The King and Queen of Sweden Visits Bhutan

The King and Queen of Sweden are greeted by the King and Queen of Bhutan.

King Carl XVI Gustav and Queen Sylvia of Sweden embarked on a three-day state visit to Bhutan. Their visit came upon the invitation of King Jigme.  This was the first time a Swedish sovereign visited the Asian country.

The royal couple arrived on Wednesday 8 June. They were accompanied Minister Annika Strandhäll and representatives from the Swedish trade and industry.

King Carl XVI meets with the Prime Minister of Bhutan.

The royal couple were warmly welcomed at Paro International Airport. A ceremonial reception was held in their honor at Tashichho Dzong highlighted by a traditional procession called a Chipdrel. This was followed by the singing of the national anthems of the two countries followed by the inspection of the Guard of Honour.

The King and Queen then met the King and Queen of Bhutan for a talk.

Later that day, the King met Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay in the country’s capital, Thimphu.

The King and Queen at the Bhutan Textile Museum.

On their second day, the couple graced the Swedish-Bhutanese cooperation forum before spending the lunch with King Jigme. They also dropped by the Bhutan Textile Museum in Thimphu, where traditional craftsmanship is preserved and conducts textile-related education and research. They then proceeded to the Kuensel Phodrang Nature Park where he visited the Buddha statue.

The third day was highlighted by a visit to the convent in Wolakha where the royal party inspected the education project of the United Nations Population Fund. They also visited Bhutan's cultural center, Punakha Dzong and then the Bjara Village, a traditional Bhutanese village, where a water supply development project is currently going on.

The evening was capped by the prime minister’s dinner held in honor of the King and Queen.

The King and Queen presents a water pump to the villagers of Bjara.