SHARE
COPY LINK

PRINCE

Sweden cheers birth of baby Prince Alexander

The newest member of Sweden's royal family will be called Alexander Erik Hubertus Bertil, his grandfather King Carl XVI Gustaf announced at a press conference on Thursday.

Sweden cheers birth of baby Prince Alexander
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Crown Princess Victoria revealing the name. Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT

The baby prince, who was born on Tuesday evening, will become Duke of Södermanland, the region south of Stockholm.

“It is great that the stork has been active for the Bernadotte family this spring,” the King told Swedish journalists gathered at the Royal Palace, referring to the birth of Prince Oscar just seven weeks ago.

Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, who attended the press conference, revealed he had met the little prince earlier that day and said he had held him for 15 minutes, describing the experience as “wonderful”.

“He was asleep, but had apparently kept his parents up during the night,” said Löfven.


Princess Sofia, Prince Carl Philip and Prince Alexander. Photo: Kungahuset/Royal Court

On Wednesday the first picture of Prince Alexander, as he will be referred to, and his parents Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia leaving Danderyd Hospital was released. The happy family is currently staying at Drottningholm castle west of Stockholm.

His grandmother Queen Silvia was in New York during the birth, but the King paid a visit to the hospital on Wednesday morning to say hello to the new prince.

“What's important is that Princess Sofia and Prince Carl Philip are well. This little child too. Looked very nice and cute,” the King was quoted by the Expressen tabloid as saying while leaving the hospital.

“For my wife and me, this is a great day full of emotion,” Carl Philip told a press conference following the birth of the couple's first child late on Tuesday.

The baby weighed in at 3.6 kilograms (8 pounds) and measured 49 centimetres (19.3 inches), the prince added.

Carl Philip, 36, is the second child and only son of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden. His elder sister Princess Victoria is first in line to the throne.

He married Sofia Hellqvist, 31, a former contestant on TV reality show 'Paradise Hotel', in a ceremony in June last year.

There had been rumours ahead of Thursday's press conference that their son would be named Duke of Dalarna, the region where Sofia grew up.

Alexander already has plenty of royal cousins to play with. Prince Oscar, the second child of Princess Victoria, was born just seven weeks ago. He is the younger brother of four-year-old Princess Estelle. London-based Princess Madeleine also has two children, Princess Leonore and Prince Nicolas. 

A total of 77,817 men and 29 women are called Alexander in Sweden.

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.”

SHOW COMMENTS