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 Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images A recent poll show nearly two-thirds of Swedes want King Carl XVI Gustaf to stay on the throne, even though he is fast approaching the retirement age of 65. A majority say the King should remain as monarch until his death.
Support for King Carl is higher among men then women and those who are center-right of politics. Leftist voters are more likely to want to see the King to abdicate in favor of his daughter, Crown Princess Victoria, next year.
Furthermore, more urbanites support the monarch to remain so than those who live in more smaller towns.
Overall, 74 percent of the Swedish people like their monarchy, while only 19 percent would like to see it abolished.
Those figures differ within Parliament, however. Many of the members there are vocal about having Sweden be a republic.
 One week into the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and royalty has been just about everywhere. They’ve been cheering on their country men and women as they compete in the various sporting competitions, but mostly anonymously. Meaning, many ordinary people probably did not know there was royalty in their midst as they watched the events.
Earlier this week, Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon was photographed watching the downhill skiing and at the women’s biathlon. He likely went unnoticed with his dark sunglasses.
 Also watching the biathlon was Denmark’s Crown Princely couple, Frederik and Mary. They also were at the downhill skiing event. As an IOC member, Frederik took part in the medal ceremony for the Men’s Biathlon 10 km Sprint at Whistler Medal Plaza.
Later, he and Mary were photographed watching one of the hockey games.
Another royal taking part in a medal ceremony was Prince Albert II of
 REUTERS/Lyle Stafford Monaco. A five-time Winter Olympian in the bobsledding as well as an IOC member, the Prince awarded the medal winners of the the Alpine skiing Men’s Super-G event at the Whistler Medal Plaza.
Royalty come and go at these Games, some of them arriving halfway through. Those that did were Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia and their son Prince Carl Philip. The Swedish royals came on Thursday, just in time to watch the women’s round robin curling event. They watched as Sweden beat China 6 – 4.
The King of Sweden was one of the several Baltic leaders to attend the Baltic Sea Action Summit in Helsinki Wednesday. A long time advocate for the environment, King Carl XVI Gustaf was a likely representative of Sweden there.
 Juhani Niiranen / www.hs.fi The summit focuses on saving the Baltic Sea itself. The sea is considered to be one of the most polluted spots in the world, and organizers of this summit said a range of companies, foundations and individuals have already made more than 130 promises of action to save the Baltic.
“We don’t expect any miracles, but serious work by all of us which may make a miracle,” said Finland’s President Tarja Halonen, who co-hosted the summit with Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen.
“Today, some of the richest and most environmentally conscious countries on Earth live on the shores of one of the world’s most polluted seas,” Halonen said. “Isn’t it a tragedy?”
Speaking to the summit, King Carl XVI Gustaf said the sea was a “precious resource” which countries “have to care of, and manage in the best possible way.”
“The Baltic Sea is in a very bad stage. We can read about it in the newspapers nearly every week,” he said. “Oil spills, uncontrolled coastal development, and pollution are just a few examples.”
Besides oil spills and pollution, the Baltic also suffers from the many World War II ships that are rotting away at the sea’s bottom. Furthermore, there’s eutrophication — the overconcentration of nutrients caused by sewage and agricultural run-off carrying fertilizers into the Baltic. The sea is so badly polluted, Greenpeace urges pregnant women not to eat its fish. But that’s also another problem: the Baltic is experiencing overfishing.
Tomorrow, the leaders and representatives of Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, and Estonia will work on their commitments on the troubled sea they all rely on.
Some of Europe’s Kings and Queens gave their annual speeches this Christmas. Besides wishing their subjects the best during one of the biggest holidays of the year, the monarchs encouraged their subjects in being better citizens, and also touched on the difficulties many faced in 2009.
 AP Photo/Angel Diaz, Pool Spain’s King Juan Carlos delivered his speech on Christmas Eve. On national television, the King called for unity in order to have a better country. He asked his people to “overcome tensions and difficulties”, follow the Constitution’s values, and “to strengthen the internal cohesion and the international image of the country,” and to “make economy grow up again to create jobs as soon as possible.”
As every year, Juan Carlos remembered the victims of terrorism and gave his condolences to their families. “They count on the support, solidarity and affection of the Crown and also of the Spanish society. Finishing with terrorism is a target for all democrats in defense of freedom and basic human rights,” he said.
On Christmas Day, three other European monarchs spoke to their people. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II called 2009 a “difficult” year during her speech which was broadcast at 1500 GMT.
 REUTERS/John Stillwell/Pool “2009 was a difficult year for many, in particular those facing the continuing effects of the economic downturn,” the 83-year-old Queen said. “We may ourselves be confronted by a bewildering array of difficulties and challenges, but we must never cease to work for a better future for ourselves and for others.”
She went on to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the conflicts in Afghanistan.
“I am sure that we have all been affected by events in Afghanistan and saddened by the casualties suffered by our forces serving there,” she said. “Our thoughts go out to their relations and friends who have shown immense dignity in the face of great personal loss.”
Queen Elizabeth also praised the Commonwealth, which celebrated its 60th anniversary this year, and called it the “face of the future.”
“In many aspects of our lives, whether in sport, the environment, business or culture, the Commonwealth connection remains vivid and enriching…It is important to keep discussing issues that concern us all — there can be no more valuable role for our family of nations.”
Another Queen, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, chose to discuss technology and human interaction in her Christmas speech, airing first in the morning, and then in the afternoon.
“Real contact consists of words and deeds.In the past, people knew each other but today people are mainly busy with themselves. We tend to look the other way and close our eyes and ears to what’s going on around us. Nowadays even our neighbours are strangers,” she said.
Beatrix did not mention the tragic events on Queen’s Day this past April, where a motorist deliberately plowed into crowds at the celebrations in Apeldoorn, killing about a dozen people.
Last but not least at giving the annual Christmas speech was Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf. Like the British Queen, the King talked about the economic difficulties many Swedes experienced this past year.
 Bengt Hansell/SR “Many are young and many are immigrants. They are a great asset as we in our society find it difficult to fully take advantage of. I sincerely hope that we succeed in protecting these groups and their opportunities. It is hoped that all who are out of work soon to get to know the security of having a workplace to go to.”
The King shared with his people his dreams and hopes for young people.
“I and the Queen has for some time resulted in a common dream. To provide a forum for children and young people in the world – a World Child and Youth Forum – which aims to inspire and support so that the UNCRC is complied with. We hope that it might become as known as the Davos Forum, but with the light directed at children and young people’s situation.”
But perhaps the highlight of King Carl’s speech was him mentioning the upcoming weddings of his two daughters, Victoria and Madeleine. The Crown Princess will marry in June 2010, while her younger sister may marry either later in the year or early in 2011.
“To marry his heart’s choice was not always obvious when I was growing up. I am therefore very happy that my daughters, like me, may be the person they love most at his side. I would like to express my sincere and humble thanks for all the support and encouragement shown to us by the Swedish people.”
One of the reasons why many royal fans enjoy the Christmas speeches is because it is one of the rare moments the monarchs write their words, rather than have them written by someone from the government.
The immediate members of the house of Bernadotte were present for the annual Nobel Prize ceremony at Stockholm’s city hall Thursday. The royals watched as recipients of the Prizes were given their awards, handed to them by King Carl XVI Gustaf.
 AP Photo/Scanpix Sweden/Anders Wiklund Laureates in the fields of literature, economics, medicine, physics and chemistry were chosen earlier this year, and this time there were a record 5 women receiving the Prizes. That makes 1/8 of the 40 female winners since the Prize was handed out starting in 1901.
One of them was American Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to win the economics Prize. She shared it with Oliver Williamson for their work in fighting waste in organizations.
Herta Muller, a Romanian born German writer won the literature Prize for her works about life under communism. Elizabeth Blackburn and US researcher Carol Greider shared the medicine Prize with Jack Szostak of the United States for work with cellular aging research.
 REUTERS/Peter Andrews Israeli Ada Yonath shared the chemistry Prize with Indian-born Ramakrishnan Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and American scientist Thomas Steitz for work on the ribosome, a cellular machine that makes proteins.
The physics Prize was solely for the men, however. Charles Kao of Hong Kong, Willard Boyle and George Smith of the U.S. were the recipients of that.
The Nobel Prize laureates take home a gold medal, a diploma, and 10 million kronor ($1.4 million) per field. If there is more than one recipient, the rewards are to be shared.
 Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Europe After the ceremony, there was a gala dinner where the royal family, the laureates plus the 1,300 guests dined and mingled.
As part of this event, it is expected that the men dress in white-tie tuxedos and the women dress in lavish gowns.
One of the reasons why royal watchers look forward to the Nobel Prizes each year is to see what the royal women are wearing.
Queen Silvia wore a yellow gown she wore once before in 2004 for the wedding of Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik and Mary Donaldson. Princess Madeleine dressed in a emerald colored strapless dress with rows of black lace.
But perhaps it could be said Crown Princess Victoria looked the most ravishing. She wore a purple gown with flowers coming up the back. Although some royal watchers were disappointed that she wore her usual six-button tiara, many would say Victoria took home the Best Dressed Prize hands down.
 SvenskDam Tuesday, September 15th was the official opening of Swedish Parliament. The event was attended by the country’s head of state, King Carl XVI Gustaf and his family.
In the morning, there was a church service at Stockholm Cathedral. At 1pm with folk dancers and music performing right outside the Parliament building. An hour later, the royal family arrived by horse and carriage.
The first carriage carried the King and his wife, Queen Silvia. The second had their three children – Victoria, Carl Philip and Madeleine.
Once everyone was settled inside the Riksdag, the King gave a short formal speech which officiated the Opening of Parliament. He then joined Queen Silvia and Crown Princess Victoria on the floor to watch the Prime Minister do his part.
Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine sat in the balcony during the event.
 SvenskDam The newspaper, Expressen, noted that while Madeleine listened closely to everything, her brother seemed distracted and lost in thought for much of the time.
Everyone was dressed in dark clothing, which is a nod to old court attire that was the rule until 1974, the year King Carl Gustaf ascended to the throne.
Between 1975 to 1982, formality was taken away from the ceremonies, such as the dark clothing and royal carriages. But in 1983, they were reintroduced to the Parliamentary Opening.
It is a wonder when Victoria becomes Queen, if she would continue the formal traditions, or take them away.
 Getty Images Last night, the King and Queen of Sweden, along with their eldest daughter, went to the annual Polar Music Prize in Stockholm. Considered to be the Nobel Prizes of music, this year’s winners were British singer Peter Gabriel and Venezuelan composer Jose Antonio Abreu.
Both men got their prize of 1 milli0n kronor, or $141,000, directly from King Carl XVI Gustaf himself.
During press conferences before the ceremony, Abreu and Gabriel said they would like to work together.
Divided between pop and classical artists, the Polar Music Prize began in 1989 to honor those who have made contributions to music. Laureates include Sir Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Sir Elton John and Led Zeppelin.
To see arrival photos of the ceremony, click here
August 19th 2009 marked the last time war was fought on Swedish soil. It was between Sweden and Russia over the territory of Finland, in which the latter won the area. 
To commemorate this historic event, King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia and Crown Princess Victoria have been visiting the sites of the war, starting in Ratan, in northern Sweden.
Crowds greeted the royals as they arrived in the town by ship. Once on land, the royals took time to speak to the people. Crown Princess Victoria in particular spoke to many young children. Witnesses noted that she seemed very happy and was eager to talk to people.
Once everything was settled, the royal couple and their eldest daughter watched a reenactment of the Battle of Savar.
Later on, the Swedish royals had dinner with the local governor Chris Heister. When the family posed for pictures, the King was very quick to walk away. That was when Victoria said gently chided him, “Dad! Everyone haven´t got their pictures.” King Carl XVI Gustaf obeyed and returned to have more photos be taken.
 The next day, the family moved on to the town of Pitsund, where they arrived by navy ships. King Carl laid a wreath at a memorial.
Later in the day, King Carl, Queen Silvia and Princess Victoria took a helicopter ride to the border town of Tornio in Finland. There, they also saw a reenactment of the war.
There is more to come for the royal couple and the Crown Princess. Next week, they travel to southern Finland.
This year, Sweden and Finland have been commemorating two hundred years since Finland split from the Scandinavian country. Earlier this year, Finnish President Tarja Harlonen had a state visit to Sweden.
King Carl XVI Gustaf took his three children, and his two future sons-in-law for a walk through a forest near Solliden Palace on the island of Oland earlier today. He allowed the media to photograph the 50 minute walk. 
But this wasn’t for a summer photoshoot. It was done to show there is not sibling rivalry between Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Madeleine.
The Swedish media often portrays the two sisters as rivals. This speculation has increased with the recent announcement of Madeleine’s engagement to Jonas Bergstrom. Some wondered if the announcement directed attention away from Victoria’s upcoming nuptials to Daniel Westling, thus “stealing” her happiness.
It is understood that King Carl Gustaf despises reports that his two daughters are at each other’s throats. That is why he arranged today’s documented walk. It was the first time the King allowed the media to photograph a private moment with his family.
The King walked in front, with his three children – included the single Prince Carl Phillip – and their fiancees behind him. It was a simple yet assertive move to show that despite what the press claims, the Swedish royal family is a close one.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took time during his trip to Sweden to attended a reception hosted by King Carl XVI Gustaf.
 - Reuters
The reception took place on the island of Oeland, where the Swedish royal family have been staying for a summer holiday. The entire family was in attendance for Lee’s greeting, except for Prince Carl Philip.
Also there was Daniel Westling, the fiance of Crown Princess Victoria. This was the first official engagement for Daniel since his kidney transplant last month.
Over the next two days, President Lee will meet with Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, as well as the leaders of Ericsson, Sweden’s famous telecommunications company.
“President Lee will also seek to increase the country’s cooperation with Sweden in areas where Sweden has competitiveness, such as the renewable energy, green technology and nuclear energy sectors,” said Lee’s spokesman in Seoul, according to the Yanhop News Agency.
This is the South Korean President’s third stop on his three country tour of Europe. His reason for coming to Sweden is due to the Scandinavian kingdom currently holding the presidency of the European Union.
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