Crown Princess Victoria has “en bulle i ugnen”—a royal bun in the oven!! Woohooo!!! I’m so excited. Victoria, Daniel, if you’re reading this, CONGRATULATIONS! (Omg, I would die if they read this.) If you’re trying to find out more about the royal-highness-to-be, but you don’t speak Swedish, you’re probably getting the following news brief from the Royal Family and not much more.
The Crown Princess Couple is expecting a child
Their Royal Highnesses The Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel are happy to announce that The Crown Princess is expecting their first child.
The birth is expected to take place in March of 2012. No changes in the schedule of The Crown Princess’s public engagements are planned during the fall of 2011.
All due respect to the Royal Family’s press office and all, but that is not enough information. And you know I can’t get enough of the Swedish monarchy.
So here’s all the royal dirt that there is to be found, collected and translated by yours truly from all the Swedish media sources I know (Aftonbladet, Svenska Dagbladet, Sydsvenskan, blogs…).
A CHILD BORN OUT OF LOVE, BUT NOT A LOVE CHILD
Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel were married last year on June 19, 2010, which was also the 34th anniversary of the King and Queen’s wedding. The couple was given Haga Slott (Haga Palace) as a wedding gift, and they moved in shortly after the wedding. A commoner, Daniel was given the title “His Royal Highness Prince Daniel of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland” and his own coat of arms. (Sweet.)
According to Herman Lindqvist, a journalist and popular historian, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia were the first Swedish monarchs to marry out of love. Victoria and Daniel continued in this tradition.
Prince Daniel's coat of arms and royal monogram.
HEIR TO THE THRONE?
According to Roger Lundgren, Royal Expert, the new baby will almost definitely be a future King or Queen of Sweden. The Swedish Act of Succession was revised in 1980 to allow the first child to become the country’s monarch regardless of sex, so the baby can become King or Queen regardless of whether it is a His or Her Royal Highness.
Sidenote: Apparently “Royal Expert” is a real title because it showed up in multiple newspapers for more than one expert. I don’t know how you obtain the necessary qualifications for such a position, but if reading gossip magazines is a requirement, I’m totally on my way.
WHERE THE BABY WILL BE BORN
There’s some speculation about where the baby will be born, with some claiming that he or she will be born in a hospital and others saying that the birth will take place at the royal couple’s official residence at Haga Slott in Solna, Stockholm. Crown Princess Victoria was born at the Karolinska Hospital, but all of her siblings were born at the Kungliga Slott (Royal Palace) in Gamla Stan, Stockholm.
Victoria’s father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, grew up at Haga Slott with his four sisters: Margaretha, Birgitta, Désirée, and Christina. The four princesses were known fondly as the “Hagasessorna”—a shortening of “Haga prinsessorna,” or “the Haga princesses,” a nickname that Victoria and Daniel’s baby could inherit.
BABY, SERVED ON A SILVER PLATTER?
When Gustaf V (King 1907-1950, great-grandfather to the current King, Carl XVI Gustaf) was born, the whole royal family was present, along with several governmental officials and foreign ambassadors. They all sat in an adjacent room where they could hear the mother’s labor pains. When Gustaf V was finally born, they brought him out on a silver tray so that he could be recognized and acknowledged as the next heir to the throne.
I tried to find the silver tray online, but no luck. Not the sort of thing you’d think was thrown away or reused as a sandwich tray, though… or at least I hope not. Ahh, yes, finally the tea sandwiches are ready. You know, this is the tray that little Gusse was displayed on when he was newly born! Afterbirth and all! Well, who’s for a little triangle of cucumber and cheese?
WHAT WILL THE NAME BE?
All bets are on a traditional name, which is fairly limiting when it comes to the men. Betting sites have placed the highest odds on “Carl” and “Gustaf” if it’s a boy, given historical tradition, but “Erik” and “Carl-Johan” are also in the running. If it’s a girl, odds so far are on Désirée, followed by Christina, Margaretha, and Maj. Royal Expert Sten Hedman also said that the name will probably be traditional, but suggested “Louise” and “Sibylla” as possibilities.
In any case, the royal baby will probably have 4-5 first names, so any combination of the above is a possibility. The list of reader-suggested names in Sydsvenskan, a Skåne-based newspaper, was heavily dominated by “Zlatan” combinations. That name did not show up in the betting odds, or at least not at the moment.
THE MEDIA SPECTACLE
Of course, everyone’s excited about the new baby. Top marks for enthusiasm have to be awarded to the German journalists who tried to disguise themselves as doctors and sneak into the hospital for an up close and personal look at Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel. They were unsuccessful. For my part, I’m looking forward to non-stop media coverage of the royal baby bump from now until March. Maybe the baby and I will even share a birthday! (Mine’s the 21st… fingers crossed!) Photos photos photos!!
PHOTOS!
Sadly, all the best photos are copyright protected, and for some reason, Victoria and I are not Facebook friends. (Very disappointing.) For some exciting photos/photo galleries, click the links below!
Svenska Dagbladet’s photo gallery of Victoria and Daniel’s first year of marriage
Hello! Magazine photo gallery of Crown Princess Victoria’s and Prince Daniel’s relationship
The first official picture of Crown Princess Victoria, taken on Öland in August 1977
A little Daniel at his baptism at Almby Church in 1973
A proud King and Queen show off baby Victoria
