The Royal Court of Sweden
On 2 September, the Swedish Royal Court announced the happy news that Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia are expecting their fourth child in February 2025.
The proud parents have three sons already: Prince Alexander (8), Prince Gabriel (7) and Prince Julian (3).
King Carl XVI Gustaf revives ancient royal honours and bestows important order on ABBA 
It’s been nearly 50 years since some of Sweden’s honours have been passed out—though the practice still remains for members of the royal family and foreign royals—and after the government approved the measure, King Carl XVI Gustaf revived the four main honours: the Order of the Seraphim, the Order of the Sword, the Order of the North Star and the Order of Vasa and the public was able to nominate “exceptional” Swedish citizens.
Amongst the honourees? Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Reuss) and Björn Ulvaeus—the four members of Sweden’s legendary ABBA. All received the designation of Commander First Class of the Order of Vasa.
King Carl XVI Gustaf presented the honours to all recipients on 29 May at the Royal Palace. The members of ABBA were cited for their “outstanding contributions to Swedish and international music life.”
Princess Christina carries out a rare engagement with a very important guest 
It’s rare that any of the Haga Princesses—the older sisters of King Carl XVI Gustaf—are seen at engagements outside of weddings, funerals, jubilees or Nobel Prize ceremonies, but in September, Princess Christina carried out a rare engagement on behalf of her sister-in-law when she welcomed Queen Sonja to Sweden.
The Royal Court shared that Princess Christina and her husband Tord Magnuson welcomed Queen Sonja to Swede for a visit after Queen Silvia was unexpectedly pulled away for a private funeral amongst her Sommerlath relatives.
Queen Sonja was in Sweden for an exhibition celebrating Norwegian and Swedish artists at the Prins Eugen’s Waldemarsudde and would have otherwise been accompanied by Queen Silvia.
Princess Birgitta dies at the age of 87 
On 4 December, King Carl XVI Gustaf announced the sad news that his older sister Princess Birgitta had passed away in Mallorca, Spain, at the age of 87.
In a statement, the King wrote: “With great sadness, I have today received the news that my sister, Princess Birgitta, has passed away. My sister was a colourful and forthright person who will be deeply missed by me and my family. Together with all my family, I send my condolences to Princess Birgitta’s children and grandchildren.”
Princess Birgitta was laid to rest at Drottningholm on 15 December in a private family funeral.
Princess Madeleine and her family move back to Sweden 
After many starts and stops, many delays, and many will-they-won’t-theys, Princess Madeleine and her family moved back home to Sweden.
Princess Madeleine and her husband, Christopher O’Neill, first lived in New York early in their married life but moved back to Stockholm in 2015. Then, later in the spring of 2015, the Swedish Royal Court shared that they’d moved to London. In 2018, it was announced that the Princess Family had moved to Florida; and in March 2023, they announced they would move back to Sweden in August 2023.
And then again, in June 2023, Princess Madeleine announced that the move had been postponed until 2024. This past June, just after her 42nd birthday, the Swedish Royal Court shared that Princess Madeleine, Christopher O’Neill, and their three children: Princess Leonor, Prince Nicolas and Princess Adrienne have now relocated officially to Sweden.
In a statement on a birthday portrait shared on social media, the Royal Court wrote: “After several years living abroad, the Princess and Mr. Christopher O’Neill have decided that the family will live in Stockholm for the time being.”
Princess Madeleine then spent the autumn carrying out royal engagements while Christopher O’Neill, who is untitled and remains a private citizen, carried on with his work.
Historic moment for Princess Madeleine 
In late October, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia announced that they’d be taking a trip to Brazil. While it was ostensibly a family visit—Queen Silvia has a Brazilian background and all of the family would be travelling with them —it also meant that Princess Madeleine, who opted not to attend, would act as regent in her father’s place.
According to Sweden’s regency rules, so long as King Carl XVI Gustaf can viably return to Sweden swiftly if needed, there is no need for a regent. It’s why, when he travels within Europe, that Crown Princess Victoria is never called upon. But since Brazil is more than a brief flight away, a regent would need to be appointed.
The Swedish Court shared that Princess Madeleine would act briefly as regent while the whole family was in Brazil; but that Crown Princess Victoria would take over once she and her family returned.
Meanwhile, Queen Silvia soaked up her time in Brazil and still carried out engagements on behalf of the World Childhood Foundation. King Carl XVI Gustaf carried out engagements with the Scouts.
Crown Princess Victoria marks Sweden’s entry in NATO 
Crown Princess Victoria traveled to Brussels as Sweden officially joined NATO on 11 March. The royal, acting as regent on behalf of her father, who was on a state visit to Mexico at the time, attended the flag-raising ceremony at NATO Headquarters and joined a host of Swedish officials to celebrate Sweden’s admittance.
Days later, after returning from Mexico, King Carl XVI Gustaf participated in a NATO event at the Riksdag and said: “Sweden’s entry into NATO means that the total defence will cooperate with other member countries in NATO, to ensure the security of our own country and our allies. NATO membership strengthens our defence capabilities. Sweden will also contribute to making the alliance stronger and increasing regional stability.
He added ”Our membership is not directed at anyone. Nor does it change the foundations or goals of our foreign and security policy. The preservation of Sweden’s freedom and independence is still our most important goal. The NATO flag is raised today outside the Riksdag building. This symbolic act shows our will to, together with other NATO countries, secure peace and freedom – not only for us who live here now, but also for future generations.”
Princess Sofia, the Vogue cover star 
To mark her 40th birthday on 6 December, Princess Sofia appeared on the cover of Vogue Scandinavia’s December/January issue.
The royal was more candid than ever, revealing how she first fell in love with her husband Prince Carl Philip (“He looked very humble. He had those big, brown, very, very kind eyes.”) and how she approaches her work (“In a world that can feel quite dark I know a lot of amazing things are happening. I can completely understand that sometimes it doesn’t feel like the world is going forward, but it does.”)
She also spoke of her pregnancy, revealing that her birthday celebrations would have to wait because “I’m going to be quite heavily pregnant.” But she also shared that “I would not change where I am at all. I’m in a very happy place in life.”
The royals out in full force to celebrate the Nobels 
It’s the biggest annual event on the Swedish Royal Family’s calendar, of course the Nobel Prize ceremony merits a mention! And it’s especially noteworthy this year because it’s been a while since the entire family—Princess Madeleine and Christopher O’Neill included—have all been on hand for the glittering ceremony.
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Publish date : 2024-12-27 12:03:00
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