(left to right) Prince Carl Philip, Crown Princess Victoria, Queen Silvia and King Carl XVI Gustaf
According to the Swedish Government, the Royal Family includes the following:
The King and Queen:
HM King Carl XVI Gustav (since September 15, 1973), born on April 30, 1946.
HM Queen Silvia (since June 19, 1976), born on December 23, 1943.
The King's children with the Queen:
HRH Crown Princess Victoria, Duchess of Västergötland, born on July 14, 1977.
HRH Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland, born on May 13, 1979.
HRH Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland, born on June 10, 1982.
The King's sister:
HRH Princess Birgitta, Princess of Hohenzollern, born on January 19, 1937.
The King's aunt (widow of the King's uncle Prince Bertil):
HRH Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland, born on August 30, 1915.
Victoria wedding:
It's more than 30 years since the last Swedish royal wedding and Swedes have long looked forward to a grand royal bash. Preparations are already underway for the big day in Stockholm, the 700-year-old capital city. The city is sure to be resplendent for this most auspicious of occasions and there will be a huge turnout for the pomp and ceremony.
Crown Princess Victoria was first brought up in the Royal Palace situated in the Old Town (Gamla Stan) area of Stockholm and later at Drottningholm Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the best preserved 18th-century palace in Sweden. Daniel Westling, her beau and Stockholm gym owner, comes from Ockelbo, a small town in the province of Gästrikland.
The couple will be married at the Great Church (Storkyrkan) in the heart of the Old Town, just a stone's throw from the Royal Palace. The church pre-dates the palace by some 400 years and when the palace was completed around the beginning of the 18th century, the church was given a makeover as it was considered too 'mediaeval'. Storkyrkan is a wonderfully impressive, peaceful and meditative place to be and well worth a visit. Following their betrothal, the new royal couple will take up residence in the 'still being renovated' Haga Palace, built in 1802, in Haga Park just north of central Stockholm. It is here that Victoria's father King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden was born and raised with his four sisters. There has been some controversy over the choice of residence as until recently the palace and grounds were open to the public. With the royal couple moving in, the building and portions of the grounds will be cordoned off for security reasons. This has left some local joggers, dog owners and other park users less than pleased. Haga Park is wildly popular with Stockholmers the year-round for its lakeside beauty spots and views, forests, jogging paths and relaxed atmosphere.
As the Swedish royal family has several royal residences, Daniel will have to get used to a bit of travelling. The family spends the summer at Solliden Palace, a gorgeous building in the Italian country house style, located on the beautiful east-coast island of Öland. Wintertime, the couple usually head for the ski resort at Storlien, 700 km north-west of Stockholm, and not far from Åre, perhaps northern Europe's finest ski resort.
Carl's story:
Miss Hellqvist made her name when she appeared in a Swedish men's magazine with only a pair of bikini bottoms and a writhing, mottled snake to preserve her modesty.
While the prince is believed to have met his new girlfriend's family, it is understood that Miss Hellqvist has not been introduced to any of his relations.
The pair are said to have become close last summer after meeting in the fashionable seaside resort town of Bastad.
They are said to have been on secret trips together in Sweden and New York.
The 30-year-old prince, who drives Porsche racing cars and is regarded as one of the world's most eligible bachelors, has so far refused to confirm or deny the relationship.
"We have no comment to make at all," said the head of the royal press department, Nina Eldh.
The prince was ranked ninth in a list of "the 20 hottest young royals" compiled by Forbes magazine in 2008 behind Princes William and Harry, who were first and second, and Zara Phillips, who was third.
As the only son of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, the prince was the heir to the throne for a few months after he was born in 1979.
But in 1980 the rules of succession were changed and the principle of primogeniture was introduced.
His sister, Crown Princess Victoria, 32, is now the heir. "He comes across as the black sheep of the family," a commentator on the Swedish royal family said yesterday.
"Now that he is no longer next in line to the throne, he does his own thing.
"He's a racing car driver and a bit of a wild child. But he also designs his own range of cutlery and is studying at an agricultural college in southern Sweden."
The prince, who also carries the title Duke of Varmland, has been a regular on Stockholm's nightclub scene after breaking up last year with Emma Pernald, a public relations executive who had been his girlfriend for 10 years.
Miss Pernald told Expressen, a Swedish magazine, that she and the prince made a mutual decision to go their separate ways, but gave no further details on the exact reason for the split.
The prince's new love, who has also appeared on Paradise Hotel, a popular reality television show in which a group of single people are marooned in a luxurious tropical resort and compete to find a partner, could cause some awkward scenes this summer when Crown Princess Victoria, marries her boyfriend, a commoner and the owner of a gym, in a church next to the royal palace in Stockholm.
The Telegraph, London
Source: watoday.com.au
Princess Madeleine:
As well as her native tongue of Swedish, she's fluent in German, French and English. And in January 2003 she enrolled at the prestigious University of Stockholm, where she pursued a history of art course – later embarking on a further course in ethnology.
Committed to her studies while maintaining her passions for skiing and horseriding – she owned her own horses for a time and entered showjumping competitions under the name Anna Svensson – the young princess also stepped up her involvement in royal duties. She is patron of high-profile charity Min Stora Dag and has interned for UNICEF in New York, working for the Child Protective Services division.
In 2002, Cupid struck when the young princess – aged 20 at the time – was introduced to lawyer Jonas Bergstrom by mutual friends. A first date at an Italian restaurant in the upmarket neighbourhood of Ostermalm in Stockholm followed, and after a seven-year courtship the palace announced that the pretty blonde princess was engaged to her long-term love.
In an interview, a Madeleine revealed that handsome Jonas had popped the question during a romantic holiday in Capri.
The wedding was expected at the end of 2010 – after her big sister Crown Princess Victoria's summer wedding with her gym-owner fiancé Daniel Westling, and after the country's legislative elections, pencilled in for October 1.
But it was not to be. Rumours began to circulate at the start of 2010 that the couple's relationship was in crisis. After denials from Jonas and Queen Silvia the Palace finally issued a statement saying that the couple had "gone their seperate ways".
The announcement came following claims Jonas had been unfaithful to Madeleine with a Norwegian student during a skiing holiday.
(http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/princess-madeleine/)
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