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Sweden |
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King
Carl XVI Gustaf |
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Dealing
with the winds of change |
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As the time draws near for Thais to
celebrate the 60th anniversary of His
Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej's accession
to the throne, The Nation is presenting
a series of articles on the monarchs
who have been invited to join this historic
occasion.
HM King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, a
country that has long enjoyed a very
special relationship with Thailand,
is a dedicated environmentalist and
fervent believer in the scouting movement.
He also happens to like fast cars -
and driving them fast, which causes
some consternation in his homeland as
he cannot be tried for any crime.
His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf must have
the most enjoyable job in the world
when he presents the Nobel Prizes every
year to the awardees in Stockholm, capital
of his kingdom, Sweden. Although this
particular duty is internationally prominent,
his other responsibilities, according
to the Swedish constitution, are symbolic
– paying state visits abroad and
hosting those in his country, chairing
the special council held during a change
of government, holding regular information
councils with ministers, chairing the
meetings of the foreign affairs council
and receiving the credentials of foreign
ambassadors to Sweden as well as signing
those of Sweden to other countries.
His Majesty holds the highest ranks
in the three branches of the Swedish
armed forces. At 27 years old and one
of Europe’s youngest monarchs
when he ascended the Swedish throne
in September 1973, he took up the position
as a young, modern royal of the 20th-century,
which is reflected in his choice of
motto: “For Sweden – with
the times”.
Despite the ceremonial aspects of his
role, His Majesty and his family have
faced the winds of change that have
swept through almost all modern royal
dynasties, indications of which are
present even in his personal life. The
youngest of five children and the only
son of Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess
Sibylla, he abruptly became second in
line to the throne, when he was only
nine months old. His father had died
in an plane crash outside Copenhagen
in January 1947, placing the baby behind
his grandfather, Crown Prince Gustaf
Adolf. When his great grandfather King
Gustaf V died in 1950, the four-year-old
boy became heir apparent of Sweden.
It was only last year that His Majesty
described growing up in the strict Swedish
royal court at that time, when the emotional
needs of the children were not considered.
His mother waited four years, until
the child was seven, before she told
him about his father’s death.
In the environment of the time, explained
his sister Princess Birgitta in an interview,
tragedy was seldom discussed with children.
“Children’s questions were
met with silence, children’s anxiety
and fear with the same silence,”
she said. “It would have been
much better to be able to speak about
father’s death.” In the
same way, the court ignored rumours
of His Majesty’s dyslexia. It
had been whispered for years that he
suffered from this neurological disorder
that impairs a person’s ability
to read, especially when journalists
noticed that he had misspelled his name
when signing his accession document.
It was only in 1997, when his wife,
Her Majesty Queen Silvia, addressed
the issue on Swedish television, that
the condition was admitted publicly.
“When he was little, people did
not pay attention to the problem,”
she said. “He didn’t get
the help he needed.
” Today, His Majesty is passionate
about the environment, technology, agriculture,
trade and industry. He is also Honorary
Chairman of the World Scout Foundation
and participates in Scout activities
both in Sweden and abroad. In 1982,
His Majesty, as honorary chairman of
the foundation, was awarded the Bronze
Wolf, the only distinction of the World
Organisation of the Scout Movement,
for exceptional services to world scouting.
Earlier this year, he received a Special
Citation in the 2006 UN-Habitat Scroll
of Honour Award for “his tireless
campaigning to promote an environmentally
sustainable human habitat”.
He is chairman of the Swedish arm of
the World Wide Fund for Nature and has
been awarded the United States Environmental
Protection Agency Award in recognition
of his environmental commitment. \In
the years that he has reigned, Sweden
has developed as well. In spite of high
unemployment in the 1990s and the global
economic downturn earlier in this decade,
the country has one of the world’s
most comprehensive networks of social
services, financed by among the world’s
highest tax rates on personal incomes.
The country, which boasts 100 per cent
literacy in its population of over nine
million, is a major contributor of foreign
aid to developing nations.One change
has affected the royal family directly.
Since the 1500s, when Sweden became
a hereditary monarchy, the crown had
always passed to the first-born male.
When Her Majesty gave birth to her second
child and first son in 1979, he was
automatically named heir apparent. A
constitutional reform in 1980, however,
established equal primogeniture, thus
depriving the prince of his title and
bestowing it on his elder sister, HRH
Princess Victoria, who is now Crown
Princess of Sweden.
Their Majesties and their three children
love sports and the outdoors life, spending
their time on riding, water sports and
gardening. His Majesty also has an interest
in automobiles and is often in the news
for reckless driving. In another perk
to the job, however, the Instrument
of Government protects him. He can’t
be tried for speeding, drunk driving
or any other crime.
Laurie Rosenthal
The Nation
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