STOCKHOLM — Sweden is celebrating King Carl XVI Gustaf’s 70th birthday with a service in the palace chapel attended by his family and royal visitors from Japan, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, among others.
Outdoor pomp and celebrations for Sweden’s monarch in the past 43 years included a tightly choreographed military parade today — with an army band playing a tune — “Dancing Queen” — by Swedish pop group ABBA. In the palace yard, children gave the king flowers before gun salutes and a ride through Stockholm in an open horse-drawn carriage.
Born April 30, 1946, Carl XVI Gustaf ascended the throne in 1973, and married German commoner Silvia Sommerlath three years later. They have three children and five grandchildren, with Crown Princess Victoria next in line to the throne.
First Published April 30, 2016, 12:02 p.m.
