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Helsingborg celebrates 'the art of becoming king'

TT/Peter Vinthagen Simpson
TT/Peter Vinthagen Simpson - [email protected]
Helsingborg celebrates 'the art of becoming king'

It is exactly 200 years since Jean Baptiste Bernadotte set foot on Swedish soil to found the royal dynasty that bears his name, and the southern Swedish city of Helsingborg plans to celebrate his remarkable journey.

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The Swedish King and Queen, Crown Princess Victoria, and Prince Daniel will be in attendance to join the festivities, as well as Prince Carl Philip and Denmark's Queen Margrethe and Princess Benedikte.

Celebrations will begin in Denmark in the morning and continue in Helsingborg during the afternoon.

To mark the occasion, Dunkers Kulturhus is opening an exhibition entitled "The Art of becoming King" (Konsten att bli kung) marking the path of the establishment of the Bernadotte dynasty from humble beginnings as Jean Baptiste, field marshall in Napoleon's army, to Sweden's King Karl XIV Johan.

The exhibition asks the question - How did he get here, and how did he manage the incredible achievement (of a commoner from Pau, France) becoming a king for real, and founding a new dynasty?

The exhibition shows "how the role of king can be formed, changed and maintained within various social and cultural bounds, and through concerted strategies".

Sweden's sitting regent, King Carl XVI Gustaf, will open the exhibition on Wednesday.

The full programme of events to celebrate the anniversary in Helsingborg on Wednesday can be found (in Swedish)here

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