page_title: Carl XVI Gustaf
section_title: Marriage and family
hierarchical_section_title: Carl XVI Gustaf / Marriage and family
caption_attribution_description: English: Wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling; Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia of Sweden Svenska: Bröllopet mellan kronprinsessan Victoria och Daniel Westling;Carl XVI Gustaf och Drottning Silvia
context_page_description: Carl XVI Gustaf is the King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973.
  He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. His father died on 26 January 1947 in an airplane crash in Denmark when Carl Gustaf was nine months old. Upon his father's death, he became second in line to the throne, after his grandfather, the then Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf. Following the death of his great-grandfather King Gustaf V in 1950, Gustaf Adolf ascended the throne and thus Carl Gustaf became Sweden's new crown prince and heir apparent to the throne at the age of four.
  A short while after he became king in 1973, the new 1974 Instrument of Government took effect, formally stripping Carl XVI Gustaf of even a nominal role in governmental affairs. As a result, he no longer performs many of the duties normally accorded to a head of state, such as the formal appointment of the prime minister, signing off on legislation, and being commander-in-chief of the nation's military.
context_section_description: The King married Silvia Sommerlath, whose father was German and whose mother was Brazilian, and who had grown up in both countries. They met at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where she was an interpreter and host. The wedding was held on 19 June 1976 at Stockholm Cathedral, the ceremony performed by the Archbishop of Uppsala, Olof Sundby. The wedding was preceded the previous evening by a Royal Variety Performance, at which, among other performances, the Swedish musical group ABBA gave one of the first performances of "Dancing Queen", as a tribute to Sweden's future queen. The King and his family moved to Drottningholm Palace west of Stockholm in 1980. He and the Queen have maintained their business offices at the Royal Palace of Stockholm.
  King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia have three children and seven grandchildren:
  Crown Princess Victoria, Duchess of Västergötland (born 14 July 1977 in Karolinska University Hospital). On 19 June 2010, she married Daniel Westling, and they are informally styled as the Crown Princess Couple. They have two children:
  Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland (born 23 February 2012 at Karolinska University Hospital)
  Prince Oscar, Duke of Skåne (born 2 March 2016 at Karolinska University Hospital)
  Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland (born 13 May 1979 at Stockholm Palace). On 13 June 2015, he married Sofia Hellqvist, and they are informally styled as the Prince Couple. They have two children:
  Prince Alexander, Duke of Södermanland (born 19 April 2016 in Danderyd Hospital)
  Prince Gabriel, Duke of Dalarna (born 31 August 2017 at Danderyd Hospital)
  Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland (born 10 June 1982 at Drottningholm Palace). On 8 June 2013, she married Christopher O'Neill, and they are informally styled as the Princess Couple. They have three children:
  Princess Leonore, Duchess of Gotland (born 20 February 2014 in New York City)
  Prince Nicolas, Duke of Ångermanland (born 15 June 2015 in Danderyd Municipality)
  Princess Adrienne, Duchess of Blekinge (born 9 March 2018 in Danderyd Municipality)
  Prince Carl Philip was born the heir apparent. However, a constitutional reform, which was already under way at the time of his birth, made his elder sister, Victoria, the heir apparent and Crown Princess of Sweden on 1 January 1980, according to the principles of absolute primogeniture, which Sweden was the first recognised monarchy to adopt. King Carl Gustaf objected after the reform, not to the succession by females but to the fact that his son lost the position and title which he had had since birth.
caption: King Carl XVI Gustaf with Queen Silvia at the royal wedding of their daughter Victoria
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