Swedish King
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This list records the monarchs of Sweden, from the late
Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...
to the present day.
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
has continuously been a monarchy since the country's consolidation in the Viking Age and early
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, for over a thousand years. The incumbent royal dynasty of Sweden is the
House of Bernadotte The House of Bernadotte is the monarchy of Sweden, royal family of Sweden, founded there in 1818 by King Charles XIV John of Sweden. It was also the monarchy of Norway, royal family of Norway between 1818 and 1905. Its founder was born in Pau, Py ...
, established on the throne in 1818.


History

There were organized political structures in Sweden before the kingdom was unified; based on archaeological evidence, early tribal societies are believed to have transitioned into organized chiefdoms in the first few centuries AD, perhaps spurred by contacts with the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
and the rest of Europe. In the period AD 500–800, Scandinavian societies began adopting cultural elements from the newly established
Germanic kingdoms The barbarian kingdoms were states founded by various non-Roman, primarily Germanic, peoples in Western Europe and North Africa following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century CE. The barbarian kingdoms were the princip ...
in Europe, transitioning further into
petty kingdoms A petty kingdom is a kingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the numerous kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England unified into t ...
. Archaeological evidence suggests that were numerous petty kingdoms throughout modern-day Sweden. Foreign sources and later native sources describe the later medieval kingdom as being composed of two main regions:
Svealand Svealand (), or Swealand, is the historical core region of Sweden. It is located in south-central Sweden and is one of the three historical lands of Sweden, bounded to the north by Norrland and to the south by Götaland. Deep forests, Tive ...
(particularly around Lake
Mälaren Mälaren ( , , or ), historically referred to as Lake Malar in English, is the third-largest freshwater lake in Sweden (after Vänern and Vättern). Its area is and its greatest depth is 64 m (210 ft). Mälaren spans from east to west. The l ...
) and
Götaland Götaland (; also '' Gothia'', ''Gothland'', ''Gothenland'' or ''Gautland'') is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises ten provinces. Geographically it is located in the south of Sweden, bounded to the north by Svealand, with the deep wo ...
. Sources from as early as the Roman author
Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...
( 56–126) mention two main peoples or tribes in modern Sweden: the ''Svear'' (
Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...
) and ''Götar'' (
Geats The Geats ( ; ; ; ), sometimes called ''Geats#Goths, Goths'', were a large North Germanic peoples, North Germanic tribe who inhabited ("land of the Geats") in modern southern Sweden from antiquity until the Late Middle Ages. They are one of ...
); the ''Svear'' are mentioned in more foreign sources than the ''Götar'', credited with military activities at sea. The securely attested Swedish rulers in the Viking Age, predecessors of the later line of Swedish kings, ruled from the religious and political center of
Old Uppsala Gamla Uppsala (, ''Old Uppsala'') is a parish and a village outside Uppsala in Sweden. It had 17,973 inhabitants in 2016. As early as the 3rd century AD and the 4th century AD and onwards, it was an important religious, economic and political c ...
; though its history before the Viking Age is poorly attested, it is probable that Old Uppsala had been a political and religious center since the
Migration Period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...
. The earliest historically attested Swedish rulers are 9th-century petty kings from the ''
Vita Ansgarii The ''Vita Ansgarii'', also known as the ''Vita Anskarii'', is the hagiography of saint Ansgar, written by Rimbert, his successor as archbishop in the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. The ''Vita'' is an important source not only in detailing Ansgar ...
'', an account written 870 by
Rimbert Saint Rimbert (or Rembert) (''c.'' 830 - 11 June 888 in Bremen) was archbishop of Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, Hamburg-Bremen, in the northern part of the East Francia, Kingdom of East Frankia from 865 until his death in 888. He most famously wr ...
partly concerning Saint
Ansgar Ansgar (8 September 801 – 3 February 865), also known as Anskar, Saint Ansgar, Saint Anschar or Oscar, was Archbishopric of Bremen, Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in the northern part of the Kingdom of the East Franks. Ansgar became known as the ...
's visit to Svealand. Some kings of Old Uppsala are also mentioned in later Icelandic texts and sagas. The line of
legendary Swedish kings The legendary kings of Sweden (, ) according to legends were rulers of Sweden and the Swedes who preceded Eric the Victorious and Olof Skötkonung, the earliest reliably attested Swedish kings. The stories of some of these kings may be embellish ...
from Icelandic tradition, called ''sagokungar'' in Swedish, are not generally treated as historical figures, though some may be based on actual chieftains or petty kings. Some later king-lists deliberately extended the sequence of kings for nationalistic purposes, such as
Johannes Magnus Johannes Magnus (a modified form of Ioannes Magnus, a Latin translation of his birth name Johan Månsson; 19 March 1488 – 22 March 1544) was the last functioning Catholic Archbishop in Sweden, and also a theologian, genealogist, and histor ...
's ''
Historia de omnibus Gothorum Sueonumque regibus The ''Historia de omnibus Gothorum Sueonumque regibus'' (''History of all the kings of the Geats and the Swedes'') is a posthumously published, partly pseudo-historical work by Johannes Magnus, Sweden's last Catholic archbishop. In 1554 (ten ye ...
'' (1554); supposed ancient kings mentioned in such sources are clearly fictional. The petty kingdoms eventually gave rise to more complex political structures and what is today considered the beginning of the Swedish kingdom developed over the course of the
Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...
and the subsequent
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. For a consecutive list from then, the first Swedish king of whom anything definite is known is the 10th-century
Eric the Victorious Eric the Victorious (Old Norse: ''Eiríkr inn sigrsæli'', Modern Swedish: ''Erik Segersäll''; c. 945 – c. 995) was a Swedish monarch as of around 970. Although there were earlier Swedish kings, he is the first Swedish king in a consecutive re ...
, though the information reported about him in different sources is scarce. Eric's son
Olof Skötkonung Olof Skötkonung (; – 1022), sometimes stylized as Olaf the Swede, was King of Sweden, son of Eric the Victorious and, according to Icelandic sources, Sigrid the Haughty. He succeeded his father in c. 995. He stands at the threshold of record ...
was the first king to be baptized in Sweden and is credited with founding a Christian kingdom. The early and then medieval Swedish kingdom was an
elective monarchy An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by a monarch who is elected, in contrast to a hereditary monarchy in which the office is automatically passed down as a family inheritance. The manner of election, the nature of candidate qualifications, ...
, with kings being elected from particularly prominent families; this practice did however often result in ''de facto'' dynastic succession and the formation of royal dynasties, such as those of
Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...
(intermittently 1157–1250) and Bjelbo (1250–1364) as well as infighting between rival families. From 1389 to 1523, Sweden was often united with
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
and
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
under the kings of the
Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then in ...
. Sweden's full independence was restored under
Gustav I Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföreståndare'') from 1521, during the on ...
in 1523. He is often credited as the founder of modern Sweden, and in 1544 he formally abandoned the previous elective monarchy in favor of
hereditary succession An order, line or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated, such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Wends Wends is a historical name for Slavs who inhabited present-day northeast Germany. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people, tribes or groups depending on where and when it was used. In the modern day, communities identifying ...
"). The last monarch to be titled as king of the Swedes, Geats and Wends was
Gustaf VI Adolf Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf ...
() since his successor, the present king
Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. Having reigned since 1973, he is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history. Carl Gustaf was born during the reign of his paternal great-grandfather, K ...
, upon his accession adopted the shortened title "King of Sweden". In 1980, the rule of succession was changed from agnatic to absolute primogeniture, to the benefit of Princess Victoria (born 1977), the current
heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...
.


Monarchs and regents of Sweden


House of Munsö (970–1060)


House of Stenkil (1060–1125/1130)


Houses of Sverker and Eric (1125/1130–1250)


House of Bjelbo (1250–1364)


House of Mecklenburg (1364–1389)


Monarchs and regents during the Kalmar Union (1389–1523)


House of Vasa (1523–1654)


House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken (1654–1720)


House of Hesse (1720–1751)


House of Holstein-Gottorp (1751–1818)


House of Bernadotte (1818–present)


See also

*
Constitution of Sweden The Basic Laws of Sweden () are the four constitutional laws of the Kingdom of Sweden that regulate the Swedish political system, acting in a similar manner to the constitutions of most countries. These four laws are: the Instrument of Governmen ...
*
Government of Sweden The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the Cabinet (government), national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's Executive (government), executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister and their ...
* Kings of Sweden family tree *
Line of succession to the Swedish Throne The order of succession, line of succession to the Monarchy of Sweden, Swedish throne is determined by the Swedish Act of Succession, Act of Succession (), originally approved jointly by the Riksdag of the Estates assembled in Örebro and King ...
*
List of Swedish consorts A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
* List of Swedish governments *
Politics of Sweden The politics of Sweden take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the government, led by the Prime Minister. Legislative power is vested in both the government ...
*
Prime Minister of Sweden The prime minister of Sweden (, "minister of state") is the head of government of the Sweden, Kingdom of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subject to th ...
*
Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
,
Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates (; informally ) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the King. It was a Diet made up of the Fou ...
*
Royal mottos of Swedish monarchs The royal motto of the Swedish monarch is a Swedish royal tradition stemming from the early 16th century. All reigning monarchs of Sweden, beginning with Gustav I, have had their own mottos during their respective periods of reign. The Swedish roya ...
* Swedish royal family *
List of Danish monarchs This is a list of Monarchy of Denmark, Danish monarchs, that is, the kings and queen regnants of Denmark. This includes: * The Kingdom of Denmark (up to 1397) ** Personal union of Denmark and Norway (1380–1397) * The Kalmar Union (1397–1536) ...
*
List of Norwegian monarchs The list of Norwegian monarchs ( or ''kongerekka'') begins in 872: the traditional dating of the Battle of Hafrsfjord, after which victorious King Harald Fairhair Unification of Norway, merged several Petty kingdoms of Norway, petty kingdoms int ...
*
List of Finnish rulers This is a list of heads of state of Finland; that is, the kings of Sweden with regents and viceroys of the Kalmar Union, the grand dukes of Finland, a title used by most Swedish monarchs and Russian emperors, up to the two-year regency following ...
*
Lists of incumbents These are lists of incumbents (individuals holding offices or positions), including Head of state, heads of states or of Administrative division, subnational entities. A historical discipline, archontology, focuses on the study of past and curre ...


Notes


References


Sources

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Monarchs A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority an ...
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
Monarchs A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority an ...
List of Swedish monarchs
Monarchs A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority an ...