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ROYAL FAMILY

New Swedish royal in focus at birthday show

Jubilant crowds turned up to celebrate Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria as she turned 38 – but the birthday girl found herself battling for the spotlight with one of Sweden's newest royal stars.

Published: 15 July 2015 08:32 CEST
Updated: 15 July 2015 12:57 CEST
New Swedish royal in focus at birthday show
Sweden's Princess Sofia with her husband Prince Carl-Philip. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT

READ ALSO: Soggy crowds turn out for Princess Victoria's birthday

Tourists and residents alike spent the whole of Tuesday waiting at the Swedish royal family's island residence Solliden Castle on Öland to greet the birthday girl – but also hoping to catch a glimpse of Sweden's new princess, freshly returned from her honeymoon on Fiji.

The day included Sofia Hellqvist's first public royal appearance in her role as 'Princess Sofia'. She was granted the title by King Carl XVI Gustaf after her marriage to his son Prince Carl Philip last month.

BLOG: Joyful celebrations at Sweden's royal wedding

Sofia was not present at the afternoon's low-key celebrations, but royal fans at the annual birthday concert in Victoria's honour held later in the evening were delighted to see the new princess in the audience.

She was there along with the whole family – including the King himself, Queen Silvia, Victoria and her husband Prince Daniel, Carl-Philip, Princess Madeleine and her husband Chris O'Neill – to watch some of Sweden's most famous artists perform on stage at Borgholm on Öland.


Victoria with her husband Daniel and Sweden's King and Queen. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT

Earlier in the day, Victoria had greeted members of the public gathered outside Solliden. The rain had shown no sign of dampening the princess' good mood as the crowds sang the Swedish happy birthday song, accompanied by her husband Daniel, their daughter Princess Estelle (who turned three earlier this year) and the King and Queen.

IN PICTURES: Princess Estelle through the years

And what started out as a soggy day ended in sunshine well in time for the concert, which also saw Victoria's sister Madeleine and her British-American financier husband Chris O'Neill make an appearance. The couple, who have two children, are planning an imminent move to London.


Sofia, Madeleine and Chris sharing a joke. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT

Öland is one of the most popular locations in Sweden for summer vacations. Joined to the Swedish mainland from the city of Kalmar in the south of the country by a 6km bridge, it boasts long sandy beaches and is usually one of the sunniest spots in the country.

The Crown Princess has spent several wet birthdays there in recent years but always attracts a good turnout of onlookers, and 2015 was no exception.

WORKING IN SWEDEN

Swedish Royal Guards scrap ceremonial helmets over safety concerns

The King’s mounted Royal Guards will no longer be able to wear their iconic ceremonial helmets on parades, after the Swedish Work Environment Authority warned of serious safety concerns.

Published: 7 July 2023 13:53 CEST
Swedish Royal Guards scrap ceremonial helmets over safety concerns

“We take the safety of our employees extremely seriously and we are going to address this immediately,” colonel Stefan Nacksten, head of the Royal Guards, wrote in a statement. 

Employed by the Armed Forces, the Royal Guards are the King’s cavalry and infantry units and are a well-known sight at ceremonies in Sweden, including at the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace of Stockholm every day in summer – a popular spectacle for Stockholmers and tourists alike.

The helmets will no longer be used by Royal Guards on horseback from July 7th, as they do not conform to safety standards for riding helmets, although guards parading on foot will still be permitted to wear them.

They are part of the 1895 parade uniforms and were last modified in 2000. The Armed Forces will now create an entirely new helmet which looks the part, but is also safe for riding.

“We’re working on finding an alternative solution as quickly as possible which meets safety requirements and can also be used during parades,” Nacksten said.

“We’ve been working long-term with this issue but now that it has been assessed [by the Swedish Work Environment Authority] we need to take measures immediately,” he added.

“This is good, and now we’re working to make sure something good comes out of this and we can get a safe riding helmet for parades in place as soon as possible.”

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