News Summary R O Y A L B L O G. N L

King Carl Gustaf celebrates 70th birthday

A right royal gathering Saturday in Stockholm for the 70th birthday bash of King Carl XVI Gustaf. Royals from far and near gathered in the sunny Swedish capital to honour the king, who this year marks 43 years on the throne. Spanish king-emeritus Juan Carlos and queen Sofia ventured outside of Spain for the first time together since April 2014, when Juan Carlos was still reigning monarch. Also present was former Dutch queen Beatrix, and the former tsar (king) and queen of the Bulgarians, Simeon II and Margarita.

Notably absent from the festivities were the king and queen of neighbouring Norway, along with Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. They cancelled their trip after a helicopter crash killed 13 on Friday. The Norwegian royal huse will still represented though, by Princess Märtha Louise and husband Ari Behn.

There was a royal debut: Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel decided to bring their two months old Prince Oscar to the musical tribute to the King in front of the Palace. Princess Estelle enjoyed times on the arms of her father and of her uncle, Prince Carl Philip. He and his wife Princess Sofia, who made her first public appearance since giving birth earlier this month, kept their baby son Prince Alexander out of sight. Princess Madeleine and husband Chris O'Neill did the same with their two children.

The festivities for the king's birthday already started on Monday, and found their high point in a festive concert Friday evening in the Nordic Museum. Crown Princess Victoria gave a poignant tribute to her father, and some of the foreign royal guests already joined in, e.g. the Bulgarian royal couple, Crown Princess Margarita of Romania and husband Prince Radu, and Serbian Crown Prince Aleksandar and Crown Princess Katherine.

Saturday's celebrations started with a service of Thanksgiving at the Royal Chapel, attended by king Juan Carlos, queen Sofia, queen Margrethe and Princess Benedikte, Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Takamodo of Japan, along with the extended Swedish royal familiy, including the king's four elder sisters Margaretha, Birgitta, Desirée and Christina.

© RB Hans Jacobs; Screenshots SVT

Many royal guests at celebrations for Carl Gustaf

King Carl Gustaf of Sweden hosted a galabanquet at the Royal Palace in honour of his 70th birthday Saturday. The dinner was attended by royals from several countries, but notably absent was the Norwegian royal couple and Spain's former monarchs Juan Carlos and Sofia, who did attend the day's earlier activities.

The guest list of the King's birthday, as published by the Swedish Court:

• Belgium: king Filip and queen Mathilde
• Bulgaria: king (tsar) Simeon II and queen Margarita
• Denmark: queen Margrethe, Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, Princess Benedikte
• Finland: president Sauli Niimistö and spouse Jenni
• Iceland: president Ólafur Ragar Grimsson and spouse Dorrit
• Japan: Princess Takamodo
• Jordan: Prince Hassan, Princess Salvath, Prince Raad and Princess Majda
• Liechtenstein: Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie
• Monaco: Prince Albert II
• Netherlands: Princess Beatrix
• Norway: Princess Märtha Louise and Ari Behn
• Romania: Crown Princess Margarita and Prince Radu
• Serbia: Crown Princess Aleksandar and Crown Princess Katherine
• Spain (not staying for dinner): king Juan Carlos and queen Sofia

A couple of German royal and princely houses were invited as well:

• Bavaria: Duke Max and Princess Elizabeth
• Bavaria: Prince Leopold and Princess Ursula, Prince Manuel and Princess Anna
• Saxe-Coburg and Gotha: Prince Andreas, Hereditary Prince Hubertus and Hereditary Princess Kelly

Names Oscar Carl Olof have a long royal history

The names of the newly born Swedish Prince Oscar Carl Olof, which were announced by King Carl XVI Gustaf in a special Royal Council in the Royal Palace, have a long royal history. 

Sweden had two kings named Oscar. Oscar II (1829-1907) was the last Swedish King who was also King of neighboring Norway. His father was Oscar I and between both of them reigned his Karl XV, who was married to the Dutch Princess Louise, a granddaughter of King William I.

Karl or Carl - but the newly born prince is called Carl with C - is the name of until now sixteen kings, including the present monarch and grandfather of the newest addition to the royal family. Except that the 15th Karl wrote his name with a K and the sixteenth Carl is with a C, or fully Carl XVI Gustaf. As can be seen, the Swedes  keep count through the first part of the name, instead of opting for an Carl Gustaf II.

* The Swedish Royal Family during the Act of Thanksgiving in the Royal Chapel

King Carl XVI Gustaf also hoped that the count would continue into the next generation. He gave his son the name Carl Philip, in the expectation that one day he would reign as King Carl XVII Philip. At the time of his birth in 1979 boys still had  precedence over girls in the line of succession, but the writing was already on the palace wall that this would change. Despite objections from the King, the Swedish Constitution was changed retro-actively and Prince Carl Philip lost his position as Crown Prince to his elder sister Victoria. 

* The parents of Prince Daniel (on the left) with Princess Cristina and her husband.

Olof, the third name for the new prince is primarily in honor of his grandfather on father's side, Olle Westling. But there was in distant Swedish history a King Olof, nicknamed 'Skötkonung - the tax king. This king lived around the year 1000, and is mainly known because he had the first Swedish coins minted.

© RB Hans Jacobs; Source: Kings and Rulers of Sweden; Photos by © Monarchy Press Europe

Mary very happy for Victoria and Daniel

Danish Crown Princess Mary on Thursday morning, after a visit to the Qatar Foundation and Qatar Academy in Doha welcomed the baby news from Sweden. ,, We are very happy for Victoria and Daniel and have already sent personal congratulations to them”, Crown Princess Mary said when asked about the birth of Prince Oscar by Danish magazine Billed Bladet.

Mary's visit to the Qatar Foundation and subsequently the Qatar Academy were the final engagements of the Crown Princely trip to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Emir Tamim welcomed Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary at his palace before the pair went to the airport for the return flight to Denmark.

Since Sunday Frederik and Mary have promoted Danish trade interests in the two Gulf countries. Both countries attach great importance to personal contacts, and most preferably at the highest level. Trade missions headed by members of the royal family see doors open that otherwise would remain closed, according to the Danish foreign minister Mr. Jensen.

The visit to Qatar was of short duration, not even 24 hours. Highlight was a visit to the Museum of Islamic Art, followed by a dinner at the restaurant of the museum that offers a beautiful view of the skyline of Doha. Earlier in the day the couple went to the Aspire sports academy, where Crown Prince Frederik showed his football skills.

© RB Hans Jacobs; Photos by © Royal Press Europe, Albert Nieboer

New born Swedish prince, son of Victoria and Daniel, is named: Oscar Carl Olof, Duke of Skåne

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden on Thursday announced the names of his new grandson, the second child of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel: Prince Oscar Carl Olof, Duke of Skåne. The baby prince was born Wednesday evening at 8.28 pm at the Karolinska Hospital. Prince Daniel commented on the birth shorthly afterwards and Crown Princess Victoria and the baby left the hospital Thursday morning, accompanied by Prince Daniel and Princess Estelle.

New prince Oscar - with a c it was explained at a press meeting in the Royal Palace, just as Carl is written with a c - is third in the line of succession, after his mother Crown Princess Victoria and four years old sister Princess Estelle. The old rule that boys took precedence over girls in the line of succession was abolished retroactively shortly after the birth of Prince Carl Philip in 1979, which meant that not he but his elder sister Victoria would be first in line.

At the press meeting after the announcement of the names it was said that Princess Estelle is very happy with her little borther, who at birth weighed in at 3655 gr and measured 52 cm. Crown Princess Victoria was doing very well. "You could not tell she just had a big tummy", the Mistress of the Robes commented. 

© RB Hans Jacobs; Photos: © The Royal Court; Monarchy Press Europe

Tribute to Grand Duke Jean - with Queen Sofia, Belgian royal couple, Princess Beatrix

'Happy birthday to you ' rang out in a full house at the Philharmonie in Luxembourg Saturday evening, as the royal family, government, honoured guests and the Luxembourg population fêted Grand Duke Jean, who turned 95 earlier in the week, with a musical tribute and special party.

King Philip and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians, Queen Sofia of Spain an her sister Princess Irene, King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes, former queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, former Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan and Princess Sarvath were among the many royal guests at this festive evening.

Grand Duke Jean, who ruled from 1964 tot 2000, and who was succeeded by his son Grand Duke Henri, had five children with his wife Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte (+2005). They in turn had quite a few children - Henri in turn also had five, and now has grandchildren too - so it made for an enormous family reunion as everyone gathered at the Grand Ducal Palace ahead of the concert. Two buses were needed to transport Jean's grandchildren and their partners to the Philharmonie.

Remarkbale absentees were Jean's brother- and sister-in law, King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium, who did attend the concert five years ago when Jean turned 90.

© RB Hans Jacobs; Photos by © MPE Patrick van Katwijk

Crown Princess Victoria expecting 2nd child

It is official. The Swedish Royal Court on Friday confirmed what many had already guessed or at least speculated upon:

Their Royal Highnesses Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel are happy to announce that The Crown Princess is expecting their second child.

The birth is expected to take place in March of 2016.

No changes in the schedule of The Crown Princess Couple's public engagements are planned during the fall of 2015.

It was Crown Princess Victoria's choice of dress [Victoria's blue dress has everybody guessing] at last week's Awards Ceremony of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm which sparked a debate about her possible pregnancy. Rumours had been rife for some time and the blue dress seemed to back up the suspicions, without confirming them.

© RB; Photo by © RPE Albert Nieboer

King's Day gets a more modern twist - VIDEO

 

King Willem-Alexander celebrated his 48th birthday with a renewed 'King's Day' in the city of Dordrecht Monday, together with his wife Queen Máxima and daughters Amalia, Alexia and Ariane. The King was also joined by members of the extended royal family - his brother Prince Constantijn and his wife Princess Laurentien, and his cousins Maurits, Bernhard and Pieter-Christiaan and their spouses.

King's Day took its form from the previous Queen's Day celebrations, the official birthday of Queen Beatrix who abdicated on Queen's Day 2013. But King Willem-Alexander had asked for modernisation. No longer are two cities visited but only one, there is more emphasis on the presentation of the great and good of the chosen city, and the traditional games and activities were scrapped. 

King Willem-Alexander also decided to bring his daughters along. Last year they made a surprise appearance, but this year their presence was announced beforehand. The King posted a picture of his young family in fron of their Eikenhorst residence near The Hague, just before leaving for the ancient city of Dordrecht. Princess Amalia still had her earphones at hand. 

The three hour programme in the historic city was a mixed one, with a 'parade' of gigantic boats in the confluence of three rivers, a classical mini concert in Dordrecht's Grote Kerk, with music by Hándel and Bach, a walk about, food tasting and a pop concert. 

.© Koninklijk Huis

There were some 20 to 25,000 people who came out to watch the royal family, far less than expected but the weather forecasts owed much to do that. Rain and cold weather were predicted but Monday turned out to be chilly but very sunny.

© Royalblog, Hans Jacobs; © RB, KH, RPE

Danes cheer their Queen Margrethe (with VIDEO)

Denmark celebrated Queen Margrethe's 75th birthday in grand style. After the splendour of the Gala Dinner Wednesday evening, there were the more public festivities on her actual birthday, Thursday. At noon thousands had congegrated at the main square of the Amalienborg Palace complex, where the queen and her family made no less than 3 appearances on the balcony to acknowledge the cheering and waving of the crowd.

 

Across the square King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, King Harald of Norway, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, as well as King Constantine of the Hellenes and Margrethe's sisters Princess Benedikte and Queen Anne-Marie looked on, and waved to the crowd as well.

Afterwards the Queen underook a carriage tour, across the city centre to the Town Hall, where she was offered a reception and luncheon. Since Prince-consort Henri is down with the flu it was decided that Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary would accompany the queen. At the Town Hall the queen made an appearance on the balcony too, where she was welcomed with a military band playing Cliff Richard's Congratulations.

© RB; Photos and film by © Royalblog (see also YouTube Royalblog)

Princess Marie loses battle with wind

It is a nightmare for every woman with a hat, and princesses and queens are no exceptions. Princess Marie's nightmare came true Thursday at she lost the battle with the wind when she arrived at Copenhagen's Town Hall where she was to attend a luncheon in honour of Queen Margrethe's 75th birthday.

Princess Marie tried to shield her hat from the strond wind, but the one second she let go, the wind took hold of the head gear. Husband Prince Joachim laughed, made an attempt to go after the hat, as did the Mayor of Copenhagen, but it was official who recaptured the hat, returning it shortly thereafter to the embarrassed Princess.

 

© Royalblog, Marius Cirtiu