The throne jubilee starts here - invited "the whole of Sweden"

The king's great throne jubilee starts here  

The king invited to a Swedish dinner at the Royal Palace  

Of:  

Jenny Alexandersson  

Published: Less than 50 min ago  

Updated: Less than 20 min ago 

Carl XVI Gustaf  

Gotland, Scania, West Gotland and Värmland...  

Tonight the Swedes captured the Royal Castle - in the magnificent halls you could hear dialects from all corners of the country.  

The Swedish dinner is the starting point for the king's celebration of 50 years on the throne.  

The anniversary celebration is for everyone!  

The king's desire to celebrate 50 years on the throne with all of Sweden has gotten off to a good start. The Swedish dinner tonight was the first impact of a year-long celebration.  

And that includes every corner of Sweden. During the year, the king will visit all 21 counties in the country.  

But first the king wanted to invite the Swedes to a gala dinner. Each governor had to select four people who had done something good for Sweden.  

Among the guests were farmers, writers, cultural workers, entrepreneurs, a principal, a trotting trainer, a choir director, chefs, a health coach and many more.  

- I hope you see this evening and weekend in our capital as a nice break from the regular "Friday coziness" back home. But on Monday you must make sure to return to your regular work - because without you, Sweden will stop! said the king in a speech.  

The royal couple, the crown princess couple and the prince couple enter the Rikssalen for musical entertainment before it is time to sit down to the Swedish dinner at the Royal Palace. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT 

The army band played and the soloists Elin Rombo and Joachim Bäckström sang. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT  

Crown Princess Victoria seemed to like the music played by the Army Band. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT

Music and dinner for the Swedes  

The guests were first treated to musical entertainment in the Rikssalen. The army's music corps played everything from a classical serenade to a Jämtlands song and Benny Andersson's "Dovemåla hage". 

- The defense music is celebrating its 500th anniversary this year and it's fantastic, even that our current king has sat for a tenth of that time, said the evening's lecturer Professor Mattias Lundberg. 

As a grand finale, the new jubilee march "For Sweden in the Time" was played for the king and the guests. It was created by Erik Berndalen for the king's fiftieth anniversary of the throne.  

The jubilee is not only about the king, even though he is the longest-serving monarch in Sweden, this year also celebrates 500 years since Gustav Vasa was elected king and Sweden became a nation state. 

The royal family welcomed the guests to the Swedish dinner at the Royal Palace. Each governor had been allowed to select four guests from the county with each. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT  

The royal family greets the guests. The royal family greets the guests. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT 

Värmland's governor Georg Andrén and deacon Maria Andrén arrive at the royal family's Swedish dinner at Stockholm Palace together with representatives of Värmland. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT  

Boots and long dresses in royal halls  

You could feel the wings of history in the Bernadotte Halls. 

The royal couple, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia greeted the guests with former regents looked down from the walls 

- I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of you. But there won't be a handshake because it's still a bit of a pandemic. We have to think about it, we all have a lot of work ahead of us and here it's about holding on and persevering, right? said the king.  

Expectant guests filed in line, county by county, to be introduced to the royal family. And there was an atmospheric yet relaxed atmosphere in the room. The occasional folk costume loomed in the crowd, low-key laughter, well-combed hairstyles, a glittering long dress and author Karin Smirnoff in cool Dr Martens.  

Tonight the Royal Palace was truly the people's palace.  

The royal couple, the crown princess couple and the prince couple at this year's Sweden dinner. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT