Swedish royal couple visit Independence Hall

June 2, 1926

Crown Prince Gustav Adolf and Crown Princess Louise of Sweden visited Independence Hall in Philadelphia today, where they paid tribute to John Morton, a Swedish signer of the Declaration on Independence. The royal couple dedicated a building in his memory on "the grounds of the Sesquicentennial Exposition."
The Prince "answered with a boyish enthusiasm to the reception in his honor," according to the New York Times report, while the Crown Princess "sat shyly in an Independence Hall chair once occupied by the first President of the Continental Congress."
The royal couple were welcomed by Philadelphia Mayor Kendrick after a parade at Logan Square, where they were met and escorted to Independence Hall.
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess examined the Liberty Bell, "traced with their fingers the wound in its side," and signed their names in the guest book for "prominent visitors."
The Prince "leaned over to study closely" the inscriptions on the Liberty Bell, and viewed it from several angles.
"It is very impressive. It is all very impressive. Independence Hall in beautiful, Architecturally, I think it is fine."
There was a "long moment" while Princess Louise "sat, silent, in George Washington's chair, her bearing regal and impressive."
As they left Independence Hall, "the battery of cameras opened up again." The Crown Prince smiled, but the Crown Princess "was hesitant."
Louise stopped, briefly, to oblige the request for another photograph, "but the click of the shutters seemed to make her nervous," though her husband was at ease." Finally, she "literally dashed from the path of the cameramen."
This was not the first visit of a member of the Swedish royal family to visit Independence Hall. The Mayor, who stood on a platform used by the first President of the First Congress, spoke of the "visit at the Centennial fifty years ago of Prince Bernadotte, known popularly as Prince Oscar," then in Philadelphia with the Swedish fleet.
The mayor also acknowledged the contributions of John Morton and John Hansen, another signer of the Declaration of Independence, as distinguished Swedish-Americans, both of whom "were active and self-sacrificing during the struggle for liberty."
In his response to the Mayor's welcome, Crown Prince Gustav Adolf said: "It gives me great pleasure to visit for the first time this cradle of liberty. I am told that in this room the founders of this country signed the Declaration of Independence, a document of which we have heard much in my land."
Tomorrow the Crown Prince and Crown Princess will travel to West Orange, New Jersey, en route to New York City, where they will visit Thomas A. Edison's laboratory. They will be given a personal tour by Mr. Edison, and "all work will be at a standstill during their visit." In the afternoon, they will be the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Edison at their home at Llewellyn Park.