King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden’s 73rd birthday on Tuesday, 30 April 2019 will be celebrated in the Outer Courtyard at the Royal Palace at Stockholm.

The Changing of the Guard will take place with performances from military bands.

Children will present flowers to King Carl Gustaf, meet with well-wishers and appear at the window with other members of the Royal Family.

He was born in 1946 at the Haga Palace, the youngest of five children and the only son of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sibyl of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and christened Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus on 7 June 1946.

His godparents include his paternal uncle and aunt, Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark, King Olav V of Norway, Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, his paternal great-grandfather Gustaf V of Sweden, paternal grandfather and step-grandmother The Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden (Gustaf VI Adolf and his second wife, Queen Louise), and maternal uncle, Prince Friedrich of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha,

Sadly his father Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, was killed in a plane crash on 26 January 1947 at Copenhagen Airport, when he was nine-months old.

He became second in line of succession to the Swedish throne, following his grandfather who later ruled as Gustaf VI Adolf from 1950 until his death in 1972.

Prince Carl Gustaf then became the heir apparent of Sweden.

He grew up with his older sisters, Princesses Margaretha, Birgitta, Désirée and Christina, at the Haga Palace with a private tutor during his preschool years.

Carl Gustaf attend the Broms School and spent his high school years at the Sigtuna Boarding School until his graduation in 1966.

In 1972, Crown Prince Carl Gustaf met Miss Silvia Sommerlath at the Olympic Games in Munich.

Carl Gustaf became King of Sweden on 15 September 1973, following the death of his grandfather Gustaf VI Adolf, and adopted the personal motto, ‘För Sverige – i tides’ (‘For Sweden – With the times’).

They married in a lavish ceremony on 19 June 1976 at Stockholm Cathedral.

King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia have three children, Crown Princess Victoria (born 1977), Prince Carl Philip (born 1979) and Princess Madeleine (born 1982).

The Royal Family lived at the Royal Palace of Stockholm until they moved to Drottningholm Palace in 1981.

The King celebrated his Ruby Jubilee (40th Anniversary) of his reign in 2013.

He became Sweden’s longest-reigning monarch in April 2018, overtaking Magnus IV Eriksson’s rule of 44 years and 222 years and his great-grandfather Gustaf V’s reign of nearly 43 years.

King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia made a state visit to Australia in 2005.

He visited Melbourne to attend the 69th Baden-Powell Fellowship where he presented medals to young scouts.