The two sons of Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, and the three children of Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill – the grandchildren of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia – will no longer perform top-level royal official duties, the King announced in a statement published by the Royal Court of Sweden on Monday.
They will continue to be part of the royal family, but not the Royal House.
“Prince Alexander, Prince Gabriel, Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas and Princess Adrienne will continue to be members of the Royal Family. However, they will no longer enjoy the style of Royal Highness and, in the future, will not be expected to perform duties incumbent on the Head of State,” reads the statement.
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The grandchildren, aged between one and five, will retain their titles of Dukes and Duchesses. Prince Alexander is Duke of Södermanland, Prince Gabriel the Duke of Dalarna, Princess Leonore Duchess of Gotland, Prince Nicolas Duke of Ångermanland, and Princess Adrienne Duchess of Blekinge. And they will also retain their titles of Prince and Princess, but these titles will become personal, meaning any future spouses or children would not have a right to them.
The decision does not include Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar – the children of Crown Princess Victoria, heir to the throne, and her husband Prince Daniel – who will both continue to be part of the Royal House.
Prince Carl Philip and his oldest son, Prince Alexander. Photo: Ulf Palm/TT
Carl Philip, 40, and Madeleine, 37, are the younger siblings of Victoria. Monday's decision means that their children will not be entitled to receiving the so-called appanage, a taxpayer-funded annual sum that goes to members of the Royal House as well as to, for example, the maintenance of Sweden's royal palaces.
Both siblings, as well as Carl Philip's wife Sofia, “will continue their work in the non-profit foundations and organizations which they have founded or in which they are involved. In addition, they will perform official duties to the extent decided by His Majesty”, said the Royal Court in the official statement.
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Madeleine's husband Chris O'Neill, a British-American financier, chose not to take a royal title when the couple married.
While many royal experts expressed surprise about the sudden announcement, Marshal of the Realm Fredrik Wersäll told a press conference that it came after several years of discussion about the growing family.
“We have a large royal family. If you include the next generation there are currently ten people in the line of succession,” public broadcaster SVT quoted him as saying.
The decision does not affect the line of succession, report Swedish media, but the five grandchildren will be seen more as private individuals, and will be free to choose which job they take or business they start in the future.
Wersäll said that Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine “see it as very positive that their children's role becomes very clear” with the change.
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