STOCKHOLM, April 30, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Sweden feted its record-breaking monarch King Carl XVI Gustaf's 80th birthday on Thursday with a choral  tribute, a flypast and a gala banquet to be attended by royals from around the world. The king, the longest reigning monarch in Swedish history, took part in a morning thanksgiving celebration, called a Te Deum, at the palace chapel. Under sunny skies and unusually mild temperatures, large crowds thronged the palace grounds to then watch a military honour guard, after which young  children lined up to hand over flowers to the royal. The king, his guests and crowds thronging the streets around the royal palace were also treated to a flypast, including eight JAS Gripens, as well as a 21- gun salute and a choral tribute. "Seeing you all gathered here feels fantastic for my guests and me, to see this choir before me and that you've all come here to sing on this day," the  king told the cheering crowd from a palace balcony. Helene Lofstrand, a 52-year-old finance sector worker, was among those who came out to show her support. "I think, personally, that His Majesty is doing a great job. The politically independent representative that he is for the country is very important, and  I think we're all very proud of him," she told AFP. A lunch of Arctic char and cake with berries for 200 guests was then held at City Hall. In the evening, a banquet was to be held at the palace with a number of European royals and dignitaries invited, as well as Thailand's royal couple. Attendees at the events included King Harald, Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway; King Rama X and Queen Suthide of Thailand; Queen Sofia of  Spain; and King Frederik, Queen Mary, Queen Margrethe and Princess Benedikte of Denmark. - 'King all the time' - In a recent interview with the Svenska Dagbladet daily, the king -- who was known in his youth as a car-mad playboy -- spoke of the burden of  responsibility that comes with his role. "It is heavy," he said. "I am king all the time. You have to be." Speaking on Swedish Radio on Thursday, the king recalled a moment in 1966 when, as prince, he was in Sydney while sailing around the world with the  Swedish navy. An elderly weatherbeaten Swede, homesick and keen to speak some Swedish, approached him one night on the gangway, unaware of the young man's identity. "It was one of the few times in my life that I have been completely anonymous," he said. The king, whose role has been purely ceremonial since constitutional reform in 1974, celebrated his golden jubilee in 2023. He was the world's youngest monarch when he was crowned aged 27 in 1973 following the death of his grandfather Gustaf VI Adolf. - Abdication? - Born on April 30, 1946, Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus Bernadotte was only nine months old when his father, Prince Gustaf Adolf, died in a plane crash in  Denmark. Despite occasional scandals -- the biggest when a 2010 book alleged he frequented sex clubs and had numerous affairs -- the monarch enjoys broad  support. A poll by the Ipsos institute in 2024 showed that 66 percent of Swedes wanted to maintain the monarchy and 20 percent wanted to abolish it. However, the poll also indicated that 42 percent thought it was time for the king to abdicate and pass the throne to his 48-year-old daughter, Crown  Princess Victoria, compared to 38 percent who thought he should stay on. He has however made it clear he has no plans to step down, telling Svenska Dagbladet he would stay on "as long as I have the strength". He paid tribute to Victoria, known for her down-to-earth attitude and diligence. "She is ambitious," he said. "Preparing herself enormously in various fields, most recently as an officer in the different branches of the armed forces.  That's tough." Carl XVI Gustaf is the European monarch with the longest reign after the abdication of his cousin Queen Margrethe of Denmark in 2024.