The royal motto of the Swedish monarch is a Swedish royal tradition stemming from the early 16th century. All reigning monarchs of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

, beginning with

Gustav I Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...

, have had their own mottos during their respective periods of reign. The Swedish royal motto in many ways is equivalent to a

national motto This article lists state and national mottos for the world's nations. The mottos for some states lacking general international recognition, extinct states, non-sovereign nations, regions, and territories are listed, but their names are not bold ...

. The tradition among Swedish monarchs, in common with the Danish and

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

monarchies, but different from that of most other modern European monarchies, is that the motto is not the same for one

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

, but is personal to each monarch. Historically the royal motto has been used in connection with the Swedish coat of arms, and until 30 June 2017 it could be seen in print on the 1 krona coin. The new generation of coins does not feature a motto.

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

was the first king to have his motto only in Swedish. Up until

Adolf Frederick Adolf Frederick, or Adolph Frederick ( sv, Adolf Fredrik, german: Adolf Friedrich; 14 May 171012 February 1771) was King of Sweden from 1751 until his death. He was the son of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin, and Albertina ...

, the motto for every regent had been in Latin and Swedish (or, as in the case of

Gustav II Adolf Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...

, in German). Due to the

dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden The dissolution of the union ( nb, unionsoppløsningen; nn, unionsoppløysinga; Landsmål: ''unionsuppløysingi''; sv, unionsupplösningen) between the kingdoms of Norway and Sweden under the House of Bernadotte, was set in motion by a resolu ...

in 1905,

Oscar II Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...

had to change his motto. {, align=center class=wikitable , + Royal mottos , - ! Regent ! Reign ! Royal motto (in Swedish) !

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

translation , - , colspan=4 , , - ,

, 1521-1560 , All makt är av Gud , All power is of

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

, - , Eric XIV , 1560-1568 , Gud giver åt vem Han vill , God gives to whom He wishes , - , John III , 1568-1592 , Gud vår beskyddare , God our protector , - , Sigismund , 1592-1599 , För rätten och folket , For the justice and the people , - , Charles IX , 1599-1611 , Gud min tröst , God my comfort , - ,

, 1611-1632 , Med Gud och segrande vapen , With God and victorious arms , - , Christina , 1632-1654 , Visheten är rikets stöd , Wisdom is the support of the realm , - , colspan=4 , , - ,

Charles X Gustav Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...

, 1654-1660 , I Gud mitt öde - Han skall göra det , In God my destiny - He shall do it , - ,

Charles XI Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721). He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein- ...

, 1660-1697 , Herren är vorden min beskyddare , The Lord is become my protector , - ,

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of ...

, 1697-1718 , Med Guds hjälp , With the help of God , - ,

Ulrika Eleonora Ulrika Eleonora or Ulrica Eleanor (23 January 1688 – 24 November 1741), known as Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, was Queen of Sweden, reigning in her own right from 5 December 1718 until her abdication on 29 February 1720 in favour of her husband ...

, 1719-1720 , I Gud mitt hopp , In God my hope , - , colspan=4 , , - ,

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...

, 1720-1751 , I Gud mitt hopp , In God my hope , - , colspan=4 , , - ,

, 1751-1771 , Statens välfärd, min välfärd , The welfare of the state smy welfare , - ,

, 1771-1792 , Fäderneslandet , The fatherland , - ,

Gustav IV Adolf Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was King of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland. The occupation of Finland in 1808–09 ...

, 1792-1809 , Gud och folket , God and the people , - , Charles XIII of Sweden, Charles II of Norway , 1809-1818 , Folkets väl min högsta lag , The welfare of the people smy highest law Compare with the motto of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

(1821): "Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law". Originally from

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

's ''De Legibus'', Book III, Part III, Sub. VIII. , - , colspan=4 , {{Center,

House of Bernadotte The House of Bernadotte is the royal family of Sweden since its foundation there in 1818. It was also the royal family of Norway between 1818 and 1905. Its founder, Charles XIV John of Sweden, was born in Pau in southern France as Jean Bernadott ...

, - , Charles XIV John of Sweden, Charles III John of Norway , 1818-1844 , Folkets kärlek min belöning , The love of the people smy reward , - , Oscar I , 1844-1859 , Rätt och sanning , Justice and truth , - , Charles XV of Sweden, Charles IV of Norway , 1859-1872 , Land skall med lag byggas , Lands r the landshall be built with law , - , rowspan=2 valign=middle ,

, 1872-1905 , Brödrafolkens väl , The welfare of the brother peoples , - , 1905-1907 , Sveriges väl , The welfare of Sweden , - ,

Gustaf V Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxe ...

, 1907-1950 , Med folket för fosterlandet , With the people for the Fatherland , - , Gustaf VI Adolf , 1950-1973 , Plikten framför allt , Duty before all , - ,

Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973. He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, D ...

, 1973–present , För Sverige – i tiden , For Sweden – with the Times

References

External links

Mottoes of The Kings and Queens of Sweden
Swedish monarchy

Swedish monarchs This is a list of Swedish kings, queens, regents and viceroys of the Kalmar Union. History The earliest record of what is generally considered to be a Swedish king appears in Tacitus' work '' Germania'', c. 100 AD (the king of the Suiones). ...

See also

References

External links