A royal welcome for a duchess

There is always something special about royal engagements that see royals visiting the places whose names they bear.  There is always much expectation when the Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia spend time in Asturias, when Charles returns to Wales, when Kate and William arrive in Cambridge. And now Ostergotland is about to experience that special feeling for the first time this century when its duchess, Princess Estelle of Sweden, makes her first official visit for her first official engagement there on May 17th 2014.

Princess Estelle of Sweden will visit Ostergotland, her duchy, on May 17th 2014

The princess is to open a fairytale path named after her just a few months after her birth in February 2012.  And standing by to help her will be her parents, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel.  Estelle regularly accompanies them on visits and engagements and just last week helped her mum open an exhibition about frogs in Stockholm.  But this is her first engagement in her own duchy and gets a special mention on the Swedish Royal Family's agenda.  Estelle - princess, queen in waiting and duchess - is opening another chapter in her royal story.   

Estelle sets royal records

Prince George has a record to beat.  Princess Estelle of Sweden has just undertaken her first full tour at just shy of two years old.  The future king of England may be going to Australia and New Zealand with mum and dad when they head off on their tour but there are no official engagements slotted in for George.  But Estelle has been out and about with her parents on a visit to the 2014 European City of Culture, Umea, and Sweden's Royal House has reported on the trip as an official event featuring Victoria, Daniel and their little girl.

Her first royal handshake - Princess Estelle of Sweden meets artist, Jonas Nystrom, in Umea as she helps her parents on her first royal tour

Estelle got a tour of the main sights of the city on a sledge pulled along by her proud dad and has also been on a museum visit with Victoria and Daniel.  And just to show how modern this modern royal family is, there's been plenty of daddy day care on show as the future queen took the lead in meeting and greeting and her consort in waiting showed another future queen the sights and sounds of the building they were visiting.

Prince Daniel's eyes seem to be on his daughter who looks like she might be about to make a break for it as the royal family visit Umea

And she had her first taste of a royal crowd with around 55,000 people in Umea on the day that it officially began its year as European City of Culture.  While the sight of royal babies away with mum and dad isn't rare, and photocalls during tours are fairly normal, the sight of a royal family's littlest member taking on tour duties is rare.  Prince George better start practising his royal handshake - he's got a new challenge to take on.

Royal round up, week ending August 30th 2013

A round up of royal news from around Europe for the week ending August 30th 2013

UNITED KINGDOM

Another quiet seven days for the House of Windsor with things picking up as the week drew to a close.  On Saturday 30th August, the Royal Mail announced that the Prince of Wales would be one of the judges on its competition to design a Christmas stamp which has seen almost a quarter of a million children across the UK send in their vision of what the festive season means to them.  Prince Charles will cast his eye over the top 24 and select the winner. 

But it was his daughter in law who made all the headlines again this week with two chances to catch a look at Kate just five and a bit weeks after giving birth to Prince George.  First there were snatched shots in a supermarket car park showing a slim duchess pushing a trolley.  And then Kate made an unexpected appearance with William to start the Anglesey Ring of Fire marathon - the couple's last official outing on the island before they leave as the Duke of Cambridge's duties there come to an end.

 

The Duchess of Cambridge looking very well indeed less than six weeks after becoming a mother

 

The Queen continues her holiday at Balmoral.  And Prince Edward, who is a Trustee of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, attended a dinner for the organisation in Bachory, Aberdeenshire.

 

SPAIN

 

It was a very quiet week for the Spanish royal family as the summer holidays drew to a close.  The king is understood to be in Madrid but speculation continued over the location of the Prince and Princess of Asturias who are on private holiday with their two daughters with Italy being he favourite location in hunt an heir.  Queen Sofia remained in Mallorca where she visisted the headquarters of a food bank organization which is supported by the foundation that bears her name.  The queen met the management to find out about the services needed as economic crisis continues to affect Spain and she met voluteers working at the banks.

 

 

Queen Sofia with volunteers and patrons of the food bank in the Balearics

 

BELGIUM

 

A final week of preparations for the new king and queen before they get back to work at the beginning of September.  But visitors to the royal palace at Laeken were given the opportunity to pay their respects to Queen Astrid as they crypt was opened on August 29th to mark the anniversary of her death in 1935.

 

THE NETHERLANDS

 

It was back to work for the Dutch royals this week.  The main news was the public reappearance of former queen Beatrix following the death of her second son, Friso, in the middle of August.  Princess Beatrix attended a concert organised by the European Cultural Foundation at the Portuguese synagogue on August 26th alongside her youngest child, Constantijn, and his wife, Laurentien, who is the foundation's president.

 

 

The first public appearance of Beatrix of the Netherlands following the death of Prince Friso

 

Two days later, Beatrix appeared by herself at a concert by the European Union Youth Orchestra in Amsterdam. Meanwhile the new king marked the 100th anniversary of the Peace Palace in The Hague by attending a reception to mark the start of festivities across several weeks.  Also in attendance was the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, who earlier in the week had been invited to a special dinner in his honour by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima with Princess Beatrix also there but not featuring the official photo released by the Dutch royal household.

 

 

The King and Queen of the Netherlands with Ban Ki-Moon and his wife at a dinner at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague on August 27th 2013

 

NORWAY

 

Crown Princess Mette-Marit unveiled a new sculpture trail at Akershus Fortress in Oslo.  The trail has been created by and for children and features ten works of art which will remain in place for three years before being returned to the home towns of the children who designed them.

 

 

Princess Mette-Marit of Norway with one of the ten sculptures making up the trail in Akershus Fortress in Oslo

 

Crown Prince Haakon visited a school in Gjøvik, north of Oslo, as part of his involvement in Global Dignity.  The organization was set up by the prince in 2006, along with two friends, to promote the importance of human dignity for all to school children.  The prince often visits schools to lead courses on dignity.  This week's event was captured by pupils at the school themselves and is the start of the run up to Global Dignity Day on October 16th 2013 when many schools and colleges in 50 countries around the world will focus on the issue.

 

 

Prince Haakon during his visit to a school in Gjøvik as part of Global Dignity

 

At the end of the week, Prince Haakon attended the funeral of Rolv Wesunland, one of Norway's most popular actors who died at the age of 76.

 

DENMARK

 

Queen Margrethe II was back from her summer holidays this week and one of her first appearances was at the opening of a special exhibition charting the relationship between Denmark and Russia between 1600 and 1900 at the National History Museuam at Frederiksborg Castle.

 

 

Queen Margrethe II inspecting one of the statues that form part of the new Danish-Russian exhibition she opened this week

(photo  Hanne Juul, Billed-Bladet)

 

The Queen also attended the commemoration marking the anniversary of the Danish government resigning in 1943 marking the formalization of Danish resistance to the Nazi regime which had taken over the country at the beginning of World War Two.  Margrethe laid a wreath on this commemoration day.

 

Crown Prince Frederik spent some time with the Danish national volleyball team this week to mark his role as patron of the European Volleyball Championships which take place across Denmark and Poland later in the month with the final taking place in Copenhagen on September 29th 2013.

 

 

 Prince Frederik training with the Danish volleyball team ahead of the European Championships which will take place later this month

 

It was a sporty week all round as photos were released of the Crown Prince sailing with Oracle Team USA 17 in San Francisco where the famous trophy will be up for grabs again this September.  Frederik's sport theme continues - he's now a member of the International Olympic Committee which will spend the first week of September deciding where the 2020 Olympic Games will be held.

 

 

Fred afloat - the Crown Prince of Denmark at the build up to the Americas Cup in San Francisco

 

Meanwhile, Crown Princess Mary opened a new language centre in Aarhus in her role as patron of the Danish Refugee Council.

 

 

Princess Mary with some of the students at the new language centre in Aarhus she opened this week

(photo Miguel Mielgo)

 

And she attended the INDEX design awards ceremony which recognizes ideas that have improved life.  It was set up in 2005 by Frederik and Mary oversaw the presentation of the five prizes, each worth 100,00 euros while her husband was in America.

 

 

A princess in purple - Mary of Denmark at design awards in Helsingor on August 29th 2013

 



SWEDEN

 

King Carl XVI Gustaf attended the opening of the Sami parliament.  He has attended on a regular basis since the Sami people were granted their own parliament as part of their recognition as an indigenous people in the early 1990s.

 

 

The King of Sweden is welcomed to the Sami parliament by its chairman, Stegan Mikaelsson

 

Carl XVI Gustaf also presented the Polar Music Prize, handed out every year since 1992.  Winners this year included Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho and Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour.

 

 

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Youssou N'Dour at the Polar Music Prize at Stockholm's Concert Hall on August 27th 2013

 

The king and queen continued their tour of the country to mark his 40 years on the throne this week.   They've been in Vastmanlad, west of Stockholm where they visited a riding school.  Earlier in the week they went to Gavelborgs, north of the capital, where the visit included a trip to a heritage farm and demonstrations of how the health benefits of gardening are being put to use in the area.

 

 

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden on their visit to Vastmanlad on August 30th 2013.  The carriage ride took place in Stromsholm.

 



Crown Princess Victoria attended the annual Hermes export awards in Stockholm.  The prize is given out every year to a company with strong export records that have put Swedish business on the map and this year it went to computer game firm, Mojang. 

 

 

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden at the annual Hermes export awards in Stockhom, August 29th

 

Prince Daniel was also looking at business in Sweden this week and spent a day at IKEA as part of his promotion of entrepreneurship in the country.  He spent some time with the company's founder, Ingvar Kamprad, to get tips on creating business and trade. The prince then attended Raoul Wallenburg Day, established to promote racial harmony in memory of the Swedish architect who saved thousands of Jews in World War Two and intended to be an annual event from now on.

 

 

Prince Daniel at events to mark Raoul Wallenburg Day in Stockholm on August 27th - Raoul's sister, Nina Lagergren, is on the prince's left

 

Prince Carl Philip opened an exhibition at the Varmland Museum showing the enduring legacy of the Muslim world in Sweden.  The event is called 1001 Inventions and highlights the legacy of the Muslim word over a 1000 year period.

 

 



 Prince Carl Philip on his tour of the exhibition - Discover the Muslim Heritage in Our World - which will tour Sweden



The flat pack prince

If you marry a princess then there's one thing you probably won't have to do unless you really want to and that's put together flat pack furniture.  While other husbands will probably spend at least one Bank Holiday trying to figure out which piece of identical looking wood is part A and which is part K and what happens if you slot them together without checking and find the thing is back to front, royal husbands have palaces full of all kinds of wardrobes ready made for them.  Dowels, Allan keys and annoying pots of glue that stick to everything except the thing they're meant to stick to are not a part of your life.  So Prince Daniel of Sweden must have been a bit perplexed when he found his royal diary for August 26th included a trip to IKEA.

 

Prince Daniel found himself in IKEA at the start of the week

 

But when your wife is heir to the throne of Sweden and IKEA just happens to be one of her future realm's most successful businesses, the chances of being asked to bring back something that's fairly cheap and will hold most of Estelle's toys are small.  The prince was finding out about the company's success and how its model can inspire entrepreneurs of the future.  While most of us get to wander through the showroom and then into the warehouse to find the flatpack we need, Daniel was treated to a creative session with the firm's bosses and a chat about environmental sustainability.

 

Like all men, Prince Daniel can't resist buying yet another torch to add to the pile that will 'come in handy one day if we have a powercut'

 

The prince also met the founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad, at his home to find out how he got started and what tips he had for budding business brains in Sweden.  Unsurprisingly for a man who started up his own business before marrying into royalty, Prince Daniel has a great passion for entrepreneurship and many of his activities are linked to increasing business and commerce opportunities.

 

 

Prince Daniel with the founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad. 



Royals at 40

Forty is the magic number for Europe's royals this year.  Two princes, one princess and one queen have all turned the big four oh this year and one king is marking his fortieth anniversary on the throne.  Middle age is spreading through the royal courts across the continent.

Let's start with Sweden.  September 15th 1973 turned out to be a very important day for the Swedish monarchy.  On that day, Gustaf VI Adolf died bringing to an end a 23 year reign and his crown passed to his grandson, Carl XVI Gustaf.  On that same day, a little boy was born in the middle of the kingdom.  Daniel Westling went on to marry Carl XVI Gustaf's daughter and heiress, Victoria, and father the future queen regnant of the country. 

 

 

The King of Sweden and the boy born to be consort - Prince Daniel arrived on the day his future father in law acceded to the throne

 

Carl XVI Gustaf's queen will have to wait for her own 40th anniversary - the couple married in 1976.  Her 40th anniversary will fall on June 19th 2016 which will also be Daniel's 6th wedding anniversary as he and Victoria married on the same date as the king and queen.

 

 

An official portrait of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden

(photo copyright kungahuset.se)

 

This year is also a biggie for the new forty somethings in Sweden's neighbor, Norway.  Crown Prince Haakon Magnus and his wife, Mette-Marit, both mark this big birthday in the summer.  Haakon is now 40 having celebrated in style on July 20th with a massive party that started with the heir to the throne parachuting into the festivities.  Mette-Marit is a year younger on paper for just a few more weeks until her celebrations on August 19th.  Whether she tries a spot of sky diving to match hubby remains to be seen.

 

 

 

 Back on terra firma - Haakon Magnus an Mette-Marit of Norway in a photo taken to mark their 40th birthday celebrations this summer

(photo Norwegian royal household)

 

 

Whether Mathilde of Belgium knew she would become queen when this year got underway, she was pretty certain that 2013 would be a biggie for her as she marked her own 40th birthday in January.  Her own celebrations were slightly more low key with six official photographs and a stamp marking the occasion.  But then an accession and a major 40th party might be a bit too much for any queen in one year.

 



 

Mathilde and her children in a photo taken to mark her 40th birthday on January 20th 2013 - six months later she would become Queen of the Belgians

 

After that we've got a wait for another 40th - and then it will be back to Sweden where Crown Princess Victoria is due to mark her big birthday in 2017.