Sweden’s New Princess Posted by Marcus Cederström on Feb 28, 2012 in Culture
In the summer of 2010, much of Sweden was fascinated by the marriage between Crown Princess Victoria and her husband to be, Daniel. Back in August of 2011 it was announced that Victoria was pregnant. And last week, the Swedish royal family welcomed a new princess – Estelle.
The name was announced on Friday of last week by her grandfather, you might know him better as the King of Sweden. Estelle will be the second crown princess in a row due to Sweden’s laws on succession. In fact, this will be the first time that Sweden will have an heiress to the throne who was born into that position. Victoria, while the current heiress to the throne, was born at a time when the first born male was still considered to be the successor to the throne. That changed in 1980 when Victoria was three years old. The UK seems to be in the process of doing something similar and eliminating the first-born male succession rule.
The question now that many people are asking is whether Estelle will ever take the throne in Sweden. Not because of her gender or really anything of that nature, but solely because many people question the usefulness of a monarchy in a country that has for so long been a democracy. The country is a constitutional monarchy and power lies in the hands of the parliament, not the monarchy.
However, some see the monarchy as an integral part of what Sweden is. A part of their past. A sort of living history. Others see it as a drain of tax payer money that has no real benefit and has been reduced to tabloid fodder. What do you think? Is the Swedish monarchy something that should be preserved? Or is it something that should be eliminated?
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About the Author: Marcus Cederström
Marcus Cederström has been writing for the Transparent Swedish Blog since 2009. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Scandinavian Studies from the University of Oregon, a Master's Degree in Scandinavian Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a PhD in Scandinavian Studies and Folklore from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He has taught Swedish for several years and still spells things wrong. So, if you see something, say something.
Comments:
Eric Swanson:
I am moving to Sweden to live with my sambo and I have thought a lot about how I feel about the monarchy. Of course, most Swedes favor a monarchy at this time and a support level for the monarchy of about 70% has been pretty constant over the years. This means that the monarchy is one of the most popular institutions in Sweden and I don’t think this will change any time soon.
If the monarchy is to be replaced, one needs to know answers to all of the critical questions (who, what, when, where, why, how). My own thinking on this is that a constitutional monarchy enhances democracy in Sweden because the king is “tyst och trevligt (quiet and polite)”. The king travels around the country representing the national government at all kinds of events the prime minister does not have time to attend. As well, the king represents Sweden on the international stage. I think the current arrangement really allows the prime minister to focus on running the government. Additionally, it is relatively easy to replace a prime minister if he is not working out. This is not the case with a president in the USA or France, for example.
If Sweden goes for a president, I hope they will use the Icelandic model with publicly funded elections. I don’t think an American or French style president would be good for Swedish democracy. As well, the role of the president in Finland has changed over the years and there have been a lot of questions about the proper role of the president in Finland. If Sweden decides to have a president, I would recommend that the duties and responsibilities of the position be clearly stated in law.
Marcus Cederström:
Great thoughts on this