Popularity of the Monarchy in Sweden

[Duc_et_Pair]

What made them "Royal" was a made up farce. They weren't better, nicer or smarter. They were the decendants of a man with a big sword. They created a mystique. Today, you couldn't sell that, as people are educated and can read and are not afraid of the guy with the big sword.

But exactly for that reason, and for nothing else, the Bernadottes -themselves from not royal origin- created one of the strictest marriage policies, to become royal, to stay royal and to be seen as royal amongst the royals. Note that in many other monarchies, like France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, etc. there is no any formal requirement that a partner should be "fitting" someone's rank. Of course they did their best to meet the unwritten requirements. In Sweden the Bernadottes themselves wrote one of the strictest policies. That was not for nothing. They knew very well they had to marry "up" to obtain a true royal status.

Prince Oscar (1859-1953), Prince Lennart (1909-2004), Prince Sigvard (1907-2002), Prince Carl (1911-2003) and Prince Carl Johan (1916) all lost their place in the line of succession, their title Prince of Sweden and their style HRH because they did not comply to the requirements. (Princesses were not in line of succession until 1979).

It was King Carl XVI Gustaf himself who threw these requirements out of the window by marrying Ms Silvia Sommerlath. Interesting enough, by various Swedish media and royaltywatchers, is said that King Carl XVI Gustaf was against the engagement of his eldest daughter with Mr Daniel Westling. Apparently he thought that Mr Westlings origins from littletown Öckelbö, his lack of academic skills and the kind of profession (fitness and bodybuilding) were "not befitting" a spouse to the future Queen of Sweden.

Apparently Mr Westling worked himself "up" from a fitness trainer to an owner of three gyms. He also took speech- and mediatraining. According to some Swedish newspapers of the time, for an example the very serious Dagens Industri, Mr Westling failed with his gyms. In 2007, before the crisis and with the economic boom at absolute peak, and with many clients willing to train in the clubs of "Princess Victoria's lover", he made a (small) loss of 13.690 Kronen. All this did not convince the King too much. However, the King himself threw all requirements out of the window for his Olympic hostess and had no any stance against the choice of his daughter. So also the King wanted "something better" (a gentlemen of standing, maybe also a nobleman) but finally gave in, with a sour face and grumblin' teeth.

 

[LadyFinn]

In this thread we discuss about the popularity of the royal family. I don't know what the king's and Daniel's relationship has to do with that. We have to remember that the survey in Aftonbladet was done among the people who are interested in politics. We may have to wait for another research done by SOM-institute to get a result of a poll made among wider scale of people.

 

[DukeJonathan81]

What made them "Royal" was a made up farce. They weren't better, nicer or smarter. They were the decendants of a man with a big sword. They created a mystique. Today, you couldn't sell that, as people are educated and can read and are not afraid of the guy with the big sword.

For most royal and imperial European Houses, this is true. But the House of Bernadotte was picked out of obscurity, King Carl XIV Johan was NOT royal from the start, he climbed his way up from the Working Classes of France until he became a top General in the Grande Armée of the First French Empire and was created a Maréchal d'Empire by Empereur Napoléon I, due to his merits and achievements he was recognised by the Swedish Government as a good pretender to the Thorne and the heirless King. As a matter of fact, the House of Bernadotte are probably the only reigning House in Europe to be where they are through the merits of their ancestors, not the size of their army.



His Grace, The Duke

 

[LadyFinn]

Aftonbladet asked the question "should we keep the Swedish royal house?" 311 of the 349 new members of parliament responded. 32 percent of the respondents want to scrap the monarchy.

Four out of ten young members of the new parliament would scrap the royal family.
They are more negative about the monarchy than the older politicians.
- Young people challenge the norms more easily, says 24-year-old parliamentarian Ida Drougge (Moderate Party).
Among the new MPs who are 40 or older, 29 per cent want to abolish the royal family. In the group under 40 years, it is more, 39 per cent.
- It's an outdated way to govern a country. That should be the choice that controls who becomes head of state, not intercourse, says Left Party's Nooshi Dadgostar, 29.
The difference is consistent across all parties except the Christian Democrats and Sweden Democrats: young MPs are in those more for the monarchy than their older colleagues.
- We are young people today have grown up in a society where respect for the monarchy is not as great as before, says Kristina Yngwe (Centre Party).

Political scientist Olof Ruin sees no risk that the royal family fall soon, despite the outcome of Aftonbladet's poll:
- We know that 25-30 percent of Swedes do not like the current form of government. I do not think the monarchy is in danger.
But 39 per cent of young MPs want to put it down?
- There is a general willingness to go their own way with young people. We should not make too much of this conclusion, Ruin says.
Unga ledamöter vill lägga ner kungahuset Nyheter Aftonbladet

 

[Baron Brockdorf]

Looks like the government wants to make sweden a republic
Motion 2014/15:61 Avskaffa monarkin - riksdagen.se

Can't say that I agree, coming from a republic it's rather boring compared to the 'entertainment' in a kingdom, but certain members of the Royal family have left a lot to be desired from them....so i suppose it may be a contributing factor.......but in the end if this motion is successful , it's the people who must decide

 

[LadyFinn]

Looks like the government wants to make sweden a republic
Motion 2014/15:61 Avskaffa monarkin - riksdagen.se

Can't say that I agree, coming from a republic it's rather boring compared to the 'entertainment' in a kingdom, but certain members of the Royal family have left a lot to be desired from them....so i suppose it may be a contributing factor.......but in the end if this motion is successful , it's the people who must decide

This has nothing to do with the government, it is a motion done to the parliament by the Left Party on 21st October, first signed by the party leader Jonas Sjöstedt. The Left Party is not at the government. At the Swedish Parliament, a motion can be brought by one or more members. A party motion is signed by the party leader or group leader.
Every fall when the Parliament starts it's work, a time is given when parties and the members of the parliament can make motions.

More about motions
Allmänna motionstiden - riksdagen.se
Translation

 

[JR76]

Looks like the government wants to make sweden a republic
Motion 2014/15:61 Avskaffa monarkin - riksdagen.se

It's a parliamentary motion from the "former" Communist party Vänsterpartiet (The Leftist party) and has no governmental backing at all. They put this motion forward once a year so it's nothing new and always gets turned down.


Sent from my iPhone using The Royals Community mobile app

 

[An Ard Ri]

Is there a strong Republican movement in Sweden ?

 

[Baron Brockdorf]

Oops hadn't notice that's only a parliamentary notion....sorry about that....but can this be serious?

 

[LadyFinn]

Oops hadn't notice that's only a parliamentary notion....sorry about that....but can this be serious?

Like JR76 said, the Left Party has made these motions every year, here are the latest:
The Left Party's motion 27th October 2010, denial
http://www.riksdagen.se/sv/Dokument-Lagar/Forslag/Motioner/Avskaffa-monarkin_GY02K422/
The Left Party's motion 5th October 2011, denial
http://www.riksdagen.se/sv/Dokument-Lagar/Forslag/Motioner/Avskaffande-av-monarkin_GZ02K314/
The Left Party's motion 20th September 2012, denial
Motion 2012/13:K207 Avskaffa monarkin - riksdagen.se
The Left Party's motion 18th September 2013, denial
Motion 2013/14:K205 Avskaffa monarkin - riksdagen.se

 

[Baron Brockdorf]

Like JR76 said, the Left Party has made these motions every year, here are the latest:
The Left Party's motion 27th October 2010, denial
Motion 2010/11:K422 Avskaffa monarkin - riksdagen.se
The Left Party's motion 5th October 2011, denial
Motion 2011/12:K314 Avskaffande av monarkin - riksdagen.se
The Left Party's motion 20th September 2012, denial
Motion 2012/13:K207 Avskaffa monarkin - riksdagen.se
The Left Party's motion 18th September 2013, denial
Motion 2013/14:K205 Avskaffa monarkin - riksdagen.se

Ah thanks ladyFinn

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

Is there a strong Republican movement in Sweden ?

No, there is not a strong republican movement in Sweden. The only European Monarchy which has been threatened in recent years is the Spanish, because of King Juan Carlos's behavior.

 

[JR76]

A majority of the Members of Parliament are proclaimed republicans but a majority of the population isn't so nothing will happen.
Even if other members of the royal family get involved in controversy Crown princess Viktoria is so immensely popular that she herself makes up for whatever her relatives do. At least up until now.


Sent from my iPhone using The Royals Community mobile app

 

[LadyFinn]

Victoria is the king - of the royals
The Crown Princess is still the people's favorite

Aftonbladet/Sverige tycker has made a survey on 27-30 March, 1106 people 18 years old or older were interviewed.
The King shrugged out to improve relations with Saudi Arabia.
But it's Victoria who is representing Sweden best overseas. She is also by far the most popular member of the royal family.

A new survey from Aftonbladet / Sverige tycker shows that Swedes do not see the king as the court's strongest card when it comes to represent Sweden abroad.
- There is a majority of the Swedish people, 61 %, who think that Victoria is the representative at representing Sweden abroad, says Karin Nelsson, opinion-chief of Sverige tycker.
The king is in second place with 18 %.
- It's a pretty big difference between how men and women respond. 71 % of women think that Victoria is best at representing Sweden abroad, while only 51 % of men think so. 23 % of men and 12 % of women prefer the King, says Nelsson.

The survey participants also answered to the question who in the royal house they like best overall. Also here Victoria is superior - 52 % of respondents feel best of her. The king came in second with 13 %. Prince Daniel is on the third place with 6 %.
About four of ten say they have somewhat or very great confidence in the royal family.
Victoria är kungen – av kungligheter Nyheter Aftonbladet

 

[Moonmaiden23]

I am a little surprised at the relatively low marks for Daniel. I always assumed he was at least as popular as his wife.


And only 4 out of 10 respondents overall have confidence in the SRF??

 

[LadyFinn]

I am a little surprised at the relatively low marks for Daniel. I always assumed he was at least as popular as his wife.

Victoria has been the most popular member of the royal family for many, many years. Victoria and Daniel are very popular as a couple and Daniel is popular and well-liked as himself and his work is respected, but at the survey you can choose only one person, and of course most of the people who like and respect Victoria and Daniel, choose Victoria. She is the crown princess, her job is more visible and more responsible than her husband's. And she is doing a great work. Just like Daniel and the queen. And of course it is good that Victoria and the king are on top of the survey. They are the Head of the State and the Heir to the Throne and it would look quite bad if they would be unpopular and their work would not be respected.

It is always written that queen Silvia is very popular, but she is only fifth liked at this survey after Victoria, the king, Daniel and Carl Philip.
This was a relatively small survey, only 1100 persons were interviewed.

The SOM-Institute publishes every spring a survey about the trust to various institutions etc. 4875 people were interviewed.
In April 2014 at their publication the trust for the Royal House was
9 % very high
23 & quite high
37 % neither nor
15 % quite low
16 % very low
http://som.gu.se/digitalAssets/1480...-samh--llsinstitutioner---lennart-weibull.pdf

Medieakademien published it's trust barometer on 5th March 2015. The survey was done by TNS Sifo with webb-interviews with over 1200 people (15 years or older) on 10-16 February 2015.
According to that the trust for the Royal House has been/is:
2010 - 50 %
2011 - 35
2012 - 35
2013 - 37
2014 - 37
2015 - 40
http://medieakademien.se/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Fbarometer2015.pdf

 

[Lady Nimue]

The results seem what would be expected, I think. Victoria is young and she is definitely doing a good job. The King is the past, but it makes sense that he comes in second. It would be startling if he didn't come in (at least) second.

I'm surprised that the Queen is surpassed by Daniel, but that, too, can be attributed to youth and being the support to Victoria. I am not surprised that Carl Philip and Madeleine do not show up to any appreciable degree. They have always been in the background.

Overall, it looks to me that the SRF are in good shape.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Note it is the way the question was formulated: "Who do you like best in the Royal House?". Only one possibility to give and answer. When you say "Crown Princess Victoria" as the only one answer you can give, then this can not be explained as "The King, or Prince Carl Philip, or no-matter-who, is unpopular". That is the tricky trap in this sort of questions. It is important to be aware of that.

 

[LadyFinn]

Gudrun Schyman, the spokesperson of political party Feminist Initiative, gave an interview to Expressen's political section.
Schyman wants Crown Princess Victoria to take over - as a president.
- I would gladly vote for her.
Would she do a better job than the king?
- Yes, there is probably no one who has understood that he has been in the right place in life.

Schyman believes neither in God - or the king. It is high time for him to hand the throne over to Crown Princess Victoria, she thinks.
- Yes, I think absolutely that. He, unlike myself, should actually retire, hahaha.
Why then?
- Yes, I think she is very, very good. I would surely wish that we abolished the royal family, everyone knows that by now. I think Victoria would very likely be elected as president. And I would really allow her to feel the confidence from the Swedish people. I would gladly vote for her because I think, as far as I know her, that she is a very wise person.
She would do a better job than the king?
- Yes, I think so. He can with the right of his age to withdraw and rest on his laurels. I mean, there is probably no one who has understood that he has been in the right place in life. He has not expressed it. And he has the opportunity to retire because of his age, I think he should indulge that to himself.
Gudrun Schyman_ Vi måste modernisera vår syn på arbetstid _ Politik _ Expressen
Translation

Victoria and Daniel aren't just popular, they are respected because of how they do their work. The press reports and people at their blogs and the social media tell how they are well-informed and acquainted with the matters discussed at the events and really listen to the people. Victoria makes notes to her notebook in many events, that makes people feel that she really is interested about what is told to her and is not there just because it is her work.
Of course the king and queen are also respected because of their work ethics.

 

[Marengo]

I suppose it would have helped the argument if ms. Schyman would have explained just why the king should retire.

Not that I disagree, I find abdications a very healthy thing as was recently shown in Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands and even the Vatican.

 

[sjetajiem]

Yes I heard about it that the crownprincess couple is very popular and the King, Queen and the rest of the family is very unpopular

 

[Hans-Rickard]

Yes I heard about it that the crownprincess couple is very popular and the King, Queen and the rest of the family is very unpopular

The King and Queen is not that unpopular but V and D is with a good margin ahead of them. Probably because they are the Crown Princess couple and still quite young. Many people can identify themselves with Victoria as her personality is common and not royal at all. Still she can represent with full grace and dignity whenever it is expected. Many swedes also remember how long Victoria and Daniel had to fight for each other and have a lot of sympaties for them. Then Daniel turned out to be a very good representant for Sweden too and that helps alot.

Carl Philip and Madeleine is very invisible and doesn't do alot of engagements. Many people feel that they can't 'reach them" and get close to them as they can with the Crown Princess couple and to a certain degree also with the King and Queen.
They are so invisible that they only get attention from the media around wedding, christenings, funerals and when they have done something negative. They can absolutely get popular again but they have to prove it and fight for it.
Especially Madeleine who doesn't even plan to live in Sweden, perform a minimal amount of engagements, only be visible when there is parties like the Nobel festivities and the national day but wants to keep her titles. Many swedes have difficult to swollow that.

 

[Hans-Rickard]

I suppose it would have helped the argument if ms. Schyman would have explained just why the king should retire.

Gudrun Schyman is one of
swedens most famous left wing politicians and a huge and loud supporter of republic. The day she says something positive about the monarchy i will eat up my hat ??

 

[maria-olivia]

The King of Sweden is the Monarch with the less power of Europe and organise in 5 years 3 Church tiara Weddings .

 

[Olyashka]

Really great info about the popularity of the Swedish Royal Family from a Swedish, Hans Rickard.
Great to hear that Kronprinsessan Victoria and her husband Prince Daniel are consistently getting along well with the Swedish masses. I wonder what she would say about Ms.Schyman's opinion. But for me, I want to see her as Queen...
Quite bad news for the rest, though. They have to work triple-y hard, and lose some of their unreachability so that people could reconsider...

 

[hernameispekka]

Victoria and Daniel aren't just popular, they are respected because of how they do their work. The press reports and people at their blogs and the social media tell how they are well-informed and acquainted with the matters discussed at the events and really listen to the people. Victoria makes notes to her notebook in many events, that makes people feel that she really is interested about what is told to her and is not there just because it is her work.
Of course the king and queen are also respected because of their work ethics.

I agree. They are not mostly popular in the celebrity/young person way. Most people really respect Victoria.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Sweden gears up for royal wedding as republican sentiments rise | World news | The Guardian

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

The King of Sweden is the Monarch with the less power of Europe and organise in 5 years 3 Church tiara Weddings .

What has power to do with having family Jewels and use these in grand weddings? The Duke of Northumberland is no royal, but his daughter Lady Melissa Percy wore a stunning diadem for her wedding and even arrived with a splendid horse-drawn carriage from her House, in more style than some real royal weddings... This proves that it has nothing to do with "power" but everything with tradition.

By the way, no any constitutional monarch in Europe has any real executive power. Not Elizabeth II, not Willem-Alexander, not Harald V, not Henri, all of them are powerless without any ministerial contraseign. On their turn the ministers are accountable for Parliament.

 

[Mbruno]

What has power to do with having family Jewels and use these in grand weddings? The Duke of Northumberland is no royal, but his daughter Lady Melissa Percy wore a stunning diadem for her wedding and even arrived with a splendid horse-drawn carriage from her House, in more style than some real royal weddings... This proves that it has nothing to do with "power" but everything with tradition.

By the way, no any constitutional monarch in Europe has any real executive power. Not Elizabeth II, not Willem-Alexander, not Harald V, not Henri, all of them are powerless without any ministerial contraseign. On their turn the ministers are accountable for Parliament.

That is true. Most other European monarchies simply keep the fiction that the monarch has real executive powers. I suppose the King of the Belgians (and maybe of Norway ?) is a slight exception in the sense that he appears to be actually more involved with government formation and actual government business than his Dutch, Spanish or British counterparts for example.

Anyway, for a monarch that is so "powerless", I am actually quite impressed though with the high profile role King Carl Gustaf and CP Victoria seem to play in foreign relations as they are frequently seen leading overseas business, science or cultural Swedish missions. In a recent diplomatic incident with Saudi Arabia, the King was actually said to have intervened personally to smooth things out with the Saudis.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

That is true. Most other European monarchies simply keep the fiction that the monarch has real executive powers. I suppose the King of the Belgians (and maybe of Norway ?) is a slight exception in the sense that he appears to be actually more involved with government formation and actual government business than his Dutch, Spanish or British counterparts for example.

Anyway, for a monarch that is so "powerless", I am actually quite impressed though with the high profile role King Carl Gustaf and CP Victoria seem to play in foreign relations as they are frequently seen leading overseas business, science or cultural Swedish missions. In a recent diplomatic incident with Saudi Arabia, the King was actually said to have intervened personally to smooth things out with the Saudis.

That is the same with most other monarchs and therefore a "pain in the *ss" for their country's politicians who preferrably wants to hold the monarch as short as possible. Because monarchs stay for decades and decades, they build a fabulous and unbeatable network and personal connections. Even though their formal power is very limited, they seem to have informal power and lots of influence. When the palace calls, people start running. No need for, but it is a reflex. The royals know that and can use it.