ABSTRACT
The new medium of film came to Sweden from the south. The first living pictures were shown at the industrial exhibition in Malmö in the summer of 1896. The following year, during Allmänna konst-och industriutställningen (the General Art and Industrial Exhibition) in Stockholm, cinematographer Lumière filmed King Oscar II opening the exhibition. As the custom at the time prescribed, the film footage was developed instantly and that very night the King saw himself immortalized through living images, which is reported to have amused His Majesty a great deal. It seems that the Royal House’s favoured opinion of film would last: one of the reigning King’s sons, Prince William, would go on to become a professional documentary film-maker.
