Get the latest gossip

Thank you for the music: Abba members get Swedish knighthoods

Agnetha, Benny, Björn and Anni-Frid become first Swedes to be knighted by their monarch for almost 50 years

The group – Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Björn Ulvaeus – made a rare public appearance together in Stockholm where they were given the Royal Order of Vasa for “outstanding efforts in Swedish and international music”. They have sold more than 400m albums and singles and were the first Swedes to clinch a Eurovision victory, while digital versions of the group, known as “Abbatars”, are playing to sold-out crowds in London as part of Abba Voyage. In total, 13 Swedes were honoured at the ceremony at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, including two Nobel prize winners: the geneticist Svante Pääbo and the French-Swedish physicist Anne L’Huillier.

Get the Android app