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ROYAL FAMILY

Kidney transplant for Princess’s fiancé

Daniel Westling, fiancé of Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria, has undergone a kidney transplant, the Royal Palace in Stockholm has said. The donor was his father, Olle Westling.

Published: 27 May 2009 22:09 CEST
Kidney transplant for Princess's fiancé

The operation took place on Wednesday at Karolinska Hospital in Solna, Stockholm.

“Daniel Westling has today undergone a kidney transplant at Karolinska Hospital and he is doing very well,” Nina Eldh, spokeswoman for the Royal Court, told news agency TT. Olle Westling was also feeling well following the removal of his kidney, Eldh said.

The operation had not been announced in advance, nor was it previously publicly known that Westling had a kidney condition.

The transplant was due to a congenital disorder which led to impaired kidney function, according to the palace. The condition is understood not to be hereditary.

Crown Princess Victoria is currently on an official visit to Greenland with heirs to the other Scandinavian thrones. She is due to return on June 1st. Eldh said that the couple had talked over the operation long in advance.

“It was agreed that the Crown Princess would travel to Greenland,” Eldh commented.

Westling and the princess, who announced their engagement in February, are due to marry on June 19th next year. Upon marriage, Westling will become known as Prince Daniel, Duke of Västra Götaland.

Hospital spokesman Klas Östman said he would not comment on an individual patient, directing all questions to the palace.

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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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