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Swedish royal finances and taxes revealed

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Recently, the Swedish Royal Family’s tax report was revealed. The Swedish newspaper Expressen was able to take a look at the financial situation of each member of the Swedish Royal Family.

Swedes are, in general, very open about their income and financial situation. It is, for example, possible to know how much your neighbour earns each year. Therefore, much is known about the Royal Family’s financial situation and taxes. All members of the Royal Family follow the same tax rules as other citizens in Sweden. However, part of the income of the King and his children is appanage which means that it is not taxed.

The Swedish Royal Family have several investments and the Chief Financial Officer at the Court, Jan Lindman is responsible for the investments. He stated: “The King, the Queen and their children have a financial fortune consisting of money they have inherited. That wealth consists of shares and bonds that generate dividends and capital gains and that is the basis of their normal income.” 

This time it is Princess Madeleine who has the largest yield on her investments. In 2016 the Princess earned 2,233,347 SEK or almost 230,000 euro capital surplus on her investments. Her Royal Highness paid 670,004 SEK or 70,865 euros to the Swedish state as taxes. Her sister Crown Princess Victoria followed Madeleine closely. She received 2,024,265 SEK or 210,000 euros excess capacity on her investments. A part of it, 600,884 SEK or 63,555 she payed as taxes to the Swedish state. Prince Carl Philip did not do half as well as his sisters. Even though the Prince earned around 800,000 euros in 2015 on his investments, he received 810,176 SEK or 84,000 euros as returns on investments in 2016. Prince Carl Philip has other sources of income (for example his business Bernadotte & Kylberg) and out of those sources he earned 689,958 SEK or 72,975 euros. “The capital surplus is due to the sale of shares, for example, and it is natural that it goes up and down through the years,” said the Chief Financial Officer at the Court.

Princess Sofia did not have any investments nor did she earn any money from passive businesses so she did not pay any taxes either. Prince Daniel does not own a large amount of inherited family capital with which he can invest. However, Prince Daniel has his own capital and has made some own investments in 2016. He earned a surplus of 278,962 SEK in 2016. Chris O’Neill, the husband of Princess Madeleine, doesn’t file his taxes in Sweden as he isn’t a Swedish citizen. Therefore, he was not mentioned in the report.

His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf earned an excess capacity of 6,829,024 SEK which is much is less than the 23 million SEK of last year. Her Majesty the Queen also has some investments with her private capital and received 187,415 SEK on her investments. Their Majesties paid 2,22,985 SEK and 56,224 SEK to the Swedish State as taxes, respectively.

Everyone is able to read the financial report of the Royal Family and the Royal Court. The court publishes the report each year. The Swedish Royal Family is, therefore, one of the most transparent royal houses when it comes to finances and seeing what has been done with the taxpayers’ money.


Crown Princess Victoria, Godmother of Europe

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Crown Princess Victoria is often referred to as the ‘Godmother of Europe.’ She received this rather unusual nickname because she has 18 (yes eighteen) godchildren.

Crown Princess Victoria is one of Europe’s most popular royals. Every single year she is voted most popular royal in her own country of Sweden. Many royals seem to like the Crown Princess, as well, as they have often asked her to be godmother to their children. Crown Princess Victoria almost has a godchild in every European country with a monarchy. In addition, she is the godmother to three future Kings and Queens.

Crown Princess Victoria has a very close relationship with Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. Victoria is the godmother of the Danish Couple’s firstborn, Prince Christian. Crown Princess Mary is godmother to Victoria’s & Daniel’s firstborn Princess Estelle while Frederik is godfather to Prince Oscar.

Princess Catharina-Amalia, daughter of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, is also lucky to have Crown Princess Victoria as her godmother. In return, King Willem-Alexander is also one of Princess Estelle’s godfathers. Victoria is also listed as one of Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway’s godmothers. Crown Prince Haakon is conversely godfather to Princess Estelle while Crown Princess Mette-Marit has Prince Oscar as a godchild.

Other royal godchildren of Crown Princess Victoria, who will not become King or Queen one day, are Princess Eléonore of Belgium, daughter of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde and Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece and Denmark, son of Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece. In 2014, Princess Katharina of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was added to the long list. She is the daughter of the Hereditary Prince and Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the heirs of the Ducal Family of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Most of their parents chose Victoria as a godmother to their son or daughter because she is the Crown Princess and future Queen of Sweden, and royals often want other royals to become their children’s godparents. Of course, the bond between Her Royal Highness and the parents of her godchildren is often quite close.

Crown Princess Victoria is godmother of her niece, Princess Leonore (Photo: Anna-Lena Ahlström, Kungahuset.se)

The Crown Princess is also the godmother of various family members. She became Princess Leonore’s godmother in 2014 when her younger sister, Princess Madeleine and brother-in-law, Chris O’Neill became parents for the first time. Her most recent godchild is Prince Alexander, son of her brother Prince Carl Philip and sister-in-law Princess Sofia. Thus, Victoria is both their aunt and godmother. In return, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine are respectively godparents to Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar. The children of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden created the tradition that the aunts and uncles of the children will also become the godparents according to the birth order.

On her mother’s side, Crown Princess Victoria is godmother to many Sommerlath children. Her first godchild was Vivien Sommerlath, now 24-years-old. She is the daughter of Victoria’s maternal uncle, Jörg Sommerlath. Vivien is also a godchild of Queen Silvia. Giulia Sommerlath, daughter of Victoria’s maternal uncle Thomas Sommerlath is also on the list. Crown Princess Victoria’s cousin, Patrick Sommerlath and his wife Camilla Lundén also asked Victoria to be the godmother of their son Leopold.

On her father’s side, Crown Princess Victoria is the godmother of Ian de Geer, son of Princess Désirées daughter/ Victoria’s cousin, Tina and Hans de Geer. Also Madeleine von Dincklage, the daughter of Victoria’s cousin, Sybilla von Dincklage is one of Victoria’s godchildren. Then there is also Gustaf Magnusson (son of Victoria’s aunt Princess Christina) who asked Victoria to be the godmother of his and Vicky Andrén’s daughter, Désirée.

Crown Princess Victoria is also Prince Alexander’s godmother. (Photo: Dekkers L. & Busschots, E.)

Furthermore, Crown Princess Victoria is godmother to several children of her good friends. She is a godparent of friends Caroline and Peder Dinkelspiel’s son, Willem; friends Andrea Brodin and Niclas Engsäll’s daughter, Diana; friends Caroline and Jesper Nilsson’s daughter, Chloé; and friends Karl-Johan and Leonie Persson’s son, Ian.

At the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, many of these godchildren were part of the bridal party. Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Christian, Vivian, Leopold and Giulia Sommerlath, Ian de Geer and Madeleine von Dincklage were pageboys, flower girls and bridesmaids at the wedding. The other godchildren were either too young to participate or not born yet.

After seeing this long list of children, it is no surprise that the Crown Princess of Sweden is also called Europe’s godmother. Victoria has many gifts to buy each year for her many goddaughters and godsons.

Swedish royals host Representation Dinner

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Every year, King Carl XVI Gustaf hosts several Representation Dinners at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. Yesterday it was time for the special Representation Dinner, the “Sweden Dinner”.

After the 40th anniversary of King Carl XVI Gustaf’s ascension to the throne, a new kind of Representation Dinner was introduced, the Sweden Dinner. Ever since 2013, it has become a new tradition that the King hosts such a dinner each year. With the Sweden Dinner, the Swedish Royal Family wants to pay attention to people who have made significant efforts locally, regionally or nationally.

This year 160 guests were invited to the Sweden Dinner. The guests included representatives from culture, business, education, sports and associations from the 21 counties as well as governors. The guests were welcomed by the King, Queen, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel and Prince Carl Philip. Princess Sofia missed out because of her maternity leave after the birth of her son Prince Gabriel. The King’s youngest daughter Princess Madeleine and her husband Chris O’Neill returned to London after spending their summer in Sweden.

Photo: Kungahuset.se

The dinner took place in the “White Sea” room, the same room in which Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia hosted their wedding dinner. The guests were treated to a three-course menu consisting of many vegetables and fish. The guests were strategically seated so that all the members of the Royal Family were able to speak with a diversity of people from the different counties in Sweden.

Much attention was paid to the table decorations. It consisted of dahlia flowers in various shapes and colours and beautiful candle holders. The porcelain was a gift from the Swedish government for the 70th birthday of the King. The Royal Family was also fully dressed up but without orders and tiaras. Crown Princess Victoria wore a beautiful pink gown from the H&M Conscious Collection. Queen Silvia, on the other hand, wore a purple dress from Yukki as the fashion team of UFO No More figured out.

Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Estelle visit marine laboratory

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Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden took her five-year-old daughter, Princess Estelle to Askö Laboratory in the Trosa Archipelago which is a part of the Baltic Sea Centre of Stockholm University on Friday.

Lena “Tant Tång” Kautsky shows Their Royal Highnesses plants retrieved from the Baltic Sea. Photo: Kungahuset.se

This laboratory provides researchers with more opportunities to research the sea and marine environment in the lab or directly in the field.

When Their Royal Highnesses arrived, they were welcomed by the Director of the Baltic Sea Centre, Tina Elfwing, who then took them on a walking tour to explain about the research station. The Swedish mother-daughter duo were also able to see plants and animals from the Baltic Sea and meet some of the researchers at the lab.

Princess Estelle stands on the shore while her mother helps pull the net with plants and animals to be researched. Photo: Kungahuset.se

After their tour, Victoria and Estelle went outside where the Crown Princess waded into the water to pull a shore net while Estelle stood on the shoreline. This type of net is laid in a semicircle and dragged onto the shore. The animals and plants caught are then analysed by the researchers.

The Crown Princess pulling the net to shore with the help of Carl-Magnus Wiltén. Photo: Kungahuset.se

Victoria is an Advocate for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and goal number 14 is to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.” Additionally, the Crown Princess has participated in the Baltic Sea Conference and Baltic Sea Future in the past. She is known to be passionate about the environment, sustainability and the sea, so it makes sense that she is teaching Estelle young, as she will one-year-old Oscar, to have the same appreciation and passion as she gets older.

Crown Princess Victoria attends the lavish wedding of Prince Philip of Serbia

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On Saturday, Prince Philip of Serbia and Danica Marinkovic married in a religious ceremony Belgrade, Serbia. The ceremony was attended by several royals including Crown Princess Victoria who played an important role in the ceremony.

It was only in July 2017 that the engagement of Prince Philip of Serbia, son of Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia and Princess Maria da Glória of Orléans-Braganza, and Danica Marinkovic, daughter of Serbian artist Cile Marinkovic, was announced. The couple married only three months later in a religious ceremony at the Cathedral Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Belgrade. The couple decided to marry in the same church as the groom’s great-grandparents. The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej officiated the wedding.

Photo released by the Royal Palace of Belgrade of Prince Philip and his wife. Photo: Royal Palace of Belgrade

After the ceremony, the couple drove off in a vintage car while they waved to the hundreds of people who had gathered to catch a glimpse of the newlyweds. After the wedding, the couple held their reception at the White Palace which was followed by a gala dinner.

Among the royal guests were Queen Sofia of Spain and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. Crown Princess Victoria was asked to play an important role in the Serbian couple’s big day as she was one of the witnesses of the marriage. The Crown Princess decided to travel to Belgrade without her husband Prince Daniel who assumingly stayed with their two children. Queen Sofia of Spain, the mother of the reigning King Felipe, was also one of the honorary guests as she was accompanied by the groom’s father Crown Prince Alexander. Prince Guillaume and Princess Sybilla of Luxembourg also attended the wedding.

Prince Philip of Serbia lives with his wife in London where he works in the finance business. Danica Marinkovic was born in Serbia but has the French nationality as she spent most of her life in France. The Serbian Royal family is currently not a reigning Royal family. The family lived in exile and could only return to Serbia after the fall of the communism.

Crown Princess Victoria walks through Östergötland

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Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden has taken part in her third walk throughout Sweden – this time in her daughter, Princess Estelle’s duchy of Östergötland. She previously walked through her duchy of Västergötland, alongside her husband Prince Daniel, and the duchy of Västerbotten.

There was hope that five-year-old Estelle would accompany her mother on this 3.5-kilometre walk, but she remained at home with her father, Prince Daniel, and brother, Prince Oscar.

Anders Jörneskog, the municipal ecologist in the Linköping municipality and reserve manager of Tinnerö Nature Reserve, guides Victoria through the landscape. Photo: Kungahuset.se

The Crown Princess walked through the rolling pasture landscape of the Tinnerö Nature Reserve. The area also contains many ancient remains like settlements and graves from the Iron Age. Her walk began in the northwestern section at Rosenkällasjön. This is an entirely restored lake that underwent restoration work by the Municipality of Linköping; the municipality commissioned the Linköping Bird Club to monitor the bird life around the lake.

Her Royal Highness was guided by Anders Jörneskog, the municipal ecologist in the Linköping municipality and the reserve manager of Tinnerö Nature Reserve. County Governor Elisabeth Nilsson also accompanied the future Queen of Sweden. Students from Brooks School were even with the Crown Princess during part of the walk.

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel on the Crown Princess’s first walk on 9 September in Västergötland. Photo: Raphael Stecksén, The Royal Court, Sweden

Unlike her first hike in the country in her duchy of Västergötland, the weather was beautiful with no rain. The Crown Princess was able to bike through the last portion of the relatively short 3.5-kilometre journey on the mountain bike track near Fröberget.

Crown Princess Victoria’s plan to through Sweden’s entire landscape was announced in the autumn of this year. The Royal Court has said that these walks will take place over the next several years and the goal of Victoria is “to increase the value of outdoor life and movement in connection with her migration through Sweden.”

The location of her next walk has not yet been announced by the Royal Court.

Crown Princess Victoria opens children’s hospital

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Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria attended a naming ceremony for a children’s hospital on Thursday. Located at Linköping University, the children’s hospital has been officially named H.K.H Kronprinsessan Victorias barn- och ungdomssjukhus. Translated into English: H.R.H Crown Princess Victoria’s Children’s and Youth Hospital in honour of the Crown Princess.

The Crown Princess arrived dressed fittingly in a blue suit and a blouse by Camilla Thulin with a teddy bear print. Two current patients of the hospital, Vidar (10) and Siri (7), helped Her Royal Highness reveal the hospital’s name.

The hospital treats terminally ill children. Victoria, a mother of two, spent time playing with the children. She also took time to view the arts and crafts projects they created.

Photo: @Kungahuset/Instagram

Ditte Pehrsson Lindell, Director of Care and Deputy Director and Deputy Regional Director said in a press release: “It is a great honour for the University Hospital to get to use Crown Princess Victoria’s name. The child and youth hospital has been working for many years to create a strong and comprehensive highly specialised healthcare for children and youth throughout the southeastern healthcare region. The name strengthens child care and its important role within the University Hospital. We are looking forward to the new name and look forward to showcasing the activities of the Crown Princess.”

Later that same day, the Crown Princess changed from her formal attire into more casual wear. She donned a pair of bootcut jeans – a rare outfit seen on any royal. She joined several students from Brooks School on a walk through Tinnerö Nature Reserve.

The reserve is over seven kilometres and was once a military training ground south of the city before becoming a protected public nature reserve. Tinnerö has a varied agricultural landscape with meadows and woodland pastures.

This was Her Royal Highness’s third walk throughout Sweden this year.

Crown Princess Victoria’s next walk to be in brother’s duchy of Värmland

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Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden’s next hike through the Swedish landscape will be in her brother, Prince Carl Philip’s duchy of Värmland; the fourth walk in Sweden is due to take place on 17 November.

Victoria while in Västerbotten. Photo: Raphael Stecksén, The Royal Court, Sweden

She has previously walked and biked through her duchy of Västergötland, alongside her husband Prince Daniel, the duchy of Västerbotten, and her daughter, Princess Estelle’s duchy of Östergötland. There was hope that five-year-old Estelle would accompany her mother on this 3.5-kilometre walk, but she remained at home with her father, Prince Daniel, and brother, Prince Oscar.

In a press release, the Royal Court said, “The Crown Princess’s fourth landscape change takes place in the Glaskog Nature Reserve in Värmland. During the walk, the Crown Princess will be able to establish an acquaintance with predator invasion, nature parkour and tree planting.”

Her Royal Highness during her bike ride in Östergötland. Photo: Raphael Stecksén/Kungahuset.se

Crown Princess Victoria’s plan to walk through Sweden’s entire landscape was announced in the autumn of this year. The Royal Court has said that these walks will take place over the next several years and the goal of Victoria is “to increase the value of outdoor life and movement in connection with her migration through Sweden.”

Additionally, the varying landscapes are visited “during a day where the Crown Princess walks to experience a part of Sweden’s uniquely accessible and varied nature.” They added that Crown Princess Victoria also “wants to experience different parts of Sweden during different seasons.”

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel on the Crown Princess’s first walk on 9 September in Västergötland. Photo: Raphael Stecksén, The Royal Court, Sweden

The location of her fifth walk is expected to be announced at the end of the month, soon after she completes her hike in Värmland.


Crown Princess Victoria speaks warmly about Crown Prince Frederik

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Last week, a new biography about His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark was published. In this new book, you can follow Crown Prince Frederik’s life from childhood to today. In addition to Frederik himself, the author Jens Andersen has also interviewed Crown Princess Mary, Queen Margrethe, Prince Henrik and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.

In the new biography about Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Victoria says this about her Danish royal colleague:

“Frederik always comes into a room with sparkling eyes and sees people, both privately and officially. It is as if he meets one with his eyes and is very present, genuinely engaged and curious. There are people who ask questions, but never take time to wait for the answer. Frederik always waits for the answer,” says Victoria.

Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark. Photo: Mogens Engelund via Wikimedia Commons.

It is no secret that all the Scandinavian royal families have a good relationship. Not only are they all close relatives, but they often meet both at work and in private. In February, Queen Margrethe spoke of the Scandinavian royal relationship in an open interview.

“My own family creates a bridge between the Nordic nations. The Nordic royal families belong together, and we stand by each other very closely,” said the Queen. Queen Margrethe explained that her son, Crown Prince Frederik, is a very good friend of both the Swedish and Norwegian Crown Prince(ss) couples. The Queen also added that they often visit each other.

Queen Margrethe says she can see that her son has a much closer relationship with the other Nordic heirs to the throne than she had when she was young. “The current King Harald was rather old when I was 15, and King Carl Gustaf is six years younger than I am,” said the Queen. “Now that we are all adults, we have become very good friends.”

Crown Princess Victoria unveils new portrait of herself

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Yesterday morning, Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden unveiled a new portrait of herself at a ceremony in the White Salon at Gripsholm Castle.

Before the unveiling, the Crown Princess said, “This is what I’m doing with terrified delight, for I have not even seen the portrait yet!” She then looked thrilled with the final image after she pulled back the black cover to reveal it to the audience.

The black and white photo, taken by Thron Ullberg, features the future Queen of Sweden standing in Gustav III’s Pavilion at Haga Palace, where she lives with her husband Prince Daniel and two children: Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar.

Ullberg was at Gripsholm Castle for the unveiling and explained how he used a large format camera and traditional negatives. He then worked to digitally process them for the finished image.

Thron Ullberg explains how he took the image. Photo: Kungahuset.se

The portrait is a gift from the National Museum Friends of the National Portrait Collection on the occasion of Her Royal Highness’s 40th birthday on 14 July. This year Victoria’s birthday was celebrated in July both in Stockholm and on the island of Öland as part of the special two-day Victoriadagen (Victoria Day) celebrations.

This new portrait will be part of the National Portrait Collection which has been housed in Gripsholm Castle since 1822; it is also the oldest national portrait gallery in the world.

While leaving Gripsholm Castle, Victoria refused to comment to Expressen on the revelations that she and Prince Daniel used the private plane for their honeymoon in 2010 that was registered in the tax haven of Bermuda under the name of Bertil Hult, a close friend of the Swedish Royal Family who has been named in the Paradise Papers.

Not surprisingly, the Royal Court’s Director of the Information and Press Department, Margareta Thorgren, told Expressen that the Crown Princess would not be speaking on the matter. 

Swedish royals attend Global Child Forum meeting

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This week the Global Child Forum’s annual partner day was hosted by the Swedish Royal Family in the Bernadotte Library at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Sofia were in attendance.

As honorary chairman of the organisation, which was established by the Royal Family in 2009, King Carl XVI Gustaf opened the meeting with a warm welcome, taking a moment to reflect on the significance of their surroundings:

“It is an honour to welcome you here, in the Bernadotte Library; a room that I find very well-suited for this event. Completed in 1796, this room was originally built to house the Swedish National Library. Today, it contains the royal book collection: about 100 000 books that have belonged to my ancestors throughout the ages.

“Unlike in most libraries, the books in here are not sorted by subject, nor in alphabetical order. Instead, they are arranged by owner, starting with the first Bernadotte on the Swedish throne, Karl XIV Johan.

“A library such as this is more than a room full of books. It is a site of knowledge. It offers us the opportunity to learn about our past, in order to better understand our present. Basing our decisions on solid facts has always been important. But today, in a time of information overload, I believe it is more critical than ever. It is really quite simple: The better we know, the better we can do. Therefore, I am especially proud of Global Child Forum’s efforts to collect and share knowledge and best practices concerning children’s rights.”

The Global Child Forum gathers together leaders from government, society, business and academia and the annual gathering is an important opportunity for the participants in different sectors to learn from one another.

As ambassador to the UN Global Sustainability Goal, Crown Princess Victoria spoke next, highlighting the fact that all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – more commonly referred to as ‘Global Goals’ – committed to by world leaders concern children’s rights.

“The most important thing to understand about the Global Goals is that they are not really a list of targets, But rather a network or system. The only way to successfully achieve one goal is by working on the others as well. They can not be ticked off one by one. Instead, they are all interlinked.

“[The Global Goals] are all – directly or indirectly – children’s rights goals. And none of them can be achieved without the active participation of the private sector’s.

“Companies operate globally and locally. They are employers, investors and suppliers. They have a significant presence in their local communities and in people’s everyday lives. And as we all know, that is where real change takes place.”

The day’s conversations continued from there and include discussions about tying children’s rights and the Global Goals more directly into the core values of the companies and viewing presentations on upcoming forums and projects.

Queen Silvia concluded the meeting with the story of how the Global Child Forum began and praised the impact that former Global Child Forum chairman Ulf Karlberg had by recognising “the strength and power that lies in the hand of enterprises to have global impact on the state of children’s rights.”

Crown Princess Victoria meets volunteers of Stockholm Pride

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Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden has had a very busy week so far. One of the most talked about engagements was the audience for the volunteers of Stockholm Pride.

On Wednesday morning, Crown Princess Victoria received Mille Berg, Jimmy Landegren, Johan Landegren and Ulrika Gustavsson, who have all been volunteers of Stockholm Pride for over 20 years. Also, HR Manager Andreas Franzon and Festival Manager Christian Gerdes were invited to the Royal Palace of Stockholm to attend the meeting with the Crown Princess. Stockholm Pride strives to raise awareness for LGBT+ issues, and create a safe zone for LGBT+ people and the gender expressions within the LGBT+ community.

Later that day, Crown Princess Victoria joined the King, Queen and Princess Sofia for their meeting with the Global Child Forum. The annual partner day was held in which the organisation’s corporate and knowledge partners come together. The King and Queen hosted the day at the Bernadotte Library at the Royal Palace. The Global Child Forum was initiated by the Royal Family in 2009 and is an independent platform that brings together world-leading stakeholders for in-depth dialogues and to increase the knowledge of children’s rights. The King opened the forum with a speech and also the Crown Princess and Queen held speeches.

Photo: H. Garlöv, Kungahuset.se

Also on Wednesday, the King and Queen hosted a diplomatic reception at the Royal Palace. Prince Daniel and Crown Princess Victoria also attended the dinner. A few times a year, there is an opportunity for new embassy ambassadors to meet the King and Queen at a reception at the Royal Palace. This time it was the ambassadors of the Holy See, France, Cyprus, Latvia, Israel, China, Bangladesh and Belgium who were invited.

Photo: H. Garlöv, Kungahuset.se

On Thursday there was another critical meeting scheduled for the Swedish Crown Princess. Victoria received the European Parliament President Antonio Tajani in an audience. The Italian EP President is in Sweden to attend the EU summit in Gothenburg on Friday.

On Friday the Crown Princess will continue her walks through the counties of Sweden. She will be walking in Värmland, her brother’s duchy.

Crown Princess Victoria hikes through brother’s duchy

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Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden has taken part in her fourth walk through the Swedish landscape – this time in her brother Prince Carl Philip’s duchy of Värmland.

Her hike took place on 17 November in the Glaskogen Nature Reserve on a nature and cultural trail beginning at the information centre in Lenungshammar. The Royal Court said Her Royal Highness stopped at the different stations on the trail to take part in “predator invasion, nature parkour and tree planting.”

The Crown Princess planted a pine plant, spoke to Vivi Appelqvist, Chief Executive Officer of the Glaskogen Foundation, as well as participated in various exercises with children – one of which had the future Queen of Sweden doing a backflip with the help of two other adults on the trail and another walking on a tightrope.

Photo: Raphael Stecksén, Royal Court, Sweden

During the walk, Victoria stated to Svenskdam, “There are so many beautiful places and so much to see and experience. It feels as if it is infinite.”

The Glaskogen Nature Reserve, a hilly and maritime landscape, contains 400 kilometres of hiking trails and canoe routes; hare, fox, moose, deer and lynx are quite common in the area. It was established in 1970.

Photo: Raphael Stecksén, Royal Court, Sweden

She has previously walked and biked through her duchy of Västergötland, alongside her husband Prince Daniel, the duchy of Västerbotten, and her daughter, Princess Estelle’s duchy of Östergötland. There was hope that five-year-old Estelle would accompany her mother on this 3.5-kilometre walk, but she remained at home with her father, Prince Daniel, and brother, Prince Oscar.

Crown Princess Victoria’s plan to walk through Sweden’s entire landscape was announced in the autumn of this year. The Royal Court has said that these walks will take place over the next several years and the goal of Victoria is “to increase the value of outdoor life and movement in connection with her migration through Sweden.”

Additionally, the varying landscapes are visited “during a day where the Crown Princess walks to experience a part of Sweden’s uniquely accessible and varied nature.” They added that Crown Princess Victoria also “wants to experience different parts of Sweden during different seasons.”

The location for her fifth hike has yet to be announced by the Royal Court.

Queen Silvia and Crown Princess Victoria show support for #MeToo

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Queen Silvia and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden made a surprise visit to the South Theatre in Stockholm on Sunday to support the #MeToo campaign. The evening saw 210 actresses take the stage to read hundreds of anonymous testimonies gathered under the #MeToo hashtag online about female performers’ experiences with sexual harassment and assault in the theatrical world. The Stockholm presentation was supported by twelve additional presentations in other Swedish cities.

Crown Princess Victoria told Swedish publication DN that “it’s an extremely important campaign”.

The royal’s visit had been long planned but was kept under wraps until their arrival at the theatre making their presence a welcome surprise to both presenters and attendees. It’s understood that both women felt it important to show their support – and the support of the wider royal family – for the #MeToo campaign which has swept Sweden for the past month.

The female actors who participated in the #MeToo event released a joint statement saying:

“We will no longer be silent. We will ask the respondents to answer and let the judiciary do their job when there is reason. We will lay the shame where it belongs – with the perpetrator and the one who protects him.”

Culture and Democracy Minister Alice Bah Kuhnke was also in attendance at the event and said afterwards that: “I expect change. I will also have meetings next week with film, television and performing arts industry leaders to put [on more] pressure. We need to ensure that we go away from just having politics and beautiful words on paper, we need change – silence culture has to be broken down.”

The Royal Court’s Chief Information Officer Margareta Thorgren spoke with media on behalf of the event organisers following the evening, saying: “It was important for the Queen and Crown Princess to attend. It was a very strong evening to share and listen to all these stories. It feels extremely important for the royal family to share and support the manifestation.”

Queen Silvia has long been an advocate for victims of sexual abuse and violence and has worked hard to combat it through her charitable works, especially the World Childhood Foundation, which she founded in 1999.

The Swedish Royal Family takes part in Nobel Prize Ceremony

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The Swedish Royal Family stepped out in full force to attend the annual Nobel Prize Ceremony. King Carl XVI Gustaf handed out several Nobel Prizes at the Concert Hall in Stockholm.

Each year on 10 December, the Nobel Prizes are awarded. The Nobel Peace Prize is traditionally awarded in Oslo, Norway. In Sweden, King Carl XVI Gustaf hands out the Nobel Prizes for Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature and Sveriges Riksbank’s Prize in Economic Science to Alfred Nobel’s memory. The 10th of December is Alfred Nobel’s death day, and in his memory, the prizes are awarded on this day.

In the late afternoon, King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel arrived at the stage of the Concert Hall in Stockholm to attend the Nobel Prize Ceremony. Prince Carl Philip, Princess Sofia, Princess Madeleine, Chris O’Neill, Princess Christina and Tord Magnuson were seated in the front row. King Carl XVI Gustaf awarded the Nobel Prizes one by one. This year’s Nobel Prize laureates are:

  • Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish and Kip Thorne (USA) received the Nobel Prize in Physics.
  • Jacques Dubochet (Switzerland), Joachim Frank (USA) and Richard Henderson (UK) received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
  • Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young (USA) received the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
  • Kazuo Ishiguro (UK) received the Nobel Prize in Literature.
  • Richard H. Thaler (USA) received the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

During the ceremony, there was also time for music by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra accompanied by soprano Camilla Tilling.

The dress code of the Nobel Prize festivities is white tie meaning the Swedish royal ladies wore tiaras. Queen Silvia wore the Nine Prong Tiara, Crown Princess Victoria wore the Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara for the first time, Princess Sofia wore her wedding tiara but replaced the emeralds with pearls, Princess Madeleine wore the Amethyst Parure, and Princess Christina wore the Steel Cut Bandeau.

After the ceremony, the Swedish Royal Family headed to the Stockholm City Hall to attend the Nobel Banquet. Princess Madeleine did not join the rest of the family. The Swedish Royal Court announced earlier this week that the Princess is suffering from back pain due to her pregnancy. Therefore, Princess Madeleine did not attend this portion as she is unable to sit for a very long time.

She did, however, post two images including the one below, on her Facebook after the day’s events saying, “Today Chris and I took part when my father handed out this year’s Nobel Prizes in Stockholm’s Concert Hall.”

Princess Madeleine and Chris O’Neill are pictured in a new official portrait which has been earlier taken today. (Photo: Princess Madeleine’s official Facebook/Kungahuset.se)

This year 1350 guests were invited to the Nobel Banquet. The Swedish Royal Family as per tradition descended from the impressive central stairs before taking their places at the table of honour. King Carl XVI Gustaf held the first toast of the evening. Each member of the Royal Family is seated next to at least one of the laureates. All the guests received a three-course dinner. This year’s menu included:

Pressed and dried Jerusalem artichoke, served with kohlrabi flowers
flavoured with ginger and lightly roasted cabbage broth

Crispy saddle of lamb, potato terrine with Svedjan crème,
yellow beet, salt-baked celeriac, apple salad and rosemary-spiced lamb gravy

Frosty bilberry bavaroise, bilberry ice cream with lemon thyme,
lime jelly, lime curd and lime meringues

After dinner when coffee and liqueurs are served, the laureates will hold speeches of thanks. Only one Laureate from each prize category will speak. The meal concluded at 10.50 pm, and then the dancing began upstairs in the Golden Hall.

In 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace – the Nobel Prizes. In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The Nobel Prize laureates receive  9.0 million SEK/ Nobel Prize. When there is more than one laureate in the same category, the laureates ought to share the prize money. The first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901.

Tomorrow, King Carl XVI Gustaf and the other members of the Swedish Royal Family will host a dinner for the Nobel Prize Laureates at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. Princess Madeleine will join the family for this event.


Crown Princess Victoria and her children accept Christmas trees

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Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and her five-year-old daughter, Princess Estelle and one-year-old son, Prince Oscar accepted the several Christmas trees from the Royal College of Forestry’s student union yesterday morning at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. This is a ceremony that takes place each year.

Prince Oscar was seen shaking hands with some of the students and posed later with his mother, sister and the pupils from the Royal College of Forestry’s student union for a group photo.

While this is the first year Prince Oscar joined his mother for the event, it is not the first time Princess Estelle has accompanied her mother to the presentation of the trees. She first participated with her mother in 2013 when she was just one-year-old, and then again in 2014.

Other members of the Royal Family have accepted the trees in the past. In 2015, the newlyweds, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia were there for the presentation.

Photo: H Garlöv/Kungahuset.se

Each year, the Swedish Royal Family accepts Christmas trees from students in the forestry programme at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). Since the late 1960s, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences has presented the Royal Family with the trees at the palace in the Swedish capital.

Since 2013, The Crown Princess Family has released a special Christmas video in mid-December. In 2013, the short video featured the Crown Princess, Prince Daniel, and Princess Estelle baking cookies, while the video the next year showed them decorating the Christmas tree in their home of Haga Palace. In 2015, the video was filmed at The Bakehouse at Skansen Museum and Zoo in Stockholm where the family was baking traditional Swedish delicacies, and just last year, the family was videoed on a hike.

It is expected that the Crown Princess Family will release another Christmas greeting video in the coming days.

Crown Princess Family of Sweden releases annual Christmas video

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The Crown Princess Family of Sweden has released their annual Christmas video. It was released on the Swedish Royal Family’s YouTube account this morning with the message, “Crown Princess Couple, Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar send a Christmas greeting from Haga Palace. Merry Christmas!”

The short video, by Kaffegruppen, features the family playing in the snow outside their home of Haga Palace, as well as decorating a tree outside five-year-old Princess Estelle and one-year-old Prince Oscar’s playhouse that had once belonged to their grandfather and great aunts.

The family were seen sledging down a hill and getting into a snowball fight much to the enjoyment of both Estelle and Oscar. At one point, a smiling Estelle even says to the camera “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!”

The 59-second video ends with the family inside the Palace by the fire, munching on “lussebullar” (Swedish treat of a saffron bun) and playing with toys.

The Christmas photo of the Crown Princess Family outside Haga Palace. Photo: Raphael Stecksén, Royal Court, Sweden

A new photo of Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar was also released. The photo was taken in the snow outside their home of Haga Palace by Raphael Stecksén.

A video of the Crown Princess Family being released shortly before Christmas each year began in 2013. That year the short video featured the Crown Princess, Prince Daniel, and Princess Estelle baking cookies, while the video the next year showed them decorating the Christmas tree in their home of Haga Palace. In 2015, the video was filmed at The Bakehouse at Skansen Museum and Zoo in Stockholm where the family was baking traditional Swedish delicacies, and just last year, the family was videoed on a hike.

Four days ago, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar accepted the Christmas trees at the Royal Palace in Stockholm from the Royal College of Forestry’s student union.

While this is the first year Prince Oscar joined his mother for the event, it is not the first time Princess Estelle has accompanied her mother to the presentation of the trees. She first participated with her mother in 2013 when she was just one-year-old, and then again in 2014 and 2016.

How much did the Scandinavian royal families work in 2017?

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At the end of each year, we can study and comment on the work of the British Royal Family. The UFO No More team decided to look at the work of the Scandinavian royal families which is something that is not always done.

Before going into the numbers, a little disclaimer. These numbers represent the days worked by each member of the royal families based on their official calendar. Of course, there are meetings, “office work” to prepare each event that we don’t know about, so they are all working more than these numbers show, but they still are a good overview.

It was decided to count the days worked rather than the numbers of events because it was easier but also clearer. Naturally, they sometimes attend several events a day.

Let’s start with the numbers of the Danish Royal Family. Prince Henrik was in semi-retirement from January to the summer as he was still attending essential events and events related to his patronages. However, he is no longer working since the announcement of his dementia by the Court this summer. It is also important to note that Princess Benedikte understandably cancelled several events after the death of her husband Prince Richard in March.

It appears that despite the growing rumours of abdication, Queen Margrethe worked more days in 2017 than in 2016 while Crown Prince Frederik worked fewer days. We do need to keep in mind, once again, that these numbers are based on the Court’s official calendar, so it does not take into account the behind-the-scenes work. It is also important to note that both Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark have a day job – he works with the Armed Forces, and she works with the Danish Emergency Management Agency. They don’t receive any salary for their work. The Danish Royal Family worked 250 days in 2017 with Queen Margrethe working the most.

© Heaven LeeMiller/ UFO No More

As to the Swedish Royal Family’s numbers, King Carl XVI Gustaf worked the most, 156 days out of the 205 days worked by the family in 2017. Princess Sofia gave birth to Prince Gabriel on 31 August and has been on maternity leave since then, even though she still attends some events, which explains her low numbers. Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel’s low numbers in January and February are explained by the fact that they took two months off to spend time with their family. Princess Madeleine has a part-time job with the World Childhood Foundation (for which she doesn’t receive a salary) and lives in London with her husband, Chris O’Neill.

© Sarah Williams / UFO No More

Now onto the Norwegian Royal Family’s numbers. It is important to note that King Harald, Queen Sonja and Crown Princess Mette-Marit had to cancel events because of illness during the year which lowers their numbers. The whole family went to South Africa in February to celebrate the 80th birthdays of King Harald and Queen Sonja which explains the lower numbers of this month. In green are the members who worked the most days each month. Based on the calendar, the Norwegian Royal Family worked 202 days in 2017 which is the least of the three Scandinavian royal families. But they have less full-time working members as both Princess Märtha Louise and Princess Astrid only attend the family events and events related to their foundations or patronages.

© Heaven LeeMiller / UFO No More

While counting the number of days worked by the Norwegian Royal Family, I noticed something that I thought was important to note. Contrary to the Danish and Swedish royal families, the Norwegian Royal Family hosts a lot of audiences (sometimes up to five a day for King Harald) and I thought it was important to note that even though Crown Prince Haakon appears to have worked more days than King Harald, King Harald has had more events than Crown Prince Haakon because of the numbers of audiences he hosted. Sometimes Queen Sonja or Crown Prince Haakon attends those audiences, too. Below are the numbers of audiences, government meetings and events related to their foundations attended by King Harald, Crown Prince Haakon, Queen Sonja and Crown Princess Mette-Marit.

© Heaven LeeMiller/ UFO No More

© Heaven LeeMiller / UFO No More

As stated multiple times, these numbers are only based on the official calendars and represent days worked not events attended. Thus, these numbers are an overview of the work of the royal families, but it is essential to acknowledge that they work more than these numbers show.

The graphs and data belong to Sarah Williams (The Royals and I/ UFO No More) and Heaven LeeMiller (Princess Marie’s Closet/UFO No More) who have graciously allowed us to use them. If you wish to use them, please do it with credit and a link to the original post.

Crown Princess Victoria cancels events due to illness

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It was announced on Sunday that Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden had to cancel arrangements due to illness. The Crown Prince of Sweden should, for the first time, have been together with her father His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf on a very special official task, but she had to cancel due to a cold.

Many Swedes had looked forward to experiencing King Carl XVI Gustaf and his eldest child Crown Princess Victoria together on a special official mission yesterday and today. The Royal Court had announced that the Crown Princess would accompany her father during the opening of the National Conference on Security.

H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria. Photo Credit: Kate Gabor, royalcourt.se Sweden

The Crown Princess and the King should have participated in the “People & Defence National Conference” on 14 January and today. It should have been Victoria’s debut at the annual conference, as it is usually only the King who participates as a representative of the Royal Family. “The Crown Princess is suffering from a strong cold and is forced to cancel her attendance at the seminar People & Defence,” said Ulrika Näsholm from the royal information department to Swedish media yesterday.

The Swedish monarch has a special role in the Swedish defence. As most regents worldwide, the regent is the nation’s top military commander. King Carl XVI Gustaf completed his military service for Sweden in 1968 when he graduated as a naval officer in the Royal Swedish Navy. Afterwards, he took chief courses and became a lieutenant in the Svea bodyguards, Navy, Air Force and the Jemtland regiment. Before the King became monarch when his grandfather died, Carl Gustaf achieved the rank of captain for both the Swedish fleet, Army and Air Force through military education. He was automatically a general and admiral when he became King.

Prince Carl Gustav and his father, the king, in a military practice area on Gotland. Photo: Kungahuset.se

The Swedish Royal Family has a long tradition of attending this seminar. On several occasions, King Carl XVI Gustaf has even given a speech. In 2015, his son, Prince Carl Philip attended. Prince Carl Philip also has a Swedish military education, and since 2015 has a been a major in the Swedish Navy and was trained at the Amphibious Battalion at Vaxholm Coastal Artillery Regiment as a combat boat commander.

In the fall of 2017, the King and Prince Carl Philip participated in “Aurora 17”, the most extensive military exercise in Sweden for more than 20 years. All combat forces and more than 19,000 men and women took part. Also, several authorities and 2,000 military personnel from the United States, Finland, France, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark and Norway did, as well.

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel too ill to participate in state visit from Iceland

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Royal Central was able to announce that Crown Princess Viktoria of Sweden had to cancel her attendance at a seminar with her father, King Carl Gustav. Now her husband Prince Daniel has also come down with a cold. As a result, Prince Daniel was forced to cancel his participation in the annual sports gala held Monday night in Sweden.

It was yesterday speculated that the Crown Princess and Prince Daniel would have to cancel their participation during the state visit from Iceland, which begins tomorrow. On Tuesday, the Crown Princess and Prince Daniel were removed from the royal court’s official calendar from the events that will take place over the next few days. “The plan is set, but it is still necessary to see how their health is on Wednesday,” the Royal Court told “Expressen” yesterday. It is now certain that the Crown Princess and her husband will not participate.

The royal court calendar states that the Crown Princess will go back to work on 23 January, when she will attend a meeting to prepare for the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge who will visit Sweden and Norway at the end of the month.

Prince Daniel. Photo: Erika Gerdemark, The Royal Court, Sweden

His Royal Highness Prince Daniel was supposed to attend the sports gala together with Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia yesterday. The Prince was also supposed to give out the award “Pepper of the Year” during the event. “It is true that he is ill,” Sports gala information manager Sandra Miller Kinge told the Swedish media.

Later the Swedish royal court said in a statement to Swedish press: “He has a cold, a bad cold. The Crown Princess was scheduled to attend “People and Defense” with the King, but she also had to cancel. It is no more serious than that, but Prince Daniel obviously has respect for the athletes, and they have to keep healthy, so he chose to stay at home.” Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia both attended the Sports Gala as planned.

The Swedish newspaper “Expressen” asked the royal court if Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar are also ill. The Royal Court answered: “This is not something we wish to comment on.”

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