Sweden opened its annual parliament session two weeks after the general election, but the country still had no government in place. That left the ceremony to proceed with royal pageantry intact and no prime minister available to deliver the customary speech after the King’s address.
The timing mattered because the opening of the Riksdag is one of the few days each year when the Bernadottes appear side by side in public. This time, King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia arrived by carriage, while Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel came in a historic horse-drawn coach and were greeted at the entrance by Speaker of Parliament Andreas Norlén. Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine also joined the ceremony with their spouses, and Princess Sofia returned after missing last year’s opening while on maternity leave.
The royal family’s appearance carried an added note of continuity. The women followed the black-and-white dress code tied to a court tradition that King Gustav III introduced in the 18th century and Queen Silvia revived in the 1980s. Princess Madeleine’s return to Stockholm in 2024 after years in the United States also kept the family group unusually complete, while Chris O'Neill has not missed the opening since relocating to Sweden.
But the pageantry could not hide the deadlock behind it. The political parties had still not reached an agreement to form a government, so the day ended without the speech that normally follows the monarch’s remarks. In a chamber built to project order, the empty place where a prime minister would usually stand said as much as any formal statement.
King Carl Gustaf used the occasion to press lawmakers toward cooperation, saying he hoped the parliamentary year would be marked by sensitivity, honesty and a long-term vision, and that members should listen to one another even when they disagree and seek common solutions. His message fit the moment: the new session began with the country’s most visible state ceremony intact, but the next step belongs to the parties, which must still turn that deadlock into an agreement before government can begin.
