Carl XVI Gustaf

The same christening gown in white linen batiste which the prince carried had been worn by his father in 1906 and would later be worn by his three children.

His godparents were the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark (his paternal uncle and aunt), the Crown Prince of Norway, Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, the King of Sweden (his paternal great-grandfather), the Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (his maternal uncle), the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Sweden (his paternal grandfather and step-grandmother), and Count Folke and Countess Maria Bernadotte of Wisborg.

Prince Carl Gustaf was also given the title of the Duke of Jämtland.

Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden.

Carl Gustaf was born during the reign of his great-grandfather, King Gustaf V.

He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Carl Gustaf was born on 30 April 1946 at 10:20 in Haga Palace in Solna, Stockholm County.

He was the youngest of five children and the only son of Sweden's Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sibylla.

He was christened at the Royal Chapel on 7 June 1946 by the Archbishop of Uppsala, Erling Eidem.

Carl Gustaf was baptised in Charles XI's baptismal font, which stood on Gustav III's carpet; he lay in Charles XI's cradle with Oscar II's crown beside him.

His father died in January 1947 in an airplane crash in Denmark when Carl Gustaf was nine months old.

His father, Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, was killed in an airplane crash on 26 January 1947 at Copenhagen Airport.

His father's death had left the nine-month-old prince second in line for the throne, behind his grandfather, then Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf.

Carl Gustaf became crown prince and heir apparent to the Swedish throne at the age of four when his grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf, ascended the throne in 1950.

When his paternal great-grandfather, Gustaf V died in 1950, the four-year-old prince became the heir apparent of Sweden.

Carl Gustaf was seven years old before he was told about his father's death.

After graduating from high school in 1966, Carl Gustaf completed two-and-a-half years of education in the Swedish Army, the Royal Swedish Navy, and the Swedish Air Force.

During the winter 1966–1967, he took part in a round-the-world voyage with the mine-laying vessel Älvsnabben.

The Crown Prince received his commission as an officer in all three services in 1968, eventually rising to the rank of captain (in the army and air force) and lieutenant (in the navy), before his ascension to the throne.

He also completed his academic studies in history, sociology, political science, tax law, and economics at Uppsala University and later economics at Stockholm University.

To prepare for his role as the head of state, Crown Prince Carl Gustaf followed a broad program of studies on the court system, social organisations and institutions, trade unions, and employers' associations.

In addition, he closely studied the affairs of the Riksdag, Government, and Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The Crown Prince also spent time at the Swedish Mission to the United Nations and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), worked at a bank in London and at the Swedish Embassy there, at the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in France, and at the Alfa Laval Company factory in France.

In 1970, he represented the King at the head of the Swedish delegation to the World Exposition in Osaka, Japan.

Since his youth the present monarch has been a strong supporter of the Scout Movement in Sweden.

Carl Gustaf has dyslexia, as do his daughter Crown Princess Victoria and his son Prince Carl Philip.

Carl Gustaf ascended the throne upon his grandfather's death on 15 September 1973.

On 15 September 1973, Carl Gustaf became King of Sweden upon the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf.

Shortly after he became king, the new 1974 Instrument of Government took effect, formally stripping Carl Gustaf of his remaining executive power.

As a result, he no longer performs many of the duties normally accorded to a head of state, such as the formal appointment of the prime minister, signing off on legislation, and being commander-in-chief of the nation's military.

The new instrument explicitly limited the king to ceremonial functions and, among other things, to be regularly informed of affairs of state.

As head of the House of Bernadotte, Carl Gustaf has also been able to make a number of decisions about the titles and positions of its members.

In June 1976, Carl Gustaf married Silvia Sommerlath.

They have three children: Victoria, Carl Philip, and Madeleine.

Before the passage of that law, Victoria's younger brother, Carl Philip, was briefly the heir apparent, as of his birth in May 1979.

The King's heir apparent, after passage on 1 January 1980 of a new law establishing absolute primogeniture, is his eldest child, Crown Princess Victoria.

He expressed his feelings about growing up without knowing his father in a speech in 2005.

Carl Gustaf's earliest education was received privately at the Royal Palace.

He was then sent to Broms school, and then on to Sigtuna boarding school.

Carl XVI Gustaf is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history, having surpassed King Magnus IV's reign of 44 years and 222 days on 26 April 2018.