When Will Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria Become Queen?

Sweden is one of the many European countries with a monarchy, with a royal family dating back to the 1800s. Known as the House of Bernadotte, King Carl XVI Gustaf is the seventh monarch to reign under this house, currently presiding as Sweden's head of state with his wife, Queen Silvia (via Sweden's official website). Carl XVI Gustaf is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history, having ascended the throne in 1973 following the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf.

Born Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus (via Swedish Royal Court), the current king was born during the reign of his great-grandfather, Gustav V (via Scandinavia Standard). When the then Prince Carl Gustaf was nine months old, his father, Prince Gustaf Adolf, the second heir apparent, died in a plane crash in 1947. Being his only son, Prince Carl inherited his father's title. He became the heir apparent in 1950 when his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, ascended the throne following the death of Gustaf V.

When Gustaf VI Adolf died on September 15, 1973, Prince Carl Gustaf ascended the throne at 27. He was crowned four days after his grandfather's death on September 19 (via The New York Times). In 1976, King Carl XVI Gustaf married Queen Silvia, and they had their first child, Crown Princess Victoria, a year later. Now 45 years old, the heir apparent has had decades of preparation to become Sweden's next monarch. But when will Victoria become queen?

Born Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée, Crown Princess Victoria wasn't given the title of heir apparent at birth. Victoria was born three years before Sweden imposed the 1979 Act of Succession (via the Swedish Royal Court), meaning that the eldest child of a reigning monarch could become heir regardless of gender. By this point, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia had welcomed their son, Prince Carl Philip, into the world and bestowed him the title of heir to the Swedish throne. But Victoria soon took on the title of rightful heir once the new Swedish Act of Succession went into effect in 1980.

As in most monarchies, Victoria is expected to ascend to the throne when her father dies. But unlike the recent ascension of Britain's King Charles III, who immediately ascended the throne following Queen Elizabeth II's death but won't be crowned until May 6, 2023 (via BBC News), the Swedish plan of ascension and enthronement isn't nearly as drawn out. Additionally, no Swedish monarch has been coronated since Gustaf V "refrained from a coronation ceremony," per The Swedish Royal Court. King Carl followed that tradition when he became king in 1973 (via The New York Times) and Victoria will most likely follow in his footsteps.

When crowned, Victoria will be the first queen of Sweden to ascend the throne following the 1979 Act of Succession and the first queen of the House of Bernadotte (via Scandinavia Standard).

In 2010, Crown Princess Victoria married her personal trainer, Daniel Westling (via Tatler). They have two children, Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar, who are second and third in line to the throne. King Carl XVI Gustaf's only son Prince Carl Philip, is fourth in line, followed by his three sons. The king's youngest child, Princess Madeleine, is eighth in line, followed by her three children.

As other European royal families have done in recent years (via The Washington Post), King Carl announced in October 2019 his plans to slim down the Swedish royal household (via CNN). This included stripping five of his grandchildren of their royal highness status, excluding his eldest two grandchildren, who are second and third in line to the throne. However, unlike Queen Margrethe of Denmark's son Prince Joachim's reaction to his children being stripped of their titles (via Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet), the Swedish monarch's youngest children were happy about the changes.

According to Princess Madeleine on Instagram, the decision had been "planned for a long time." She added that the decision would give their kids "a greater opportunity to shape their own lives as private individuals," to which her brother, Prince Carl Philip, agreed in a separate post, saying it would give his children "freer choices in life."