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Concept
Monarchy of Sweden
Summary
The monarchy of Sweden is centered on the monarchical head of state of Sweden, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. There have been kings in what now is the Kingdom of Sweden for more than a millennium. Originally an elective monarchy, it became a hereditary monarchy in the 16th century during the reign of Gustav Vasa, though virtually all monarchs before that belonged to a limited and small number of families which are considered to be the royal dynasties of Sweden.
Sweden in the present day is a representative democracy in a parliamentary system based on popular sovereignty, as defined in the current Instrument of Government (one of the four Fundamental Laws of the Realm which makes up the written constitution). The monarch and the members of the royal family undertake a variety of official, unofficial and other representational duties within Sweden and abroad.
History of Sweden
Scandinavian peoples have had kings since prehistoric times. As early as the 1st century CE, Tacitus wrote that the Suiones had a king, but the order of Swedish regnal succession up until King Eric the Victorious (died 995), is known almost exclusively through accounts in historically controversial Norse sagas (see Mythical kings of Sweden and Semi-legendary kings of Sweden).
Originally, the Swedish king had combined powers limited to that of a war chief, a judge and a priest at the Temple at Uppsala (see Germanic king). However, there are thousands of runestones commemorating commoners, but no known chronicle about the Swedish kings prior to the 14th century (though a list of kings was added in the Westrogothic law), and there is a relatively small number of runestones that are thought to mention kings: Gs 11 (Emund the Old – reigned 1050–1060), U 11 (Håkan the Red – late 11th century) and U 861 (Blot-Sweyn – reigned 1080).
About 1000 A.D., the first king known to rule both Svealand and Götaland was Olof Skötkonung, but further history for the next two centuries is obscure, with many kings whose tenures and actual influence/power remains unclear.
Official source
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