On Saturday I watched the royal wedding on TV. I did so because royals intrigue me and I like looking at the dresses. What intrigues me is the silliness of it all; obsolete traditions kept in use only to differentiate them from us. I am totally and utterly against monarchy and I find that as long as the head of state position is hereditary, Sweden should not be considered a true democracy.

In Sweden the head of state is the king. It is quite remarkable that, in a country which in so many ways is quite radical, this antiquated form of constitution still rules. The monarchical constitution goes against democratic ideals and the principles of everyone’s equal worth. It states that the function of head of state, is closed to everyone not happening to be closely related to the aristocratic family Bernadotte. This means it is closed to A LOT of people. Before 1980 (!) it was even closed to the king’s first born, if she happened to be a female that is.

Another aspect to be taken into consideration is the fact that the members of the royal family do not get to indulge in the human right of ruling over ones own life. Of course they are incredibly fortunate in a lot of ways when it comes to material matters; but maybe freedom is worth more when it comes to quality of life. What if Viktoria and Daniel had rather gotten married in Vegas…? (Of course the option of getting married in Vegas does not apply to most of the worlds population – but this is not the point here. Had Viktoria and Daniel been ordinary Swedish citizens they would have had the option. Also of course there is the option to opt out of the family and it’s demands, but this is probably a decision filled with a lot of heartache.)

Photo by: Karl Gunnarsson