King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia marked their 50th wedding anniversary on June 13 with a public celebration in Stockholm that drew crowds to the streets and a carriage procession through the capital. The king, 80, and queen, 82, began the day with a morning thanksgiving service in the palace chapel.
After a palace lunch they boarded the royal barge Vasaorden, the queen wearing a coral-red suit and pillbox hat, and were rowed across the water under sunny skies before transferring to a horse-drawn carriage.
Thousands of Swedes lined the route, waving and cheering as the couple proceeded to a love-themed concert in central Kungstradgarden park. A special jubilee concert was also scheduled at the Royal Opera, followed by a private dinner at the palace for friends and family.
The couple married on June 19, 1976, four years after the then-crown prince met Silvia Sommerlath, a German-born interpreter, at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Celebrations were held on June 13 to avoid coinciding with Sweden's Midsummer's Eve holiday. In an interview with Dagens Nyheter ahead of the jubilee, Queen Silvia praised the king's "humour", "sense of duty" and "honesty". The king described the queen as "unbelievably considerate".
Asked what irritates them about each other, the queen joked there are "so many things". The king teased her habit of shutting herself away in rooms "all the time". "Yes, so no one can find you. We have quite a few rooms out here so there are lots of possibilities," he said.
Reflecting on relationships, the king said couples starting out must be prepared that marriage "may not be as rosy as you imagined" and must accept "uphill struggles". The king celebrated his 80th birthday in April and marked 50 years on the throne in September 2023. He is the longest-reigning Swedish monarch and the European monarch with the longest reign at 52 years.
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