The Swedish Royal Family will be celebrating their country’s National Day on 6 June. A major event on the royal calendar, we will be seeing the extended royal family of Sweden and some will mark the day by wearing their traditional costumes.
National Day in Sweden marks two major historical anniversaries. On 6 June 1523, Gustav Vasa was elected as king and Sweden became an independent nation. And on the same date in 1809, Sweden adopted a new constitution.
Each year, King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia lead the Swedish royal family in celebrations at Skansen. Skansen is the world’s oldest open air museum and has played host to National Day celebrations since 1893. National Day did not become a public holiday until 2005.
This is a family friendly holiday, so we often see the youngest members of the Swedish royal family in attendance. Second in line to the throne, 13 year old Princess Estelle, and her brother, Prince Oscar, regularly attend, as do their cousins.
In Stockholm, the Royal Palace is open for public visits for free on National Day. In the past Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel have helped open the gates of the palace.
The King and Queen of Sweden will often attend events in Strängnäs, where King Gustav Vasa was elected.
King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia will then lead the royal family in a carriage procession from the Royal Palace to Skansen for celebrations. There, the Swedish king will give a speech, with musical performances following afterwards. There is often a reception at Skansen, as well.
The women in the Swedish Royal Family wear their traditional dress for National Day. While there have been several different folk costumes in Sweden throughout the centuries, the dress that we see now dates back to the early twentieth century.
Queen Silvia helped popularise the dress we see the family wearing today with Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Sofia, and Princess Estelle also using it. A blue dress is worn with a white shirt, with a yellow embroidered apron over top. Married women in the family also wear a white headscarf.
