King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden turns 75 years on April 30th. To mark his birthday, he has been interviewed on the Swedish podcast, “Värvet”, which according to the Royal Family was recorded in Princess Sibylla’s Apartment at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. In the interview, the King of Sweden opens up about his grief after Prince Philips’ death and his wish to see the Prince one last time.
The King of Sweden clearly expresses his deep sadness at not being able to attend Prince Philip’s funeral earlier this month. Instead, he watched it, like many others, on CNN, he says to the podcast. The King says: “It was a very emotional and beautiful funeral. Different, of course. I had wanted to visit and attend the funeral. We had already started making contact a year ago, and tried to get the opportunity for a visit. I was afraid this would happen. Now Prince Philip was almost 100 years old, which in itself is wonderful.”
King Carl Gustaf says in the podcast that he was just teenage boy when he met Prince Philip for the first time. The King remembers very well his first meeting with the Duke of Edinburg, what he said and what the two did. The King says: “He was a wonderful person, warm and cordial. Very humorous and always had a certain funny touch in what he said. We were out sailing together, then of course tourists came and stood at the edge of the harbour and looked down at us. Then Prince Philip said: “Now I know what it feels like to be a butterfly in a museum.”
The Swedish Royal Family honoured the Duke of Edinburgh with a touching message to The Queen that was published when the death became known. Flags flew at half mast on the day the Prince was buried and there was a ceremony in Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm as the Duke of Edinburgh was the recipient of the Order of the Seraphim.
Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh died on April 9th 2021 at the age of 99. He was buried in the Royal Vault of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor on April 17th 2021.
