Swedish royals enjoy Olympic success

What a fantastic start King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia and Prince Carl Phlilip have had on their stay at the Olympic Games in Canada.

After arriving from a long haul flight their schedule started off with watching the Swedish curling ladies beat the Chinese team 6-4 late night Friday local time.

On Saturday they continued on to watch Anja Pärson, who had a scary crash just a few days ago and is suffering injuries while trying to stay on competing in what is believed to be her last Olympics, in the ladies Super-G. Pärson’s brave attempt to claim her 7th Olympic medal did not pull through. She ended on an 11th place after a small mistake early in the race, and afterwards said that she had problem with the feeling in her legs.

On the VIP stands the Royal Couple and the Prince met Prince Albert of Monaco and his girlfriend Charlene Wittstock.

Seated a little bit in front of them were also the German high aristocratic defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and his wife Stephanie, born Countess von Bismarck-Schönhausen.

The royals stayed active on their seats, both the King and the Prince took photos and the King and Queen took turns looking through binoculars. (more…)

Official royal dinner in Sweden

Last Thursday, 11 February, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia hosted an official dinner at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. Every winter they host a series of three official (in Swedish called representative) dinners for official Sweden. Because of the upcoming royal wedding in June it seems they have cut down the number of them this year and the one on Thursday was therefore called “the official dinner of the year” instead of the first or second which it would’ve been if things were normal. (more…)

Queen Silvia opened care accommodation “Bernadotte” in Uppsala

Yesterday afternoon the Queen was in Uppsala to open the city’s new care home Bernadotte, while also symbolically opening three other care homes which were built on different locations within the municipality during 2009.

The name of of the care homes derives from the fact that the Bernadotte Folke Bernadotte Home, today the regional rehabilitation unit for the Uppsala-Örebro health care region at Uppsala University Hospital, was previously located on the same spot. Bernadotte has 80 apartments of which 40 of them are for people suffering from dementia illnesses. During the construction process, special care was paid to information coming from dementia research concerning things like orientation plan, colours, furnishings and the like. It also has a garden where the residents can feel, smell and experience nature, something that has proved to be very important for dementia patients. (more…)

Royal fashion on Nobel Day 2009 in Sweden, who was your favourite?

What the lucky invitees at the Nobel Prize Awarding Ceremony at the Concert Hall and following Nobel Prize Banquet at the City Hall are wearing is always a big topic of conversation each year on Nobel Day, 10 December, among both television watchers and media. Usually the night is followed by eager discussion among bloggers and at workplaces, and fashion résumés and judgements are quickly published in the evening tabloids. The Royal Family, who grace the events with their presence and gives them that extra bit of magic, are naturally extra interesting as the royal ladies wear pieces of historic jewellery from their collections and dresses from their favourite designers. Interesting for all who like beautiful things and royal glitter, fashionistas and those of us who are more deeply interested in royalty and historic connections in other words. (more…)

Queen Silvia continues to put children in focus, this week in Germany

Photo from fOTOGLIF

The day after the celebrations of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Germany’s 50th jubilee in Hamburg, Queen Silvia participated in a seminar about sexual abuse of boys/men at the Swedish Embassy in Berlin on Wednesday. A large focus was given to the tiny organization Sub/Way which runs a center where boys/men who sell sex on the streets can turn for support, advice, medical help, basic necessities or just nice social interaction with others.

Also while in Berlin the women’s TV-program “ML – Mona Lisa” on ZDF got an interview with the Queen (airs on Sunday at 6 PM), who during it marked that she is not a royal primadonna but:
- I walk through life with open eyes. It’s not like I withdraw to some palace and just enjoy life. I see problems, and I see them all too often. (more…)

King and Queen of Sweden at historic bishop’s ordination

The King and Queen pose with the new bishops, the Archbishop, bishops and foreign church representatives

Recently the General Synod of the Church of Sweden decided that same-sex marriages will be allowed within the church. Yesterday Sunday it was time for another important day for the history of the church as two new female bishops were ordained to their office by Archbishop Anders Wejryd in Uppsala Cathedral. (more…)

Queen Silvia’s prayer book

Just in time for the season of Christmas shopping and the Church of Sweden’s marking of ‘Year of Prayer’ 2010 ‘Drottning Silvias bönbok’ (‘Queen Silvia’s Prayer Book’) comes out at the end of November. It is nonfiction publisher Verbum, large publisher of books on theological topics and owned by the church, that together with the Royal Court Parish and Chief Court Chaplain Lars-Göran Lönnermark together with the Queen have compiled the book which contains about a hundred prayers of different kinds, both new and old.

Husband King Carl Gustaf has contributed with his own photographs and ten crowns from every sold book will go to the Church of Sweden’s international work.
- If more people find joy in using it there will become a community of prayer from it. Vi will together pray for our country and our earth, Her Majesty writes in the foreword according to Metro.

The Queen also writes that she has said evening prayers as long as she can remember and that:
- In the prayer I can be alone with myself and with God, the power that surrounds us. It gives me security and calm to pray when the big questions of life are asked.

This is not the first time the King and Queen are involved in the publishing of a prayer book. Already in 1979 ‘Victorias bönbok’ (‘Victoria’s prayer book’) was published as a result to discussions with the (then being) Court Chaplain Hans Åkerhielm (later Chief Court Chaplain) and the book has since then come out in several new editions.