Baby bumps and Bernadottes

Her family is about to welcome a new member to the history of the Bernadottes and as Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden prepares for the birth of her second baby, she has visited the library that bears the name of her dynasty.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden during her tour of the Bernadotte Library

(photo Sveriges Kungahuset Instagram)

The House of Bernadotte has ruled since 1818, its name carried by Sweden's reigning house across three centuries. When Crown Princess Victoria married Daniel Westling in 2010 he added Bernadotte to his own name ensuring the family tradition was cemented. So it's perhaps appropriate that as a new baby Bernadotte is about to appear, mama headed off to look at the family's history.

Holding history in her hands - Victoria of Sweden looks at her family's past as she gets ready to welcome a new chapter in its future

The Bernadotte Library contains books that have belonged to generations of Swedish kings and queens with over 100,000 tomes stacked on its shelves. There is also a huge image and photo archive and its contents are housed in wood panelled rooms. Crown Princess Victoria heard about some of its ongoing projects as well as flicking through the pages of her family history. As a queen in waiting, she can expect to add her own mark to this special place.

Crown Princess Victoria during her tour of the Bernadotte Library

We don't know exactly when the visit took place, only that it was sometime in mid February.  And with no other engagements planned for the moment, the last time we see Victoria before she welcomes a new member of the Bernadotte dynasty might be in the heart of the history that her family is about to add to.


And you can read more about the past week for Sweden's royals on this special page.