February 24th, 2012
Mandy
The newborn daughter of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel has been named: Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary.
‘Estelle’ is a French name and is not usually heard in Sweden. The Bernadottes do, however, have the name within their family. The first Estelle was the American wife of Count Folke Bernadotte, a Swedish diplomat whose father, Prince Oscar Bernadotte, had renounced his right to the throne.
‘Silvia’ is a touching tribute to Victoria’s mother, and ‘Ewa’ is in honor of Daniel’s mother. ‘Mary’ may be in honor of Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary, who could potentially be a godmother, but no explanation was provided for the choice.
The baby’s name was formally announced today by her grandfather, King Carl XVI Gustaf. She will be known as Stella within the family, and her title is HRH Duchess of Östergötland.
February 24th, 2012
Mandy
As promised, the doctors treating Dutch Prince Friso have announced their prognosis today. Friso suffered massive brain damage after being buried by an avalanche for approximately 20 minutes and may never regain consciousness.
The doctors indicated that after being buried in the snow, the prince’s brain was oxygen-starved, which “resulted in a heart attack“.
The prince will be moved to a private clinic for further treatment but it may take months, even years before he awakens. It is likely that Friso may never awaken, a bleak outlook for his wife and the entire Dutch royal family.
Prince Johan Friso, 43, is the second son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and her late husband, Prince Claus (von Amsberg).
My sympathies to HM Queen Beatrix, his wife, Princess Mabel, and their two children.
February 23rd, 2012
Mandy
Image via Wikipedia
HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden has given birth to the new heir to the Swedish throne – a baby girl! Her husband, HRH Prince Daniel, spoke to the press about his new daughter.
“My feelings are a little bit all over the place,” said the Prince as he announced the birth of their first child.
The baby weighed 3.28 kg (7lb) and was 51cm (20in), he said.
From the Swedish Royal Court:
Announcement from the Marshal of the Realm
2-23-2012
The Office of the Marshal of the Realm is delighted to announce that H.R.H Crown Princess Victoria gave birth to a daughter on Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 04.26 am.
Both mother and child are in good health.
Svante Lindqvist
Marshal of the Realm
February 22nd, 2012
Mandy
February 22nd, 2012
Mandy
Image via Wikipedia
HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall will be begin their tour of Scandinavian countries in late March, and their first stop will be Norway. The tour marks the start of Their Royal Highnesses’ official overseas celebrations of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
King Harald and Queen Sonja will host the couple during their stay in Norway. Charles and Camilla will perform official duties which include visiting Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, attending a banquet at the Royal Palace in Oslo, and visiting the Nobel Peace Center to meet the survivors from the 2011 Utøya island massacre.
This tour will also be a time to visit with family – Charles’ great-grandfather was the brother of Harald’s grandmother (King George V was the brother of Princess Maud of Wales, who later became Queen of Norway).
After Norway, the British royals will visit Sweden. It is highly likely that the couple will get a chance to meet the new heir to the Swedish throne – Crown Princess Victoria is due to give birth in the early days of March. Though the prince has met King Carl XVI Gustaf, this will be Charles’ first official visit to Sweden.
The Windsors are also connected to the Bernadottes of Sweden through Gustaf VI Adolf, who was married first to Princess Margaret of Connaught (a granddaughter of Queen Victoria) and then to Princess Louise of Battenberg (the sister of Lord Louis Mountbatten).
The next stop will be Denmark to pay a visit to Queen Margrethe II, another family member. Like Elizabeth II, Queen Margrethe is celebrating a Jubilee this year – 2012 marks her 40th year on the Danish throne. She is related to the British royal family through her grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught. Charles was previously in Denmark in 2009, and his son William, along with wife Catherine, visited Copenhagen and met with Crown Prince Frederik to view UNICEF relief operations in November 2011.
The tour will take place from March 20th to 27th.
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February 21st, 2012
Mandy
Mabel and Friso © Getty Images
Royal watchers are still awaiting news on
Prince Johan Friso, son of the Dutch monarch, Queen Beatrix.
Friso is currently in a medically-induced coma after being buried in an avalanche while skiing at the Austrian resort of Lech. According to reports, the prince went off-piste into unmarked territory despite the possibility of an avalanche. When it hit, Friso was buried in the tide of snow for approximately 20 minutes.
His companion, Florian Moosbrugger, survived most of the avalanche’s impact due to his airbag safety device. Moosbrugger was able to call for help, and thanks to a beeper among the prince’s ski gear, the rescue team was able to locate the prince fairly quickly and he was airlifted to the nearest hospital.
Prince Friso remains in critical condition. A neurosurgeon who spoke to the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad said that the prince has no external injuries, but suffered “respiratory distress”. The severity of this damage is unknown at this time.
