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IN PICS: Queen Elizabeth’s two state visits to Sweden

Queen Elizabeth II visited Sweden on two occasions, meeting two different Swedish kings, the current King Carl XVI Gustaf as well as his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf. Here's a look back at these state visits.

Published: 9 September 2022 16:05 CEST

IN PICS: Queen Elizabeth's two state visits to Sweden

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are shown around Gamla Stan in Stockholm by the Swedish King and Queen in 1983. Photo: Bertil Ericson/Scanpix

Queen Elizabeth’s first state visit to Sweden took place in 1956, just three years after her coronation. The visit included a trip to Olympiastadion in Stockholm to watch the Olympic equestrian competitions, which were held in Sweden that year despite the rest of the Olympic Games taking place in Melbourne, Australia.

Queen Elizabeth at the equestrian Olympic competition alongside then-King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, Queen Louise of Sweden and Prince Philip.
Photo: Pressens Bild/TT

The Queen also took part in a dinner in Stockholm’s town hall with the Social Democrat city council chairman Carl Albert Anderson and Prince Bertil, the uncle of Sweden’s current King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Queen Elizabeth II at a dinner in Gyllene salen in Stockholm’s town hall, alongside Prince Bertil and city council chairman Carl Albert Anderson. Photo: Pressens Bild/TT

Queen Elizabeth II watches the olympic horse-riding in Stockholm, 1956. Photo: Pressens Bild/TT

Her next visit to Sweden was a four day official state visit from May 25th-28th, 1983. On this visit, Queen Elizabeth met Sweden’s current king, King Carl XVI Gustaf and his wife, Queen Silvia. Here they are alongside Prince Philip.

Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. Photo: Jan Collsiöö/Scanpix/TT

The Queen and Prince Philip travelled on the Swedish royal boat Vasaorden, alongside King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia.

The Queen and Prince Philip disembark the Swedish royal ship Vasaorden outside Grand hotell, Stockholm. Photo: Svenskt Pressfoto/Scanpix/TT

Crowds in Stockholm were keen to meet the British royals, who were welcomed with flags by the Swedish public.

Photo: Tomas Oneborg/SvD/TT

The Queen’s Rolls-Royce was also shipped over for the occasion, where it was given a new temporary registration number: HMQ 001 for Her Majesty the Queen.

Photo: Kent Östlund/SvD/TT

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Commission official: 'Up to Sweden how strict it is on Brexit applications'

In an email sent to The Local, the official confirmed the latest data, published at the end of last year, which showed that 22 percent of residence applications from UK nationals under the Withdrawal Agreement had not been successful in Sweden. The official said this was similar to the rejection rate for Swedish citizens’ applications in the UK.

“Through its regular monitoring in Annual reports under Article 159(2) of the Withdrawal Agreement, the European Commission is aware of the fact that Sweden has a high rate of refusal of residence applications under Article 18(1) of the Withdrawal Agreement,” the official said.

But they said that this in itself did not indicate that Sweden was failing to apply the UK Withdrawal Agreement correctly.

“As long as there is no indication that a Member State in question is incorrectly applying the Withdrawal Agreement rules, it is not for the Commission to tell Member States how strict or lenient they should be when processing late applications,” the Commission official said.

READ ALSO: Brits in Sweden still in limbo years after Brexit deadline

Two EU lawyers The Local spoke to earlier this summer said that they believed that the Swedish Migration Agency had not been correctly applying the proportionality test to late applications, and had been too narrow in its interpretation of what constitutes “reasonable grounds” for a late application.

They also said that they believed the Migration Agency had been overly strict on what level of employment or savings UK citizens were required to have to qualify as resident in Sweden under EU law, and to therefore be qualified for post-Brexit residency.

SEE MORE: Why did Sweden reject Brits for post-Brexit residency?

But the Commission official said that when it came to the late applications at least, Sweden was entitled to take the position it had done.

“If the host State authorities reach the conclusion that a late applicant did not have reasonable grounds for missing the application deadline, they do not have to deal with the application on substance,” the official said.

“This means that someone who would have qualified for the residence rights under the Withdrawal Agreement might not be granted those rights if they missed the application deadline and did not have a valid reason for doing so.”

READ ALSO: Is Sweden getting EU law wrong on Brexit cases?

An unusual high rejection rate, the official continued, did not mean that Sweden was breaking the terms of the EU Withdrawal agreement.

“The fact that there are negative decisions being taken by Member States under Article 18 of the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) does not, in itself, indicate that those Member States apply the Withdrawal Agreement incorrectly,” they said.

The Migration Agency had carried out a review of refusals, they said, checking a selection for “legal quality”, something The Local has previously reported on.

The Commission had received the Migration Agency’s review, they said, but had yet to complete its analysis of the findings.

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