15 June 2015 – just two days after his uncle, Carl Philip’s wedding to Sofia.
The tenth in line to the throne lives in Florida.
Princess Adrienne
Princess Adrienne is the youngest of Madeleine and Chris’s children. She was born in Stockholm on 9 March 2018.
Like her siblings, she was born with the style of Royal Highness and a place in the Royal House, but the King revoked those privileges in 2019 to allow them to have more private lives as they grow older.
