When the sound of trumpets is heard, all rise, and the master of ceremonies enters in gorgeous apparel, followed by four pages in dress of the sixteenth century.  Behind them is a squad of trumpeters, then the grand marshal of the court, preceded by four heralds and followed by the assistant marshals, the grand chamberlain, the lord steward, the master of the horse, and other officers of the royal household, the eighteen judges of the supreme court, the archbishop and bishops, and the members of the king’s cabinet.

Then follows a guard of honor, composed of the highest nobles of the kingdom in glittering uniforms and carrying old-fashioned weapons, such as were once used in actual warfare.  They surround the king, who wears his royal robes, and, as he enters, the band plays the favorite air of the people, “From the Depths of the Swedish Heart.”  He wears the crown of state and a purple robe bordered and lined with crimson the two corners of which are carried by chamberlains Upon the right side of the king walks the prime minister of Sweden.  Following the king walk his sons, the princes of the royal house.

When the king has reached the center of the room, he stops, turns with great dignity and bows first to one chamber and then to the other, and then to the queen, who has taken her position in the balcony, attended by the princesses and other members of the royal family and the officers of the court.  Then he proceeds slowly until he ascends the dais and seats himself upon the throne, his minister of state occupying a position on his right.  Before the separation of the Union, the Norwegian minister of state sat upon his left.

The grand marshal steps forward and strikes the floor three times with a long staff of silver, tipped with jewels.  At this signal all arise again except the king.  In old-fashioned Swedish the heralds command silence.  The king, seated upon his throne, reads his speech, which always begins, “Good gentlemen and Swedish men.”  The prime minister then reads a review of the acts of state since the adjournment of parliament, which he skims over as rapidly as possible, because the printed copy will be placed in the hands of every person present as soon as the ceremony is over.  The presiding officers of the two houses of parliament step forward and make speeches of congratulation, and reassure their sovereign of their loyalty and respect.  The king then rises, bows first to the queen, and to each house in turn, and slowly leaves the chamber accompanied by the procession that followed him in.

The courts of Sweden are conducted upon the French plan, and no jury is ever impaneled except in cases concerning the liberty of the press.  When a newspaper is accused of libel or sedition, the complainant, whether he be a member of the police or any other official of the government, chooses three jurymen, the defendant three, and the court three.  These nine men hear and decide the merits of the case without application