Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Tomorrow, the Swedish Royal Family will receive the new King Frederik X and Queen Mary of Denmark as they embark on the first outgoing State Visit of their Reign, which is traditionally to the Kingdom of Sweden, with numerous close historical, cultural and familial ties between the two Kingdoms for centuries.
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is the first cousin of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, but the Swedish and Danish Royal Families have had both a close and fractious relationship going back centuries, that led the two Kingdoms going to war quite often, with eleven major conflicts between the Northern Seven Years’ War to the Napoleonic Wars.
The family ties between the Royal Families stem from the Princess Louise of Sweden, daughter of King Charles XV of Sweden, and the future King Frederick VIII of Denmark in 1869, which was the first marriage of a Swedish Princess into the Danish Royal Family since 1296. Queen Lovisa often visited the Swedish Royal summer residence at Sofiero Palace on the other side of the Öresund from her own Charlottenlund Palace.
In 1897, King Frederick VIII and Queen Lovisa’s daughter, Princess Ingeborg, married her mother’s first cousin, Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland, becoming the parents of Queen Astrid of Belgium, Crown Princess Martha of Norway, and Princess Margaretha of Sweden, who married a Danish cousin, Prince Axel of Denmark, in 1919.
Recent close relations originate from the marriage between Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Princess Ingrid of Sweden in 1935, which brought together Royalty from around Europe to Stockholm.
A decade later, King Gustav of Sweden hosted his grandson-in-law, King Frederik IX and granddaughter, Queen Ingrid (wearing the Pearl Poiré Tiara), on their first State Visit to Sweden just a few months after their Accession to the Danish Throne.
Five years later, King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark (wearing the Pearl Poiré Tiara, the Danish Crown Diamond Parure) hosted her father, King Gustaf VI Adolf, and Queen Louise of Sweden (wearing the Braganza Tiara) on their first State Visit to Denmark in 1952.
Over two decades later, King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden hosted his granddaughter, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (wearing the Pearl Poiré Tiara), and Prince Henrik on their State Visit to Sweden in 1973, only two months after she attended King Gustaf VI Adolf’s 90th Birthday Celebrations.
Two years later, Queen Margrethe (wearing the Danish Emerald Parure) received her first cousin, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, on his first State Visit to the kingdom of Denmark in April 1975.
A decade later, Queen Margrethe joined King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden to mark the 900th Anniversary of the Cathedral School in Lund, with Queen Margrethe (wearing the Floral Aigrette Tiara), Prince Henrik, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia (wearing the Cameo Tiara) also attending a Banquet in Stockholm.
In 2007, Queen Margrethe (wearing the Floral Aigrette Tiara) and Prince Henrik hosted King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia (in the Braganza Tiara), and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden (wearing the ) on their State Visit to Denmark.
During the visit, the Danish Queen (wearing the Pearl Poiré Tiara) and Prince joined the Swedish King, Queen (wearing Queen Sofia’s Nine Prong Tiara), and Crown Princess Victoria (wearing the Four-Button Tiara) on a visit to the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, across from Amalienborg Palace.
At the end of the State Visit, King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia (wearing the Connaught Diamond Tiara), and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden (in the Baden Fringe Tiara) hosted a Return Banquet for Queen Margrethe (wearing the Baden Palmette Tiara) and Prince Henrik in Malmö in Sweden, across the Öresund from Copenhagen.
In 2017, the then Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary were in Sweden on a two-day business visit as the heads of ‘Liveable Scandinavia’ campaign, alongside members of the Swedish Royal Family.
The two Royal Families remain extremely close to this day, with Crown Princess Victoria serving as the godmother of Crown Prince Christian of Denmark, while Queen Mary is the godmother of Princess Estelle and King Frederik is the godfather of Prince Oscar.
The Danish Royal Family has always been well represented in Sweden at times of happiness and sorrow, notably attending King Gustav V’s 80th Birthday in 1938 and 90th Birthday in 1948, King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden’s Birthday Celebrations, the Wedding Ball of Princess Birgitta of Sweden and Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern in 1961, the Funeral of Queen Louise of Sweden in 1965, King Gustaf VI Adolf’s 90th Birthday Banquet in 1972, the Funeral of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden in 1973, King Carl XVI Gustaf’s Birthdays, the Nobel Prize Ceremony in 1975, the Wedding of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, the Crown Prince Victoria’s 18th Birthday in 1995, the Funeral of Prince Bertil of Sweden in 1997, the King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia’s Silver Anniversary, and most recently, King Carl XVI Gustaf’s Golden Jubilee.
Similarly, the Swedish Royal Family has always been with the Danish Royal Family at tomes of joy and sorrow, like Crown Princess Margrethe’s 18th Birthday in 1958, King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid’s Silver Anniversary in 1960, the Wedding of Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik of Denmark, the Wedding of Princess Benedikte of Denmark and Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, the Christening of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark in 1968, the, Funeral of King Frederick IX of Denmark in 1972, Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik’s 25th Wedding Anniversary in 1992, Queen Ingrid’s Funeral in 2000, Queen Margrethe’s 60th Birthday in 2000, Christening of Prince Christian of Denmark in 2006, Queen Margrethe’s Ruby Jubilee Banquet in 2012, Crown Prince Frederik’s 50th Birthday Gala, and Queen Margrethe’s Golden Jubilee Gala in 2022.
Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara
Princess Lilian’s Laurel Wreath Tiara
Princess Sofia’s Wedding Tiara