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The Swedish Royal Court has released a statement from King Carl XVI Gustaf following comments he made in a TV interview. According to Royal Central , the Swedish monarch, 76, admitted in an interview with SVT that he thought his son Prince Carl Philip was unfairly stripped of his Crown Prince title.
When Carl Philip was born in 1979, “Sweden still had an agnatic order of succession, meaning that only males could inherit the throne,” so he was Sweden’s Crown Prince even though he had an older sister, Victoria . The King’s eldest daughter ended up becoming the Crown Princess after “legislation on full cognatic succession was introduced in 1980.”
“It’s tricky to have laws that work retroactively. It doesn’t seem wise. I still think so. Yes. Then you can accept that the next generation... That’s okay. But it was my son, Prince Carl Philip - he was born. And then all of a sudden you change, and then he gets rid of it all. It’s quite strange, I think. You can’t do that,” the King said (translated to English).
Asked if unfair, the monarch replied, “Yes, I think so.”
In a statement released on Thursday, Jan. 5, Victoria’s father said (translated to English): “During the autumn, on two interview occasions, I received questions about the change in the succession order in 1980 in favor of the first-born child - regardless of gender. I then shared my thoughts about Prince Carl Philip retroactively losing his position as crown prince in connection with the amendment to the constitution.”
“It has pained me deeply when, in retrospect, I have heard comments that claim that I would not stand behind my daughter, Crown Princess Victoria, as Sweden’s heir to the throne,” he continued. “I therefore want to make it clear that my interview answers should not be interpreted as criticism of the female succession to the throne or of Crown Princess Victoria. The female succession to the throne is for me a matter of course. The Crown Princess is my successor.”
The King called his firstborn Victoria “an extraordinary asset to me, my family and our country.” He concluded, “I am proud of her and her tireless work for Sweden.”