The
Royal mottos or
Valspråk of the
Swedish monarchs has been a tradition since first used by
Gustav I of Sweden, in the early
16th century. Every regent of
Sweden since has had used their own motto during their periods of reign. The tradition of using a royal motto in other monarchies is that it most often stays the same within one dynasty, and here the Swedish tradition is different. In this respect they do however serve all the traditional purposes of a national or royal motto. One example is the imprint on all one
Krona coins, the currency of Sweden.
Due to the dissolution of the Sweden-Norway Union in 1905, Oscar II had his motto changed.
Royal mottos
| Regent | Reign
| Royal motto (in Swedish)
| English translation
|
|
The House of Vasa
|
| Gustav Vasa | 1521-1560 | All makt är av Gud | All power is of God
|
| Erik XIV | 1560-1568 | Gud giver åt vem Han vill | God gives to whom He wishes
|
| Johan III | 1568-1592 | Gud vår beskyddare | God our protector
|
| Sigismund | 1592-1599 | För rätten och folket | For justice and people
|
| Karl IX | 1599-1611 | Gud min tröst | God my comfort
|
| Gustav II Adolf | 1611-1632 | Med Gud och segrande vapen | With God and victorious arms
|
| Kristina | 1632-1654 | Visheten är rikets stöd | Wisdom is the realms support
|
|
The House of Pfalz[?] - cadet branch to the House of Wittelsbach
|
| Karl X Gustav | 1654-1660 | I Gud mitt öde - Han skall göra det | In God my destiny - He will do it
|
| Karl XI | 1660-1697 | Herren är vorden min beskyddare | The Lord is become [sic] my protector
|
| Karl XII | 1697-1718 | Med Guds hjälp | By the grace of God
|
| Ulrika Eleonora | 1719-1720 | I Gud mitt hopp | In God my hope
|
|
The House of Hesse
|
| Fredrik I | 1720-1751 | I Gud mitt hopp | In God my hope
|
|
The House of Holstein-Gottorp[?]
|
| Adolf Fredrik | 1751-1771 | Statens välfärd, min välfärd | State welfare, my welfare
|
| Gustav III | 1771-1792 | Fäderneslandet | Fatherland
|
| Gustav IV Adolf | 1792-1809 | Gud och folket | God and people
|
| Karl XIII | 1809-1818 | Folkets väl min högsta lag | Welfare of the people my highest law 1
|
|
The House of Bernadotte
|
| Karl XIV Johan
| 1818-1844 | Folkets kärlek min belöning | Love of the people my reward
|
| Oskar I | 1844-1859 | Rätt och sanning | Right and truth
|
| Karl XV | 1859-1872 | Land skall med lag byggas | Land is built by law
|
| Oskar II | 1872-1905 | Brödrafolkens väl | The welfare of the brother peoples
|
| 1905-1907 | Sveriges väl | The welfare of Sweden
|
| Gustaf V | 1907-1950 | Med folket för fosterlandet | With the people for the motherland
|
| Gustaf VI Adolf | 1950-1973 | Plikten framför allt | Duty above all
|
| Carl XVI Gustaf | 1973-present | För Sverige i tiden | For Sweden - With the times
|
See also: List of Swedish monarchs
Note: (1) Compare with the motto of the U.S. state of Missouri (1821): "Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law".
