Monarchy of Sweden

Pre-16th century for Old Norse ("king"). A runic inscription of the 11th century (U11) refers to King Håkan the Red. Scandinavian peoples have had kings since prehistoric times. As early as the 1st century CE, Tacitus wrote that the Suiones had a king, but the order of Swedish regnal succession up until King Eric the Victorious (died 995), is known almost exclusively through accounts in historically controversial Norse sagas (see Mythical kings of Sweden and Semi-legendary kings of Sweden). Originally, the Swedish king had combined powers limited to that of a war chief, a judge and a priest at the Temple at Uppsala (see Germanic king). However, there are thousands of runestones commemorating commoners, but no known chronicle about the Swedish kings prior to the 14th century (though a list of kings was added in the Västgöta Law), and there is a relatively small number of runestones that are thought to mention kings: Gs 11 (Emund the Old – reigned 1050–1060), U 11 (Håkan the Red – late 11th century) and U 861 (Blot-Sweyn – reigned 1080). About 1000 A.D., the first king known to rule both Svealand and Götaland was Olof Skötkonung, but further history for the next two centuries is obscure, with many kings whose tenures and actual influence/power remains unclear. The Royal Court of Sweden, however, does count Olof's father, Eric the Victorious, as Sweden's first king. The power of the king was greatly strengthened by the introduction of Christianity during the 11th century, and the following centuries saw a process of consolidation of power into the hands of the king. The Swedes traditionally elected a king from a favored dynasty at the Stones of Mora, and the people had the right to elect the king as well as to depose him. The ceremonial stones were destroyed around 1515. In the 12th century, the consolidation of Sweden was still affected by dynastic struggles between the Erik and Sverker clans, which ended when a third clan married into the Erik clan and the House of Bjälbo was established on the throne. That dynasty formed pre-Kalmar Union Sweden into a strong state, and finally King Magnus Eriksson (reigned 1319–1364) even ruled Norway (1319–1343) and Scania (1332–1360). Following the Black Death, the union weakened, and Scania was captured by Denmark. In 1397, after the Black Death and domestic power struggles, Queen Margaret I of Denmark united Sweden (then including Finland), Denmark and Norway (then including Iceland) in the Union of Kalmar with the approval of the Swedish nobility. Continual tension within each country and the union led to open conflict between the Swedes and the Danes in the 15th century. The union's final disintegration in the early 16th century led to prolonged rivalry between Denmark-Norway and Sweden (with Finland) for centuries to come. 16th- and 17th-century changes , portrayed here in 1542 by Jakob Binck, legally created the hereditary monarchy and organized the Swedish unitary state. Catholic bishops had supported the King of Denmark, Christian II, but he was overthrown in a rebellion led by nobleman Gustav Vasa, whose father had been executed at the Stockholm bloodbath. Gustav Vasa (hereinafter referred to as Gustav I) was elected King of Sweden by the estates of the realm, assembled in Strängnäs on 6 June 1523. Inspired by the teachings of Martin Luther, Gustav I used the Protestant Reformation to curb the power of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1527 he persuaded the estates of the realm, assembled in the city of Västerås, to confiscate church lands, which comprised 21% of the country's farmland. At the same time, he broke with the papacy and established a reformed state church: the Church of Sweden. Throughout his reign, Gustav I suppressed both aristocratic and peasant opposition to his ecclesiastical policies and efforts at centralisation, which to some extent laid the foundation for the modern Swedish unitary state. Legally Sweden has only been a hereditary monarchy since 1544 when the Riksdag of the Estates, through Västerås arvförening, designated the sons of King Gustav I as the heirs to the Throne. Tax reforms took place in 1538 and 1558, whereby multiple complex taxes on independent farmers were simplified and standardised throughout the district and tax assessments per farm were adjusted to reflect ability to pay. Crown tax revenues increased, but more importantly the new system was perceived as fairer. A war with Lübeck in 1535 resulted in the expulsion of the Hanseatic traders, who previously had had a monopoly on foreign trade. With its own burghers in charge, Sweden's economic strength grew rapidly, and by 1544 Gustav controlled 60% of the farmlands in all of Sweden. Sweden now built the first modern army in Europe, supported by a sophisticated tax system and an efficient bureaucracy. At the death of King Gustav I in 1560, he was succeeded by his oldest son Eric XIV. His reign was marked by Sweden's entrance into the Livonian War and the Northern Seven Years' War. The combination of Eric's developing mental disorder and his opposition to the aristocracy led to the Sture Murders in 1567 and the imprisonment of his brother John (III), who was married to Catherine Jagiellon, sister of King Sigismund II of Poland. In 1568 Eric was dethroned and succeeded by John III. In domestic politics John III showed clear Catholic sympathies, inspired by his queen, creating friction with the Swedish clergy and nobility. He reintroduced several Catholic traditions previously abolished, and his foreign policy was affected by his family connection to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, where his eldest son had been made King Sigismund III in 1587. Following the death of his father, Sigismund tried to rule Sweden from Poland, leaving Sweden under the control of a regent – his paternal uncle (Gustav I's youngest son) Charles (IX) – but was unable to defend his Swedish throne against the ambitions of his uncle. In 1598 Sigismund and his Swedish-Polish army were defeated at the Battle of Stångebro by the forces of Charles, and he was declared deposed by the Estates in 1599. depicted at the turning point of the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) against the forces of Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly In 1604, the Estates finally recognized the regent and de facto ruler as King Charles IX. His short reign was one of uninterrupted warfare. The hostility of Poland and the breakup of Russia involved him in overseas contests for the possession of Livonia and Ingria, the Polish–Swedish War (1600–1611) and the Ingrian War, while his pretensions to claim Lapland brought on a war with Denmark (Kalmar War) in the last year of his reign. Gustavus Adolphus inherited three wars from his father when he ascended to the throne. From 1612, when Count Axel Oxenstierna was appointed Lord High Chancellor, which he remained until Gustavus Adolphus's death, the two men struck a long and successful partnership and complemented each other well: In Oxenstierna's own words, his "cool" balanced the King's "heat". The war against Russia (the Ingrian War) ended in 1617 with the Treaty of Stolbovo, which excluded Russia from the Baltic Sea. The final inherited war, the war against Poland, ended in 1629 with the Truce of Altmark, which transferred the large province of Livonia to Sweden and freed the Swedish forces for subsequent intervention in the Thirty Years' War in Germany, where Swedish forces had already established a bridgehead in 1628. Brandenburg was torn apart by a quarrel between the Protestants and the Catholics. When Gustavus Adolphus began his push into northern Germany in June–July 1630, he had just 4,000 soldiers. But he was soon able to consolidate the Protestant position in the north, using reinforcements from Sweden and money supplied by France at the Treaty of Bärwalde. Gustavus Adolphus was killed at the 1632 Battle of Lützen. Queen Maria Eleonora and the king's ministers took over the government of the Realm on behalf of Gustavus Adolphus' underage daughter Christina, until she reached the age of majority. Gustavus Adolphus is often regarded by military historians as one of the greatest military commanders of all time, with innovative use of combined arms. Christina succeeded her father aged six. A regency government ruled in her name until she turned 18 years of age. During the regency, Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna wrote the 1634 Instrument of Government, which although never approved by any monarch, continued to have an important normative role in the state administration. Christina early on showed an interest in literature and the sciences and famously brought René Descartes to Sweden. Sweden continued to be involved in the Thirty Years' War during reign of Christina and that conflict was settled at the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, and the Swedish monarch received representation at the Imperial Diet due to the German conquests (Bremen-Verden and Swedish Pomerania) that were made. Having decided not to marry, Christina abdicated the throne on 5 June 1654 in favor of her cousin Charles X Gustav, went abroad, and converted to Roman Catholicism. at the Battle of Lund in 1676. Painting by David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl. The Estates elected Charles X Gustav as their new King, and his short reign is best characterized by foreign wars: first a lengthy campaign within Poland and then with Denmark. In the latter case, the risky 1658 March across the Belts which resulted in the Treaty of Roskilde, would prove to be the largest permanent territorial gain Sweden ever had: Skåne, Blekinge and Bohuslän now became Swedish provinces and have remained so ever since. Charles X Gustav was not satisfied, as he wanted to crush Denmark once and for all, but the 1659 Assault on Copenhagen did not prove successful for the Swedes, largely due to the Dutch naval intervention to the aid of the Danes. Charles X Gustav died in Gothenburg in 1660 and as the Crown passed to his five-year-old son Charles XI, a new regency government would assume the responsibilities of the state. The regency government, composed of aristocrats and led by Chancellor Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, was more interested in feathering their own nests rather than working in the interest of the country at large. When Charles XI came of age in 1672, the effectiveness of the armed forces had seriously deteriorated and the country was ill-prepared as the King of Denmark, Christian V, invaded to settle old scores. The Danes were ultimately unsuccessful in their attempts, and Charles XI undertook several measures to prevent what had just almost happened from occurring again: reducing the influence of the aristocracy by nationalizing estates and properties which had been handed out to them by his predecessors, introducing the Allotment system () which would form the basis of the armed forces until the 20th century, and with the support of the Estates he was declared in 1680 an absolute monarch. Charles XI was succeeded by his son, Charles XII, who would prove to be an extremely able military commander, defeating far larger enemies with the small but highly professional Swedish army. His defeat of the Russians at Narva when just 18 years old was to be his greatest victory. However his campaigning at the head of his army during the Great Northern War would ultimately lead to catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Poltava after which he spent several years in Turkey (now Moldova). Some years later he was killed at the Siege of Fredriksten during an attempt to invade Norway. The Swedish Age of Greatness () had ended. 18th century to the present Charles XII's sister, Ulrika Eleonora, now claimed the throne over her nephew and son of her elder sister, Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (see genealogy chart above). Charles Frederick had the claim of seniority within the family, but Ulrica Eleonora claimed that her elder sister had not "acquired the consent of the Parliamentary Estates" for her marriage to his father, according to laws of succession laid down in Norrköpings arvförening. The duke's party asserted that the absolute monarchy in Sweden, which his grandfather King Charles XI had created, made that marriage clause irrelevant. When Charles Frederick was confronted with Ulrika Eleonora, he was forced by Arvid Horn to greet her as queen. His mother, and later Hedwig Eleonora, both supported and worked for his right to be considered heir of Sweden after his childless uncle. He succeeded as King Adolf Frederick 8 years later on 25 March 1751. During his 20-year reign, Adolf Frederick was little more than a figurehead, the real power being with the Riksdag of the Estates, often distracted by party strife. Twice he endeavored to free himself from the tutelage of the estates. The first occasion was in 1756. Stimulated by his consort Louisa Ulrika of Prussia (sister of Frederick the Great), he tried to regain a portion of the attenuated prerogative through the Coup of 1756 to abolish the rule of the Riksdag of the Estates and reinstate absolute monarchy in Sweden. He nearly lost his throne in consequence. On the second occasion during the December Crisis of 1768, under the guidance of his eldest son, Gustav, he succeeded in overthrowing the "Cap" (Swedish: Mössorna) senate, but was unable to make any use of his victory. Adolf Frederick's son, King Gustav III, was more successful in restoring royal authority. In 1772, the 1720 Instrument in Government was later replaced by the 1772 Instrument of Government in a self-coup orchestrated by the King. at the Battle of Leipzig (1813). Painting by Fredric Westin. On 17 September 1809 in the Treaty of Fredrikshamn, as a result of the poorly managed Finnish War, Sweden had to surrender Finland to Russia. King Gustav IV Adolf and his descendants were deposed in a coup d'état led by dissatisfied army officers. The childless uncle of the former king was almost immediately elected as King Charles XIII. The Instrument of Government of 1809 put an end to royal absolutism by dividing the legislative power between the Riksdag (primary) and the king (secondary), and vested executive power in the king when acting through the Council of State. The present Bernadotte dynasty was established in September 1810 when the Riksdag, convened in Örebro, elected French Marshal and Prince of Pontecorvo Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte as crown prince. This took place because Charles XIII had no legitimate heir, and a crown prince previously elected in January 1810, Charles August, suddenly had died of a stroke during a military exercise. Although the 19th century Bernadotte monarchs that would follow Charles XIV John's reign tried to defend the power and privileges they still had, the tide incrementally turned against "personal regal rule" () with the growth of the liberals, social democrats, and the expansion of the franchise. The daughter of Gustav IV Adolph, Princess Sofia Wilhelmina (21 May 1801 – 1865) married Grand Duke Leopold of Baden, and their granddaughter Victoria of Baden married the Bernadotte king Gustaf V of Sweden. The present King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is thus Gustav IV's heir through his grandfather, Gustav VI Adolf. When King Gustav V publicly objected to the defence budget cuts made by Prime Minister Karl Staaff and the cabinet just before the First World War in the event known as the Courtyard Crisis accompanied by the Peasant armament support march (), it was seen as a deliberate provocation by conservatives and reactionaries against the uncodified norm of a parliamentary system supported by the liberals and the social democrats, leading to Staaff's resignation. Gustaf V then appointed a caretaker government, supported by the conservatives, led by legal scholar Hjalmar Hammarskjöld, which remained in power longer than expected due to the outbreak of World War I (in which Sweden remained neutral). By then, increased defence spending was no longer a controversial issue. Nevertheless, in the year of the outbreak of the Russian Revolution, social tensions continued to rise; the general election in 1917 gave the liberals and social democrats greatly strengthened representation in both Riksdag chambers and a conservative government was no longer a defensible option. Only during World War II, in the so-called Midsummer crisis (regarding the issue whether neutral Sweden should permit rail transport of German troops from Norway passing through to Finland), did Gustaf V allegedly try to intervene in the political process by threatening to abdicate. King Gustaf VI Adolf succeeded his elderly father who died in 1950, and he is generally regarded as a constitutional monarch who stayed out of politics and controversy. In 1954, a royal commission began work on whether Sweden should undergo constitutional reform to adapt the 1809 Instrument of Government to current political realities, or whether a new one should be written; ultimately the latter idea was chosen. Following the required double Riksdag votes that took place in 1973 and 1974, a new Instrument of Government was brought into effect. The monarch's functions and duties, as defined in the 1974 Constitution Act, include heading the special cabinet council held when there is a change of government, but no executive powers with respect to the governance of the realm are vested in him. Carl XVI Gustaf became king on 15 September 1973 on the death of his grandfather Gustaf VI Adolf and because of his father's early death has become the longest reigning monarch in Swedish history. ==Constitutional and official role==

When, on 1 January 1975, it replaced the Instrument of Government of 1809 as part of the Constitution of Sweden, the Instrument of Government of 1974 () transformed the advisory Council of State () into the collegial Government (), to which all executive power was transferred. Responsibility for nominating and dismissing the prime minister (who, since 1975, is elected by the Riksdag) was transferred to the Speaker of the Riksdag; the prime minister appoints and dismisses the other ministers at his or her discretion. Furthermore, bills passed by the Riksdag become law without royal assent: the prime minister or any other cabinet minister signs them "On Behalf of the Government" (). the Torekov compromise, struck in 1971 by the four major parties at the time, provided, and continues to provide, a majority consensus in Swedish political discourse on the role of the monarchy within the constitutional framework. The official motive for the radical changes which came to pass in 1975 was for it to be as descriptive as possible of the workings of the state and clear on how decisions actually are made. The monarch, while explicitly referred to as the "Head of State" () in the 1974 Instrument of Government, is not even the nominal chief executive.{{#tag:ref|Given their predominance in 20th century Swedish politics, the public positions taken by the leaders of the Social Democrats are noteworthy; particularly given that their party programme does call for the abolishment of the monarchy. At the 1972 party congress of the Social Democrats, Prime Minister Olof Palme publicly defended the Torekov compromise, in response some members that yearned for a republic, by famously characterizing that the upcoming reforms would reduce the constitutional role of the monarchy to nothing but a "plume" () and thus paving the way to abolish the monarchy with the stroke of a pen () at some distant point in the future. Palme emphasized though that other reforms were far more important for the Social Democrats than abolishing the monarchy. Successive leaders (and prime ministers) Ingvar Carlsson and Göran Persson have also defended the status quo. The king or queen regnant also receives Letters of Credence of foreign ambassadors sent to Sweden and signs those of Swedish ambassadors sent abroad. Formally, it is the explicit responsibility of the prime minister to keep the monarch informed on the affairs of the realm; the failure to do so following the 2004 tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean (in which many Swedes perished) gave rise to wide criticism of Prime Minister Göran Persson for his handling of the matter. While the monarch is no longer the commander-in-chief () of the Swedish Armed Forces, as he once was under the 1809 Instrument of Government, ==Cultural role==

The monarch and members of the Royal Family undertake a variety of official, unofficial and other representative duties within Sweden and abroad. The monarch and his or her family play a central role in state visits to Sweden and conduct state visits to other nations on behalf of Sweden. Other members of the Royal Family may also represent the country abroad at lesser functions. Many of the Swedish general flag flying days have direct royal connections; among them are the name days of the King (28 January), the Queen (8 August), and the Crown Princess (12 March); the birthdays of the King (30 April), the Queen (23 December), and the Crown Princess (14 July); and Gustavus Adolphus Day (), on 6 November, in memory of King Gustavus Adolphus, who was killed on that date (old style) in 1632 in the Battle of Lützen. None of these flag days are public holidays, however.{{#tag:ref|Flag days are regulated by an ordinance issued by the Government of Sweden. This means that the national flag is flown on all public flag poles and buildings on those dates.|group=n|name=n21}} Perhaps the most globally known ceremony in which the Royal Family annually participate is the Nobel Prize award ceremony held at the Stockholm Concert Hall (and the subsequent banquet in the Stockholm City Hall), where the monarch hands out the Nobel Prizes on behalf of the Nobel Foundation for outstanding contributions to mankind in physics, chemistry, literature, physiology or medicine, and the economic sciences. Eriksgata was the name of the traditional journey of newly elected medieval Swedish kings through important provinces to have their election confirmed by local Things. The actual election took place at the Stone of Mora in Uppland and participation was originally restricted to the people of that area; hence, the need of having the election confirmed by the other parts of the realm. The Eriksgata gradually lost its importance when, as of the 14th century, representatives of other parts of Sweden began to participate in the election. After 1544, when hereditary monarchy was instituted, that meant that the Eriksgata had little practical importance. The last king to travel the Eriksgata according to the old tradition was Charles IX, whose reign began in 1604. Later, kings, up until present times, have made visits to all the Swedish provinces and called them an Eriksgata, while those visits bear little resemblance to the medieval tradition. ==Titles==

, used by all Swedish monarchs from Queen Christina in 1650 onward Monarch The full title of the Swedish monarch from 1523 to 1973 was: :In :In Translated as "By the Grace of God, King of the Swedes, the Goths, and the Wends" During the reign of the House of Holstein-Gottorp from 1751 to 1818, the title Heir to Norway () was also used, as well as other titles connected to the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp. When, after the Napoleonic Wars, Norway was in personal union with Sweden, the title included King of Norway, in older Swedish spellings: . Upon his accession, Carl XVI Gustaf chose for his title simply (King of Sweden). Dynasts The customary title of the heir apparent is crown prince (kronprins) or crown princess (kronprinsessa). The wife of a crown prince would also receive a corresponding title, but not the husband of a crown princess. The traditional official title used until 1980 for other dynastic male heirs was hereditary prince (arvfurste), although the word prince (prins) was used in constitutional legal texts such as the Act of Succession and also colloquially and informally. Female dynasts are titled princess (prinsessa). The Swedish Succession Act was altered in 1980 to allow for female succession to the throne. Ducal titles King Gustav III revived a tradition from the time of Gustav Vasa and the medieval era by giving male heirs to the throne ducal titles of Swedish provinces. The difference between the ducal titles from the Vasa era and those granted by Gustav III is they now are non-hereditary courtesy titles given at birth. Since 1980, they have been conferred to all royal heirs, male and female. The wives of royal dukes have always shared their husbands' titles; the husbands of royal duchesses have done so as of 2010. == Symbols of the monarchy ==

Regalia The regalia of Sweden are kept deep in the vaults of the (), located underneath the Royal Palace in Stockholm, in a museum which has been open to the public since 1970. Among the oldest objects in the collection are the sword of Gustav Vasa and the crown, orb, sceptre and key of King Erik XIV. The Regalia is state property and the government authority which holds it in trust is the Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency. Royal orders of chivalry The Royal orders have a historical basis, dating back to the 1606 founding of the now extinct Jehova Order. The Royal Orders of Knights of Sweden were only truly codified in the 18th century, with their formal foundation in 1748 by King Frederick I. In 1974 the Riksdag significantly changed the conditions and criteria under which orders and decorations could be awarded: that no Swedish citizen outside the Royal Family is eligible to receive such decorations. The Order of the Seraphim () is only awarded to foreign heads of state and members of the Swedish and foreign royal families, while the Order of the Polar Star () was only to be bestowed on any non-Swedish citizen. Following the reforms, the Order of the Sword () and the Order of Vasa () were no longer conferred: officially they were declared as "dormant". In 2022 the government proposed a new reform taking effect in 2023 that once again opened the Royal Orders so that they now may be awarded to Swedish citizens again. The Order of the Seraphim however was not affected by these changes. Between 1975 and 2023, H. M. The King's Medal () was the highest honour that could be awarded to Swedish citizens other than members of the Royal Family. Royal residences The Royal Palaces (including the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Drottningholm Palace, Haga Palace, Rosendal Palace, Ulriksdal Palace, Rosersberg Palace, Tullgarn Palace and Gripsholm Castle) are government property, managed by the National Property Board () and are at the disposal of the Monarch, an arrangement that has been in place since the beginning of the 19th century. There are also residences which are held privately by the Royal Family, such as Solliden Palace on the island of Öland, a cottage in Storlien in the Jämtland and Villa Mirage in Sainte-Maxime in southern France (originally acquired by Prince Bertil). Royal Palace in Stockholm, as seen from the tower of the Cathedral The Royal Palace (), also known as Stockholm Palace (), is the official residence of the king. The Royal Palace is located on Stadsholmen ("City Island"), commonly known as Gamla Stan ("the Old Town") in the national capital city Stockholm. The offices of the king, other members of the Swedish Royal Family, and the offices of the Royal Court are located in the palace. The Royal Palace is used for representative purposes and State occasions by the king. The Royal Palace is guarded by Högvakten, a royal guard, consisting of regular service members of the Swedish Armed Forces. '', located on the site of today's palace, in a painting from 1661 by Govert Dircksz Camphuysen The southern façade faces the grand style slope Slottsbacken; the eastern façade borders Skeppsbron, a quay which passes along the eastern waterfront of the old town; on the northern front Lejonbacken is a system of ramps named for the Medici lions, sculptures on the stone railings; and the western wings border the open space Högvaktsterrassen. The Royal Palace in Stockholm is unique among European royal residences in that large portions of it are open year-round to visitors, who pay entrance fees. Drottningholm Palace () is located at Drottningholm on the island of Lovön (in Ekerö Municipality of Stockholm County), and is one of Sweden's Royal Palaces. It was originally built in the late 16th century. It has served as a residence of the Swedish royal family members for most of the 18th and 19th centuries. Apart from being the current private residence of the King and Queen, Drottningholm Palace is a popular tourist attraction. The royal domain of Drottningholm is a well-preserved milieu from the 17th and 18th centuries, inspired by French buildings such as the Chateau of Versailles, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, principally because of the Drottningholm Palace Theatre and the Chinese Pavilion at Drottningholm. It was added to the World Heritage List in 1991. Haga Palace and her family. Haga Palace (), formerly known as the '''Queen's Pavilion''' (), is located in the Haga Park, Solna Municipality in Metropolitan Stockholm. The palace, built between 18021805, was modelled after balletmaster Louis Gallodier's Italian villa at Drottningholm by architect Carl Christoffer Gjörwell on appointment by King Gustaf IV Adolf for the royal children. It has been the home or summer house of several members of the Swedish royal family – notably it was the birthplace of the present King Carl XVI Gustaf – until 1966 when King Gustaf VI Adolf transferred its disposal to the prime minister and it was turned into a guest house for distinguished foreign official visitors (heads of state and heads of government et cetera). In April 2009, it was announced by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt that the rights of disposal of the palace would be transferred back to the King and thus could be used by Crown Princess Victoria and her husband, Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland. They moved into the palace in the autumn after their wedding on 19 June 2010. == Royal Family ==

The Swedish royal family is, according to the Royal Court, currently categorized into three groups; • first, those with royal titles and style (manner of address) who perform official and unofficial engagements for the nation, are the members of the Royal Family () (currently this category only includes the King, Queen and their descendants, including spouses); However, in any case, there is no legislation or other public document which delineates the rules of membership in either the Royal House or Royal Family, as it is left to the sole discretion of the King. The line of succession The Act of Succession of 1810 provides the rules governing the line of succession and designates the legitimate heirs to the Swedish Throne; it also states in article 4 that the Monarch and dynastic members of the Royal House must at all times be a Protestant Christian of the pure evangelical faith (by implication the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Sweden). A rewrite of the Act, entering into force in 1980, fundamentally changed the rules of succession from agnatic primogeniture to absolute primogeniture. If the royal house were to be extinct, the Riksdag is not obligated to elect a new royal house, as it once was up until the constitutional reforms of the 1970s. == See also ==