Monarchy of Sweden

The monarchy of Sweden is centred on the monarchical <a href="/facts/Head_of_state/U2QzdE4a">head of state</a> of <a href="/facts/Sweden/u3qC7lyj">Sweden</a>, by law a <a href="/facts/Constitutional_monarchy/C0TtVRq8">constitutional</a> and <a href="/facts/Hereditary_monarchy/IIUYbG8x">hereditary monarchy</a> with a <a href="/facts/Parliamentary_system/HAsnSsRz">parliamentary system</a>. There have been kings in what now is the <a href="/facts/Sweden/u3qC7lyj">Kingdom of Sweden</a> for more than a millennium. Originally an <a href="/facts/Elective_monarchy/QbmeAjck">elective monarchy</a>, it became a <a href="/facts/Hereditary_monarchy/IIUYbG8x">hereditary monarchy</a> in the 16th century during the reign of <a href="/facts/Gustav_Vasa/3Wez8VWy">Gustav Vasa</a>, though virtually all monarchs before that belonged to a limited and small number of political families which are considered to be the royal dynasties of Sweden.
The official continuous count usually begins with the kings who ruled both <a href="/facts/Svealand/3hXced9e">Svealand</a> and <a href="/facts/G%25C3%25B6taland/N99pJT0U">Götaland</a> as one kingdom. Sweden's monarchy is amongst the oldest in the world, with a regnal list stretching back to the tenth century, starting with <a href="/facts/Eric_the_Victorious/DCEn3GV0">Eric the Victorious</a>; the Swedish monarchy has, for the past thousand years, undergone cycles of decline and strengthening, culminating in the modern constitutional monarchy.
The Swedish monarchy has been one of the key features in the development of Swedish culture, having for centuries patronized the arts and sciences. Several of Sweden's most prestigious academies and cultural institutions are under Swedish royal protection. This historical role politically, militarily and culturally, in spite of the country's otherwise liberal leanings, has resulted in the Swedish monarchy being popular. In recent years, however, some of the most serious criticism ever published has taken place about the way his monarchy has developed under the current king's fifty-year reign.
Sweden in the present day is a <a href="/facts/Representative_democracy/svAbpym5">representative democracy</a> in a <a href="/facts/Parliamentary_system/HAsnSsRz">parliamentary system</a> based on <a href="/facts/Popular_sovereignty/WKKaepkv">popular sovereignty</a>, as defined in the current <a href="/facts/Basic_Laws_of_Sweden/Aje703IN">Instrument of Government</a> (one of the four <a href="/facts/Basic_Laws_of_Sweden/Aje703IN">Basic Laws of the Realm</a> which makes up the written constitution). The monarch and the members of the <a href="/facts/Swedish_royal_family/8wS48YIS">royal family</a> undertake a variety of official, unofficial and other representational duties within Sweden and abroad. The current king of Sweden is <a href="/facts/Carl_XVI_Gustaf/1Kpek2tz">Carl XVI Gustaf</a>, while his heir is <a href="/facts/Victoria%2c_Crown_Princess_of_Sweden/FxnLGVdf">Crown Princess Victoria</a>.
The Swedish monarch has numerous residences, primarily state-owned but some privately owned; their official residence and workplace is <a href="/facts/Stockholm_Palace/1CaPCSfU">Stockholm Palace</a>, while <a href="/facts/Drottningholm_Palace/SG1aQUmv">Drottningholm Palace</a> serves as the monarchy's private residence. Other notable residences include <a href="/facts/Gripsholm_Castle/9uFbHHLY">Gripsholm Castle</a> and <a href="/facts/Ulriksdal_Palace/KcTgK0Ht">Ulriksdal Palace</a>, as well as others throughout Sweden. Several large palaces and a considerable section of the Swedish capital of <a href="/facts/Stockholm/sD74W4Pm">Stockholm</a> have been at the <a href="/facts/Royal_Right_of_Disposal_(Sweden)/jzn3YTaX">disposal of the monarch</a> since 1809.

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Monarchy of Sweden