Swedish Royal News Wrap

It’s time for another news wrap covering recent news concerning the Swedish Royal Family. This time I have five pieces of news to share about Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Madeleine.

Madeleine back to university

In the end of January Princess Madeleine expanded her horizon from working at the main office of the World Childhood Foundation in central Stockholm a few times a week to getting into the world of academia again. She did so by enrolling in a full-time 15 points course called “Children and Young People in Difficult Situations in Life” at the Department of Child and Youth Studies at Stockholm University.

The course is aimed at students or working professionals who come into contact with children and youth in their working life and aims at increasing the understanding for and knowledge about children and youth in difficult situations in life via research and tested knowledge. It is divided into two parts – “perspective of the life terms of children and young – approach” and “meeting children and young”.

Perhaps this is a clear signal that the Princess has definitely decided what her future will be, focusing on issues concerning children just like her mother Queen Silvia and perhaps one day taking over World Childhood Foundation from her? Those are the signals we have been getting for quite a while now, but via interviews and the choices she continues to make. Princess Madeleine has already started to take on a more official role in these areas by taking on more official engagements.

Victoria celebrates National Day in Skänninge

A few weeks ago it was announced that the Crown Princess will celebrate a part of the National Day on 6 June in the town of Skänninge in Mjölby Municipality in Östergötland County. They have tried to get a royal attendance four times previously by sending invitation letters to the Royal Court, now they have reached success.

Every year the Royal Couple and the Crown Princess visits another part of the country (than the Stockholm area) to attend National Day celebrations before returning to Stockholm in the afternoon where the official televised celebrations and a reception at the Royal Palace take place. Last year Victoria visited Lundsbrunn and the year before that Sundsvall.

Another Victoria Day on Öland

Already when Crown Princess Victoria turned 30 years old in 2007 there were speculations that the annual official celebrations on her birthday 14 July on the island of Öland would be phased out. Then when the event itself turned 30 in 2008 many thought that it was the nail in the coffin and that the event, which has grown to become the biggest Swedish media-attracting event of the summer half year, and which today is unofficially called the island’s own national day, would be ended and perhaps exchanged for something else.

But now there’s news that there will indeed be a Victoria Day on Öland also this year, 2009, when the Crown Princess turns 32. Event coordinator Kay Wiestål has received green lights from the Royal Court after an extra long period to ponder on it and has now started plans for the 31st Victoria Day in Borgholm.

A royal invitation

The Speaker of the Parliament of Åland, Roger Nordlund, and his wife Gunilla has received a royal invitation to attend King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia’s official dinner at the Royal Palace of Stockholm on 12 March. Media on Åland is reporting that this is the first time one of their inhabitants has the honour of receiving such an invitation and the gesture comes as a reply and thank you after Crown Princess Victoria’s visit to the islands in May 2008.

It is a tradition for His Majesty to host a few official gala dinners at the Royal Palace each spring term for especially selected guests representing the Diplomatic Corps, parliament, government, countries, authorities, Swedish science, culture, athletics and business life.

Madeleine caught smoking

Smoking royals can be a sensitive and controversial topic, not the least because they are supposed to be above their subjects and act as role models and lead the way for others. In Denmark the public smoking of Queen Margrethe has been up for discussion several times, but she is not the only smoker in the royal circles. In Sweden the King has been a smoker for a long time but he always makes sure to hide it as well as he can and doesn’t smoke in public. Prince Carl Philip’s girlfriend Emma Pernald is a regular smoker and has been seen smoking and buying cigarettes many times. Also Prince Carl Philip himself and the boyfriend of Princess Madeleine, Jonas Bergström, are said to party smoke occasionally.

But now another member of the Royal Family has been photographed smoking, Princess Madeleine was captured standing on a balcony with a cigarette in hand last weekend. Together with a row of royal friends, including Emma Pernald, the Princess attended a hen party for Katarina Lundberg, daughter of billionaire financier Fredrik Lundberg, who is marrying Carl Martinsson, son of top lawyer Thomas Martinsson. The morning after the girls had lunch at Louise Lundberg’s home before heading to the beautiful Smådalarö Gård in the Stockholm archipelago where they had fika and had present opening with the feature bride before enjoying skinny dipping, sauna, open sky bubble pool and a big dinner.

The wedding will be held in Austria where the bridal couple have rented the five-star Zürserhof hotel for four days in April.

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