Göran Persson picked up the mobile phone when he had Crown Princess Victoria at the table at the Nobel party in 2003.
Now it has happened again.
The then prime minister Göran Persson attracted a lot of attention in 2003 when he answered the phone in the middle of the Nobel party. He had Crown Princess Victoria at the table.
Afterwards, Persson defended the fade by saying that the conversation was about the EU’s new constitution. He simply had to answer, he claimed.
In 2017 it was time again.
Then Prime Minister Stefan Löfven was seen sneaking the mobile back into his inner pocket.
Fast forward to 2025 and mobile phones are seen almost everywhere at the table of honor.
This time it’s chemistry prize winner Susumu Kitagawa who can’t help but use his mobile phone. He too has Crown Princess Victoria as a table lady.
But, as I said, he was not alone in violating etiquette.
Nobel laureate in physics John M. Martinis was also caught on camera with his nose in his mobile phone, as was Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson who scrolled discreetly under the table.
Nobel laureate in physics John M. Martinis checks his cell phone during the Nobel banquet. He has Countess Bettina Bernadotte af Wisborg at the table.
Photo: Christine Olsson/TT / TT NEWS AGENCY
