SWEDEN: I Feel Fine

In the past 50 years, five potential heirs have dropped out of the succession for the crown of Sweden (usually by marrying commoners). The Kingdom of the Goths and the Wends has scarcely felt their defection. For 41 years the same comfortable King* has sat on Sweden's throne, the same scholarly Crown Prince stood patiently by. Last week, as half a million Swedes lined the streets of Stockholm to cheer King Gustaf V's 90th birthday, it seemed as if this state of affairs might go on indefinitely. Even the horses that pulled the royal coach had an air of permanence—17-year-old...

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