Carl XVI Gustaf's Real Name: Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus

Quick answer: He is known as King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. The Swedish Royal Court says he was named Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus at birth, and Encyclopaedia Britannica lists the same given names. Both give his birth date as April 30, 1946. "Carl XVI Gustaf" is a regnal name, made of his first two given names and a number, which he took when he became king on September 15, 1973.

Real name and early life

The Royal Court says he was born at Haga Palace in Solna at 10:20 a.m. on April 30, 1946. Britannica gives Stockholm as his birthplace, while the Royal Court names the palace in Solna. At an extraordinary council of state that day, King Gustaf V announced that the newborn heir had been named Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus and given the title Duke of Jämtland.

He was the only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sibylla, and had four older sisters, known as the Haga Princesses. The Royal Court says his father died in a plane crash at Copenhagen Airport on January 26, 1947. The family then moved to an apartment in the Royal Palace in Stockholm.

He became crown prince on October 29, 1950, when his grandfather became King Gustaf VI Adolf. The Royal Court says he attended Broms School and then Sigtuna Humanistiska Läroverk, graduating in 1966. He trained in the navy, including a round-the-world voyage on HMS Älvsnabben, then with the army and air force. From 1968 he studied history, sociology, political science, and economics at Uppsala University and Stockholm University.

Career highlights

The Royal Court says he became king when Gustaf VI Adolf died on September 15, 1973. He is the seventh king of the House of Bernadotte and the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history. His motto is "For Sweden – With the times."

Britannica says his reign coincided with a major change in the monarchy's role. Constitutional laws enacted in 1973 and effective January 1, 1975, removed the king's formal powers in government and left him with a solely symbolic function. The Royal Court lists his duties as opening the Riksdag's session, chairing councils with the government, making state visits, and receiving new ambassadors. He is also the most senior representative of the armed forces.

Britannica says he married Silvia Sommerlath in 1976. Their children are Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl Philip, and Princess Madeleine.

Name notes for searchers

His regnal name combines his first two given names with the number XVI. Britannica and the Library of Congress also record the spellings Carl XVI Gustav, Karl XVI Gustaf, and Charles XVI Gustav. Before 1973 he was styled Crown Prince Carl Gustaf.