The King's Speech

Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden's speech on the country's national day was much expected. The troubled monarch is more political than ever

King Carl XVI Gustaf

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By Anna-Liina Kauhanen in Stockholm
     
      King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is not a great orator, by any manner of means.
      The ideas break off abruptly in the middle of a sentence, if they are there in the first place.
      His eyes wander, and the listener gets the chills.
      But the King had to make a speech once again on Monday, as it was Sweden's National Day, the 6th of June.
      He did not say anything of any great significance.
     
This lack of anything significant was a news item in Sweden.
      Sweden is currently undergoing a boom in court-watching.
      Court-watching in this context means the quasi-science of pondering the secrets of the Royal Household, which the mainstream Swedish media have also for the first time found themselves having to comment on.
      The feeding frenzy began in earnest a couple of weeks ago on the publication of a new book.
      The book commented on an earlier volume from 2010 - Carl XVI Gustaf: den motvillige monarken ("The Reluctant Monarch") - that had addressed the subject of the King and contained allegations of a year-long extra-marital affair and of visits to strip clubs.
     
The working over of the old furore generated a new fuss, such that Carl Gustaf decided a week ago to comment on the matter in an exceptional interview. He denied all the claims in the book, and the court-watchers stepped things up a gear.
      At its most superficial, court-watching is about things like extreme close-ups of Queen Silvia's finger: the wedding band is back on there, although once it was not.
      Another big storyline has been that of Princess Madeleine, the couple's younger daughter and third child.
      She eventually flew over from New York and put on her national dress and made an appearance with the Royals on the national day, although she was not originally going to do so, but - as they now know to say in Sweden - the whole family is rallying around the King.
     
The key question nevertheless is whether the King was telling the truth.
      Swedes would not have any great difficulty swallowing the fact that their monarch had a fling or went to a strip club, but the fact that the head of state would lie about it is an altogether graver matter.
      And it has every reason to be. The Swedes once again got a reminder that whether the King was sticking to the truth or not, there was nothing they could do about it.
      Swedish legislation is lacking the means to intervene in what the monarch does or does not do.
      The problem is also that whether they like it or not, the Swedes today know more about the King's use of alcohol than about his use of power.
      Some infomation on the latter, too, has since come out, thanks to the court-watchers.
     
The most interesting aspect in all the furore surrounding the monarch has been what it reveals of the Swedish elite's way of doing things.
      Sweden's elite circles have cordial links with the Royal Household, with top lawyers, and with figures from the criminal underworld, too.
      The contacts are used without compunction, and the inner circle seems not to find anything strange in this.
      The King flatly denied in his interview that he had had dealings with criminals.
      On the other hand, the King's close friend (now somewhat estranged) Anders Lettström has admitted that he has had dealings with criminal types, for he sought to prevent the release of possible incriminating pictures of Carl Gustav.
     
The discussion was also joined by the Secretary General of the Swedish Bar Association Anne Ramberg, who asserted that the King was telling the truth - because he had said as much to Ramberg herself.
      At the same time, Ramberg lauched a heavy barrage against the media for "systematic defamation of the royal family".
      Ramberg's appearance caused another storm, as it came out that she is also a friend of Lettström.
      Her current partner Claes Lundblad works in the same law firm as the King's lawyer Fredrik Ramberg, who in turn is Anne Ramberg's former husband.
      If the king has been criticised for failure to judge the sort of company he ought to be keeping, the same might be said of Anne Ramberg's intervention.
     
On Monday evening, at the patriotic celebrations arranged at the Skansen open air museum in Stockholm, the King was his usual self.
      Reading from a piece of paper, he referred to the scents, colours and light of the early summer and how they remind us of the good fortune of living in a free country.
      The King's speech is followed, even if he says nothing very much.
      He has power.
      But perhaps that day will dawn when the monarch can be asked about his notions of democracy and of how the Royal Court spends the millions it receives from the Swedish State each year.
      And the King will give an answer.
     
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 7.6.2011
     


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Bereft of political power, Sweden´s royals rule through visibility (15.6.2010)

Links:
  The Local: Swedish news in English
  Swedish Royal Court

ANNA-LIINA KAUHANEN / Helsingin Sanomat
anna-liina.kauhanen@hs.fi