King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden: 50 years of banal royalism

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People around the world observed, in close detail, how the UK’s royal institution consolidates its authority by using ritual to link to the past.

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The ConversationThe Conversation
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https://theconversation.com/king-carl-xvi-gustaf-of-sweden-50-years-of-banal-royalism-208666https://theconversation.com/king-carl-xvi-gustaf-of-sweden-50-years-of-banal-royalism-208666
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Friday, September 1, 2023
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People, Bernadotte, Magic, Life, Politics, Nobel Prize, Banal nationalism, Monarchy, Woman, Research, Elizabeth II, Attention, Sweden Democrats, Government, Death, Time, Child, Social democracy, Nobel, Constitutional monarchy, Family, Book, Royal family, Entertainment, Film industry, Jewellery, Food delivery, Mail
Geotags: 
SWEDEN, EUROPE
Summary
Key Points: 
  • People around the world observed, in close detail, how the UK’s royal institution consolidates its authority by using ritual to link to the past.
  • Over the weekend of September 15 and 16 2023, Sweden will celebrate its own royal occasion, the golden jubilee of King Carl XVI Gustaf.
  • This may be of interest to the British royal family if their popularity continues to decrease over time.

Towards a low-key monarchy

    • Of the nine remaining hereditary monarchies in Europe, the Swedish monarchy has the least power and resources.
    • Many members of the Social Democratic party were pushing for the country to become a republic, while the more conservative voices sought to retain the monarchy.
    • Instead, it would remain a constitutional monarchy, with the Bernadotte dynasty holding the throne.
    • By doing away with this antiquated tradition of male-preference primogeniture, the monarchy was aligned with modernity.

An ordinary (royal) family

    • The Year with the Royal Family has been part of Christmas scheduling on public service TV since 1977.
    • A typical scene from 1985 features the family making sausages in the palace kitchen – the king in a red cardigan, the children in matching white aprons.
    • These media portrayals have sought to underline quite how ordinary the royal family is and how the public might identify with them.
    • In his 1995 book, Banal Nationalism, British social psychologist Michael Billig unpicks how nationalism is reproduced in everyday life via ordinary, unremarkable reminders.
    • Similarly, we might talk about “banal royalism” to describe how closely tied the Swedish royal institution is to the private lives of ordinary citizens – their superiority accentuated by their proximity to normal people.
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