There’s a huge royal celebration with a stand out guest list and now the guessing game is under way for who else might be heading to the palace party of the year. At the end of April 2026, the King of Sweden is marking a major birthday and is gathering crowned heads around him for the occasion. Many royal houses have already confirmed their attendance but the question of whether anyone from the House of Windsor will be there remains unanswered.
The party in question takes place in Stockholm on April 30 when King Carl XVI Gustaf, the longest reigning monarch on the continent of Europe right now, celebrates his 80th birthday. He’s holding several celebrations, as you can when you’re king of a whole country, and right in the middle of it is a glittering gala dinner at the Royal Palace where he will be joined by kings, queens, princes and princesses.
(Elisabeth Toll/Kungl. Hovstaterna)
Several royal houses have already said they will be there. His friend and relations from Denmark are ready with King Frederik and Queen Mary expected in Stockholm, despite her recent bereavement. Frederik X’s mother, Queen Margrethe, will also be there. The King and Queen of Norway are also expected to attend – they’re also family as well as friends.
Given the closeness between the royal families of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, it’s not really a surprise. However, similar parties in the past, including that thrown by the King of Sweden when he turned 70, have counted on a strong all round royal turn out. That’s not a surprise. King Carl XVI Gustaf, who has reigned for 53 years, is friends with plenty of royal families. However, the question of whether King Charles and Queen Camilla will be there is a difficult one as they are concluding a State Visit to the US around that time. Which means they might need to send representatives.
(By Frankie Fouganthin – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wiki Commons)
Previously, the now Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh have been the royal go tos for major parties like this. Through the 2000s and 2010s, Edward and Sophie were regular fixtures at European royal events and attended the weddings of King Carl Gustaf’s three children, starting with that of Crown Princess Victoria in 2010. They were also at 80th birthday celebrations for another royal with close connections to the Windsors when they headed to Oslo for King Harald’s party in 2017.
However, it looks like they won’t be there for the big Swedish party as both have engagements already listed for April 30 2026 on the official royal website.
(i-Images/ Pool)
Another answer might be the Prince and Princess of Wales. If every monarchy in Europe ends up sending their monarch or their heir, then Prince William and Kate would be the obvious pick.
However, the question has been asked about whether the Windsors will send anyone at all. They’ve missed other big European royal events and given the already large number of diary clashes, it might be that they’re taking a rain check on this one, too.
Either way, the party is set to start in Stockholm at the end of the month and sparkle is guaranteed.
