Swedish State Visits: General Discussion and Suggestions & Musings

[LadyFinn]

When I checked the closing schedule for the Royal Palace of Stockholm, the Guest Apartments and State Apartments are closed between 13-20 May. That probably menas that we'll see a state visit either between 16-18 May or 17-19 May in my opinion.

Closing dates - Sveriges Kungahus

The king and queen have a lot of work events between 16th and 19th May, so the timing for a state visit then seems a little odd:
http://www.kungahuset.se/kalender.4...16-05-22&kalender_slutdatum_submit=2016/05/22

 

[Hans-Rickard]

Well it has not been officially announced yet, but it not just rumours. The visit is after all mentioned at the website of the Swedish Government, and the official announcement ar often done very late in Sweden.

When I checked the closing schedule for the Royal Palace of Stockholm, the Guest Apartments and State Apartments are closed between 13-20 May. That probably menas that we'll see a state visit either between 16-18 May or 17-19 May in my opinion.

Closing dates - Sveriges Kungahus



It is a very glittering year indeed, so it might be limited number of state visits. Maybe the state visit to Germany and incoming Royal state visit in the fall? I'm very curious on how the 40th wedding anniversary will be celebrated, in my kind it will be a quite small affair.

Saw that but it looks strange. The King and Queen have a very packed calendar for May. We can probably expect a Royal christening and maybe also attendance at the Eurovision Song Contest Final to be added. Don't know how they will manage to host a state visit too. But there is probably already a plan for it i guess.

I think the 40:th wedding anniversary will be celebrated with a Te Deum and a lunch. Maybe also a concert with a following dinner in the evening. We won't see royals from everywhere like on his birthday. It will be more of a family affair. Wich would still include a lot of royals haha.

 

[JessRulz]

A new thread has been made for the Chilean state visit now it has been confirmed:

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forum...m-chile-to-sweden-may-10-12-2016-a-40410.html

 

[LadyFinn]

Johan T Lindwall writes at his article about Carl Philip going to UEFA EURO 2016 match on Wednesday, that the royal family will have an intensive autumn including the king and queen's four-day state visit to Germany.
Prins Carl Philip ska heja Zlatan och Sverige till EM-succé _ Kungligt _ Expressen

According to this german article, the king and queen will visit Wittenberg on 8th October. Perhaps this is a part of the state visit?
Wittenbergs Oktober wird royal _ MDR.DE
Translation

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia will pay a state visit to Germany on 5-8 October 2016 at the invitation of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany Joachim Gauck. The government will be represented by Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström and Minister for Enterprise and Innovation Mikael Damberg.
Germany is Sweden's most important trading partner and a Swedish business delegation accompanies during the state visit. For Swedish companies the state visit provides an opportunity to build on the already strong trade relations.
The four-day visit will take place in the cities of Berlin, Hamburg, Wittenberg and Leipzig.
Statsbesök till Tyskland - Sveriges Kungahus
Translation

 

[Kingen]

Johan T Lindwall writes at his article about Carl Philip going to UEFA EURO 2016 match on Wednesday, that the royal family will have an intensive autumn including the king and queen's four-day state visit to Germany.
Prins Carl Philip ska heja Zlatan och Sverige till EM-succé _ Kungligt _ Expressen

According to this german article, the king and queen will visit Wittenberg on 8th October. Perhaps this is a part of the state visit?
Wittenbergs Oktober wird royal _ MDR.DE
Translation

Thank you LadyFinn for the information. Very exciting to get more information about the state visit to Germany.

I wonder if the visit to Wittenberg will be part of the official state visit program, or they do it as they are nearby (Germany). Not strange if they will include it as a part of the program as the Pope will visit Lund, Sweden on October 31, to commemorate the Anniversary of the separation of the Catholic and Lutheran Churches.

 

[Stefan]

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia will pay a state visit to Germany on 5-8 October 2016 at the invitation of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany Joachim Gauck. The government will be represented by Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström and Minister for Enterprise and Innovation Mikael Damberg.
Germany is Sweden's most important trading partner and a Swedish business delegation accompanies during the state visit. For Swedish companies the state visit provides an opportunity to build on the already strong trade relations.
The four-day visit will take place in the cities of Berlin, Hamburg, Wittenberg and Leipzig.
Statsbesök till Tyskland - Sveriges Kungahus
Translation

Pity that they will not visit Heidelberg as has been rumoured earlier.

 

[Tilia C.]

So there's one outgoing visit scheduled for autumn. Do you think that they'll additionally have an incoming visit?

 

[Kingen]

So there's one outgoing visit scheduled for autumn. Do you think that they'll additionally have an incoming visit?

Hard to tell really. There is probably room for another incoming state visit this fall. On the other hand, I haven't heard any rumors about other state visits this year.

 

[Tilia C.]

Hard to tell really. There is probably room for another incoming state visit this fall. On the other hand, I haven't heard any rumors about other state visits this year.

Sometimes State Visits are announced at short term, without any preceding rumours. But of course that's only what I hope.

 

[Kingen]

Saturday Iceland elected a new president in Mr. Guðni Th Jóhannesson, and he will probably assume office on August 1st. It might be possible that we see an incoming state visit from Iceland to Sweden late this year. More probably a state visit won't take place in a couple of years. Last time, when Dr. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson became President on August 1st, 1996 he didn't pay a state visit to Sweden until November 1998.

Iceland historian Johannesson wins presidential election - BBC News

 

[Kingen]

With a lot of royal-royal state visits coming up, and we have already seen some, I wonder how long we have to wait for the next royal state visit to Sweden?

 

[Hans-Rickard]

With a lot of royal-royal state visits coming up, and we have already seen some, I wonder how long we have to wait for the next royal state visit to Sweden?

Not very long i think. There are rumours about a state visit from Denmark next year, 10 years since the last swedish state visit to Denmark. Have also heard Spain and Netherlands, though Spain is uncertain pending on the political situation.

But i think the Icelandic President Gudni Torlacius Johanesson will be here before any monarches. Probably by the end of this year or during next year.

My wish for a danish state visit would be if QMII and the whole Crown Princely family would arrive and depart Stockholm onbaord the ship "Dannebrogen" in mid June 2017.

But if there is a visit from Denmark at all it will most likely only include the danish Queen, the swedish King and guvernementet members and business representants from both countries with the other swedish royals only attending the dinner and lunches.

 

[Tilia C.]

I hope that those rumours about a visit from Denmark are true! You know, I won't be surprised if the CP couple would indeed accompany the Queen. Double-royal State Visits often bring out the families in full force, and the CP couple are to take on more and more responsibilities in the future.

 

[Kingen]

Not very long i think. There are rumours about a state visit from Denmark next year, 10 years since the last swedish state visit to Denmark. Have also heard Spain and Netherlands, though Spain is uncertain pending on the political situation.

But i think the Icelandic President Gudni Torlacius Johanesson will be here before any monarches. Probably by the end of this year or during next year.

I hope that those rumours about a visit from Denmark are true! You know, I won't be surprised if the CP couple would indeed accompany the Queen. Double-royal State Visits often bring out the families in full force, and the CP couple are to take on more and more responsibilities in the future.

Well I hope those rumors are true, and that there is some substance to them. And I agree with Tilia C that it is not unlikely that the CP Couple will accompany the Queen, I guess that will be more common in the future now when Prince Henrik no longer participate in state visits. And a state visit to Sweden would be a visit to the family.

An Icelandic state visit is certainly in the making, but I'm unsure if Sweden will be the Icelandic first stop. Last time it took about two years before we saw President Olafur Ragnar Grimson visit Stockholm. But I certainly hope for a November state visit from Iceland.

 

[Kingen]

I hope that those rumours about a visit from Denmark are true! You know, I won't be surprised if the CP couple would indeed accompany the Queen. Double-royal State Visits often bring out the families in full force, and the CP couple are to take on more and more responsibilities in the future.

I think that a Danish state visit would give us a huge Swedish turnout among the Royals on the gala dinner. Or at least I hope so.

 

[Hans-Rickard]

I think that a Danish state visit would give us a huge Swedish turnout among the Royals on the gala dinner. Or at least I hope so.

Whenever there is a double Royal state visit here in Stockholm, the immediate royal family will definitely be there in full force.

Princess Christina usually attends these events too. Princess Margaretha seems to be more and more in Stockholm these days so i wouldn't rule out her.
I would be happy if i'm wrong but i don't think Princess Desirée and Princess Birgitta, these days, would travel to Stockholm only to eat dinner.

 

[Tilia C.]

When was the last time that Princess Margaretha attended a State Visit? While Princess Christina is kind of a regular at State Banquets, it would surprise me to see any of the other sisters as well. But it would be great, of course.

 

[Stefan]

When was the last time that Princess Margaretha attended a State Visit? While Princess Christina is kind of a regular at State Banquets, it would surprise me to see any of the other sisters as well. But it would be great, of course.

As far as i remember Princess Désirée attended the State Banquet when german President Richard von Weizsäcker paid a State Visit to Sweden in 1987. No Idea if she attended also later.

 

[Hans-Rickard]

When was the last time that Princess Margaretha attended a State Visit? While Princess Christina is kind of a regular at State Banquets, it would surprise me to see any of the other sisters as well. But it would be great, of course.

I'm not sure and can be wrong but i don't think i've seen her attend a state visit in Sweden since the 80:s. It would be a bonus to see her ofcourse. I was just mentioning her, as she seems to spend more and more time in Sweden these days.

Princess Desirée attended the Japanese state visit to Sweden in 2000. Don't know if Margaretha was present.

 

[Kingen]

I'm not sure and can be wrong but i don't think i've seen her attend a state visit in Sweden since the 80:s. It would be a bonus to see her ofcourse. I was just mentioning her, as she seems to spend more and more time in Sweden these days.

And I think she attended at the state visit from King Harald.

 

[Kingen]

As we have reached mid-OCtober and still no announcement, I don't think we will see another state visit in 2016.

My wishes predictions for 2017:

- Incoming state visit from Iceland (January)
- Incoming state visit from The Netherlands (March/April)
- Outward state visit to Argentina (September/October)

 

[Hans-Rickard]

Yes it seems unlikely that there will be anymore outgoing/incoming state visits for this year unless something is announced this week for December. I have never heard a state visit being announced with less than a month away.

What to expect or hope for in 2017 ? Well i hope there will be atleast one outgoing visit to and one incoming visit from an another monarchy.

Possible Incoming Visits : Iceland, Colombia, Denmark, Spain, Netherlands, Bhutan, Argentina, Latvia, Germany, France...

Possible Outgoing State Visits : India, Colombia, Peru, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, South Africa, Ireland...

The dream would be to see an outgoing Swedish State Visit to UK

 

[Kingen]

Yes it seems unlikely that there will be anymore outgoing/incoming state visits for this year unless something is announced this week for December. I have never heard a state visit being announced with less than a month away.

What to expect or hope for in 2017 ? Well i hope there will be atleast one outgoing visit to and one incoming visit from an another monarchy.

Possible Incoming Visits : Iceland, Colombia, Denmark, Spain, Netherlands, Argentina, Latvia, Germany, France...

Possible Outgoing State Visits : India, Colombia, Peru, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Bhutan, South Africa, Ireland...

The dream would be to see an outgoing Swedish State Visit to UK

I think you have pretty good guesses here. It is hard to be more precise in the guesses as there haven't been that many rumors that we have heard of. I have the impression that the Swedish Government values state visits to/from non-European countries. However we come closer to European monarch state visit as the years go by. And I have a hard time to see more than one monarch state vist per year, even if I hope for both one incoming and outgoing.

I would say that Jordan is a possible candidate to the list as well, the King and Queen haven't visited the country in King Abduallah's reign and it is more than 10 years since their visit to Sweden.

 

[Hans-Rickard]

Jordan is definitely a possibility for an outgoing state visit.

I'd say that UK is a good possibility too. One of Swedens undoubtly closest partners in many things is UK.
The last outgoing state visit to UK was to Scotland in 1975 with only The King there as he was unmarried (Princess Margaretha and John Ambler attended the state banquet at Holyrood House) and the last incoming state visit from UK was in 1983. I know most head of state's do only one state visit during one reign but a few has done 2.

 

[Kingen]

Jordan is definitely a possibility for an outgoing state visit.

I'd say that UK is a good possibility too. One of Swedens undoubtly closest partners in many things is UK.
The last outgoing state visit to UK was to Scotland in 1975 with only The King there as he was unmarried (Princess Margaretha and John Ambler attended the state banquet at Holyrood House) and the last incoming state visit from UK was in 1983. I know most head of state's do only one state visit during one reign but a few has done 2.

I do so hope for a state visit to the UK as well. But I think it is hard to predict a possible state visit to the UK due to Brexit, however UK is a very important partner for Sweden.

It seems that the Swedish Government has valued improved relations to the countries in the Baltic region. I don't know what countries that are left now, after the state visit to Germany, so perhaps that speaks for the very anticipated state visit from Denmark.

 

[LadyFinn]

Not a state visit, but...

Finland celebrates in 2017 100 years of independence. President Sauli Niinistö told about the celebrations to the press on Tuesday.
Among other things, the centenary year will also feature in the President’s trips abroad and visits from overseas to Finland. For example, on 1 June, visits to Finland will be made by all of the Nordic heads of state i.e. the monarchs of Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and the President of Iceland.
President Niinistö to visit all Finnish regions during the centenary year - The President of the Republic of Finland

 

[Kingen]

Not a state visit, but...

Finland celebrates in 2017 100 years of independence. President Sauli Niinistö told about the celebrations to the press on Tuesday.
Among other things, the centenary year will also feature in the President’s trips abroad and visits from overseas to Finland. For example, on 1 June, visits to Finland will be made by all of the Nordic heads of state i.e. the monarchs of Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and the President of Iceland.
President Niinistö to visit all Finnish regions during the centenary year - The President of the Republic of Finland

Thanks LadyFinn. I have actually thought of Finland's celebrations of 100 years of independence, and if that would mena anything for the visits. Once again, thanks. It will probably be a nice and festive occasion.

 

[Kingen]

Do we have any rumors of upcoming or planned state visits in 2017?

 

[LadyFinn]

Not a state visit, but:
Crown prince Frederik and crown princess Mary will be heading a Danish business delegation to Stockholm in the end of May. The overall theme for the delegation visit is “Liveable Scandinavia.” There will be for instance an official dinner, so it would be nice to see Victoria and Daniel invited to the events too.
http://healthcaredenmark.dk/media/1448059/Save-the-Date-Sverige-maj-2017.pdf
Liveable Scandinavia - DI
Healthcare DENMARK - Danish Royal Visit to Sweden 2017

 

[Kingen]

Not a state visit, but:
Crown prince Frederik and crown princess Mary will be heading a Danish business delegation to Stockholm in the end of May. The overall theme for the delegation visit is “Liveable Scandinavia.” There will be for instance an official dinner, so it would be nice to see Victoria and Daniel invited to the events too.
http://healthcaredenmark.dk/media/1448059/Save-the-Date-Sverige-maj-2017.pdf
Liveable Scandinavia - DI
Healthcare DENMARK - Danish Royal Visit to Sweden 2017

Thanks LadyFinn for the information about this visit, I haven't heard of it before. I agree, hopefully we'll see some interactions with the Swedish Royals during this visit, but I'm afraid this means we won't see a Danish state visit to Sweden shortly.