The question of whether Sweden should remain a monarchy is not on top of most Swedish minds.

Sweden has had a king for more than a thousand years, and its hereditary monarchy has been in place since the 16th century. Current King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia and their children Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine and Prince Carl-Philip are descendants of a royal family that goes back 200 years.

Mona Abou-Jeib Broshammar, chairman of the small Swedish republican association (Republikanska Föreningen), is undeterred by these deep roots and claims that Sweden may become a republic within a few decades: “Support may look strong on paper, but most Swedes are in fact quite indifferent to the institution of monarchy, and may change their minds.”

Less power, more respect

In the last 40 years, Sweden has faced rapid change. It has lost and gained political parties, undergone a separation of church and state, switched from left-hand to right-hand driving, and made marriages gender-neutral, to mention but a few reforms. Yet the institution of monarchy has never been seriously challenged.

It has not, however, been without change. The king, the formal head of state in a well-established democracy, signed all government decisions until 1971, when, through a multi-party agreement, he lost all political powers. Confined to inaugurations, public speeches and visiting other heads of state, the king makes no political statements and does not vote.

The wedding effects

That may help explain why he is widely respected. A recent poll shows that out of every ten Swedes, six approve of the monarchy, two are undecided and two disapprove. The royal family is set to become even more in the public eye this summer, when gym owner Daniel Westling marries Crown Princess Victoria “to make a real life saga come true,” as the tabloids have put it.

But the wedding has another effect, attracting members to the roughly 5,000-strong Swedish republican association. “We have doubled our membership in just a couple of years,” Broshammar says and credits the wedding. It polarizes people’s views.

And polls show that though the king himself enjoys popularity, public approval for monarchy dwindles a percent or so for each year that passes.

A pep squad for monarchy?

Patrik Åkesson and Mona Abou-Jeib Broshammar, each with a strong opinion about the Swedish monarchy. Photo: Rojalitiska föreningen & Republikanska föreningen

“If the media could only start scrutinizing the royal family just like other phenomena, public support would drop significantly, and fast,” Broshammar says.

The association recently complained to Sweden’s public service television, SVT, that state funded television spends far too much time on the royal family, especially ahead of the wedding, and has turned into a “pep squad for monarchy.”

But Helga Baagøe, communications director for SVT, replied that the company sees no reason to balance documentary segments about the royals, such as coverage of the upcoming wedding, with critical reportage.

“Compare it to sports,” Baagøe says. “Nobody asks us to spend as much time criticizing sports as we do on televising soccer games. Swedes like the monarchy, so it is not our job to campaign against it.”

Gossip over debate

Cecilia Åse found in her research that Swedes generally shy from discussing the monarchy and instead turn to gossip surrounding the royal family. Photo: Idha Lindhag

Cecilia Åse, a political scientist with a PhD dissertation on the Swedish monarchy, says there is no real constitutional discussion in Sweden. Swedes like to discuss the royal family, but not the monarchy per se.

“What is the wedding going to be like? How is the queen’s health? Does Carl Philip have a girlfriend? That certainly will get discussed during coffee breaks. But monarchy versus republic? Not really,” Åse says.

Republicans generally dislike the fact that the king is unelected, but Patrik Åkesson, founder of the royalist association (Rojalistiska Föreningen), thinks that is the very point.

“Monarchy is built on a venerable tradition and provides security and stability,” Åkesson says. “That elevates the king above politics. He represents the whole nation. That the king inherits his position is no stranger than inheriting a family owned business. I happen to like the present king, but it is not him personally I defer to, but the institution and the nation he represents.”

Some people believe monarchs will abolish themselves by dressing, speaking and behaving like the middle class, thus robbing themselves of their royal glamour.

But that will not happen, according to Åse. “On the contrary, Swedes like the king precisely because he behaves like one of them in spite of being royalty.”

One thing that could actually hurt the monarchy is if the present royals remain childless.

“I do not think Swedes would like to inaugurate an entirely new royal family,” Åse says. “But with three healthy royal children just about to set up families, that is a very unlikely event.”

Jonas Fredén

Jonas Fredén is a free lance journalist based in Stockholm. He works for the major Swedish dailies and the national public radio. He has attended many weddings, none of them royal, but feels pretty certain he, nor anyone else in Stockholm, is going to miss this one.

The author alone is responsible for the opinions expressed in this article.