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SWEDISH ROYAL ENGAGEMENT

ROYAL FAMILY

A look at Swedish royal fiancé Chris O’Neill

With Sweden’s Princess Madeleine announcing her engagement to her US boyfriend Chris O’Neill on Thursday, The Local finds out more about her financier fiancé.

A look at Swedish royal fiancé Chris O'Neill

Christopher O’Neill met his princess in the bustling Big Apple in 2010 and first came to the attention of Swedish press when a tourist snapped a photo of the couple at a Central Park restaurant in January 2011.

In New York, O’Neill is a Partner and the Head of Research at Noster Capital – an investment firm with offices in London and New York City.

A citizen of both the US and the UK, he was born in London on June, 27th, 1974, to Eva Maria and Paul O’Neill and has five half-sisters: Tatjana, Natascha, Stephanie, Annalisa and Karen.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THE NEWLY ENGAGED COUPLE

A fan of skiing, tennis and golf, as well as music, literature and the Chelsea Football Club, O’Neill is now working on learning Swedish and becoming a part of the royal family in Stockholm.

“I have come to know the Swedish royal family well. I have been very well received and felt welcome from the very first moment. They are all friendly and we have a truly pleasant time when we’re all together,” he said in an interview published on the Royal Court website.

Meanwhile, Princess Madeleine has only positive things to say about his family too.

“I appreciate Chris’s family very much. They have always been kind to me and welcomed me with open arms. Chris has a wonderful family,” she said.

O’Neill’s father Paul moved to London from New York in the 1960s to help establish the European headquarters for New York investment bank Oppenheimer & Co. He died in 1994.

His Austrian-born mother Eva Maria is reportedly close with Britain’s Prince Charles.

According to the Royal Court, she is involved in numerous charitable organizations and has a particular interest in the cultural preservation of Salzburg, Austria.

Princess Madeleine’s husband-to-be grew up in Switzerland and attended the Institut auf dem Rosenbergboarding school in Saint Gallen before heading to Boston University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in international relations.

O’Neill’s studies continued at the Columbia Business School in New York, where he picked up a Master’s in Business Administration.

His ensuing career in finance has included stints at firms such as NM Rothschild & Sons and Steinberg Asset management.

For now, the couple are planning to continue living in New York due to their work, but are looking into the possibility of moving to Sweden in the future.

“Sweden is a fantastic country,” O’Neill told the Royal Court.

“It is so beautiful and the people are friendly. I’ve visited Stockholm and Öland the most, and I’m hoping for the possibility to visit Sweden a little more often now.”

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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.

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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