King and queen of Sweden on official visit to Tallinn
Tuesday will see President Alar Karis welcome King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, marking the start of their three-day official visit to Estonia.
President Alar Karis and Sirje Karis welcomed the king and queen of Sweden in the Freedom Square at 10.30 a.m. King Carl XVI Gustaf placed a wreath at the base of the War of Independence Victory Column.
Next, the presidential couple and their guests traveled the short distance to Kadriorg Palace for a meeting, after which the Swedish planted an oak tree in Kadriorg Park (see gallery below), following the example of King Gustav V in 1929 and Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel in 2018.
The royal couple will also meet President of the Riigikogu Lauri Hussar and Prime Minister Kaja Kallas on Tuesday.
The royal couple also visited the Stenbock House, seat of the Estonian government, where they met with Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform).
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia will attend a concert at the St. Nicholas' Church and visit the Victims of Communism Memorial at Maarjamäe on Tuesday before a dinner in honor of the Swedish royal couple at the Viimsi Artiumi.
Wednesday and Thursday
On Wednesday, May 3, President Alar Karis and King Carl XVI Gustaf will open an Estonian-Swedish business forum at the Telliskivi Creative Hub, with speeches by Estonia's Minister of IT Tiit Riisalo and Minister for International Development Cooperation of Sweden Johan Forssell.
The king and queen will visit the Gustav Adolf High School and the CR14 cybersecurity training center. Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur will host the king over lunch followed by a security policy discussion. In the afternoon, the royal couple will visit the "The Broken Line" monument commemorating the Estonia ferry disaster.
The royal and presidential couples will take the train to Tartu on Thursday where they will be met by Mayor Urmas Klaas and the citizens of Tartu.
The visitors will meet with University of Tartu Rector Toomas Asser and University of Life Sciences Rector Ülle Jaakma. The king will also plant an oak tree in the University of Life Sciences' park.
The royal visit will be concluded with a tour of the Estonian National Museum where the closing ceremony will also be held.
The royal couple are accompanied by Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström, Minister of Defense Pål Jonsson and Minister for International Development Cooperation of Sweden Johan Forssell.
Editor's note: This article was updated to include galleries of the King and Queen of Sweden at Kadriorg and at the Stenbock House.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski, Andrew Whyte