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ROYAL FAMILY

First snaps of Sweden’s baby prince revealed

Sweden's Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill have shared the first pictures of their new baby prince.

First snaps of Sweden's baby prince revealed
Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill's baby son. Photo: The Royal Court

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Sweden's Princess Madeleine gave birth to the baby boy on Monday afternoon, just two days after her brother Prince Carl Philip married Sofia Hellqvist in a busy week for the royal family.

“I am tired but very happy,” her British-born American businessman husband Chris O'Neill told reporters on Tuesday morning. The dad-of-two smiled and gave a thumbs-up as he left Danderyd Hospital north of Stockholm just before 8am.

READ MORE: Swedish military salutes new royal baby

A few hours later, O'Neill returned accompanied by the couple's eldest daughter, Princess Leonore, who was set to meet her new brother for the first time.

“Leonore thought he was a doll,” he said later, but added the siblings' first meeting had gone well.


Sweden's newest royal baby. Photo: The Royal Court

The parents are set to officially name their son, who is sixth in line to the Swedish throne, on Wednesday, before parliament takes its summer break.

Awaiting the formal announcement, The Local got people tweeting the #choosechuck and #backbjörn hashtags after suggesting the new baby could be named Chuck to honour O'Neill's American heritage or Björn after the member of Sweden's most famous pop group ever, Abba.

READ ALSO: Seven names fit for a Swedish prince

According to Sweden's Aftonbladet, Eugen is the most popular name being bet on at Swedish bookmakers, with Oscar, Wilhelm and Paul also popular.

But the tabloid suggests its readers would like to see the new prince called Zlatan (after Sweden's top goal scorer in history, Zlatan Ibrahimovic).

However Swedish historian and author Herman Lindqvist told the newspaper: “I think the chance is very small. I do not think Chris O'Neill knows who Zlatan is, he probably thinks it's a drink.”

The couple's first child, Princess Leonore, was born in New York in 2014.

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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