King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden arrived in Mexico on Monday night for a three-day state visit that includes activities in Mexico City and the Yucatán Peninsula. The royal couple have previously visited the country twice, in 1982 and 2002.
They were invited to Mexico by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, marking his first time hosting members of a royal family during his term.
“It is an honor to be Mexican. We are very pleased and grateful for their visit,” López Obrador said in a statement. “We are going to invite the king and queen to visit Diego [Rivera]’s murals. They asked for that. They are intelligent, educated, generous monarchs.”
Upon arrival at the Mexico City International Airport (AICM), they were welcomed by Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister María Teresa Mercado, Mexican Ambassador to Sweden Alejandro Alday and Swedish Ambassador to Mexico Gunnar Aldén.
In addition to visiting the National Palace, the monarchs will tour the Senate and the campus of the Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM).
On Wednesday morning, the king will inaugurate the Mexico-Sweden Business Forum to discuss sustainable transportation solutions, sustainable mining, the telecommunications industry and healthcare issues.
Before leaving the country, the couple will travel on the Maya Train to Uxmal, where they will meet with representatives of Indigenous communities. Reportedly, the royals will also meet with the governor of Yucatán, Mauricio Vila.
Who are the king and queen of Sweden?
King Carl XVI Gustaf ascended to the throne at age 27, succeeding his grandfather Gustaf VI Adolf after he passed away in 1973. The king’s father, second in line to the throne, had died in a plane accident while traveling to Denmark in 1947.
Queen Silvia is the first Swedish queen to have had a professional career. Of German-Brazilian descent, she met King Carl (then crown prince) during the 1972 Olympic games in Munich, where she was working as an interpreter and host.
The couple was married in 1976. The successor to the throne is their daughter Crown Princess Victoria.
Typically, the Swedish royals embark on two to three state visits overseas every year.
With reports from Milenio and El Economista
