Several Swedish coronation robes from the 16th to the 19th century are preserved at The Royal Armoury in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

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 country located on ...

. The youngest one,

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 ...

's robe

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

robe A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoils" ...

from 1873 is in the Treasury at

Stockholm Palace Stockholm Palace or the Royal Palace ( sv, Stockholms slott or ) is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch (King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia use Drottningholm Palace as their usual residence). Stockholm Palac ...

. The oldest coronation robes are in a deep purple colour, which differers from the more bright red colour that were in fashion from the 18th century and onward. The purple colour was charged with symbolism and reserved for the elite. The princely mantles, unlike the monarch's, were not purple but blue. This type of mantle has been used by Swedish princes and princesses since at least the 18th century.

Royal mantles

Eric XIV of Sweden

Eric XIV Eric XIV ( sv, Erik XIV; 13 December 153326 February 1577) was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1569. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of Est ...

's coronation robe is the oldest garment that has been kept from a Swedish coronation. It is a velvet robe in a deep purple colour. Originally the robe was decorated with 455 golden crowns. The crowns are

embroidered Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

with golden, white, blue and pink silk, and on each crown ten small

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

s were attached. Today only 296 of the crowns remain. When king Eric was crowned the robe also had a trimming and a collar made out of ermine. After Eric XIV, John III, Charles IX and

Gustav II Adolf Gustavus Adolphus (9 December ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 19 December15946 November ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 16 November1632), also known in English as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph, was King of Sweden from 1611 to ...

have used the robe during their coronations.

Christina of Sweden

Queen Christinas coronation robe was ordered in Paris for the coronation in 1650. The blue and violet, purple velvet robe was originally decorated with 764,5 embroidered crowns in gold, and sewn on pearls. Both the crowns and the pearls were ripped out during the 18th century. The ermine collar and trimming is also missing today. The robe has also been worn by

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- ...

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 ...

and

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 t ...

. The last one to be crowned in Christina's robe was

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 Zoller ...

in 1720.

Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden

For queen Ulrika Eleonora the younger's coronation in 1718 a blue and violet, purple robe, originally made for Charles X Gustav, was used. The decor consisted of golden flames and crowns. The robe was also worn by

Hedwig Eleonora Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (23 October 1636 – 24 November 1715) was List of Swedish consorts, Queen of Sweden from 1654 until 1660 as the wife of King Charles X Gustav. She served as regent during the minority of her son, King Charles ...

during her son's, Charles XI's, coronation. The ermine lining was removed in 1770.

Adolf Frederick of Sweden

Adolf Frederick's coronation robe is made out of red and violet, purple velvet and it was bought in Paris in 1751. It is decorated with groups of crowns embroidered with gold and silver threads. The lining is made of ermine, and the robe has been worn by

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 ...

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 ...

Charles XIII Charles XIII, or Carl XIII ( sv, Karl XIII, 7 October 1748 – 5 February 1818), was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 to his death. He was the second son (and younger brother to King Gustav III) of King Adolf Frederick of Sw ...

and

Charles XIV John sv, Karl Johan Baptist Julius , spouse = , issue = Oscar I of Sweden , house = Bernadotte , father = Henri Bernadotte , mother = Jeanne de Saint-Jean , birth_date = , birth_place = Pau, ...

at their coronations. The train was extended for the coronation of Gustav III in 1772.

Princely mantles

At the Swedish court since the 18th century, there emerged the distinction of using blue for princes and purple for the king; mantles, boots and headgear followed this distinction. This distinction can be observed at the coronation of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika in 1751: The king and queen arrived at the ceremony wearing blue princely mantles and left wearing the purple royal mantles. The colour used for the mantle is described in the documents as ''Bleu Royal'', i.e. royal blue. The mantles themselves were worn until 1907, during the state opening of the Riksdag. As King

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 Luxem ...

would not undergo a coronation, the practice of wearing the mantles, both royal and princely, stopped. However, the royal mantle was still laid out over the silver throne at solemn ceremonies, such as the Riksdag's formal opening until 1974.

References

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