Sweden: Princess Désirée's funeral service to take place on 19 February 2026

The Swedish Royal Court announced today that the funeral service for Princess Désirée, who died on 21 January 2026, will take place in the Royal Palace Church in Stockholm on Thursday 19 February 2026. After the funeral service the king will held a reception in Princess Sibylla's Apartment at the Royal Palace. The burial will take place at Koberg, but the time has not been disclosed. As mentioned earlier, Princess Désirée's husband Niclas Silfverschiold (1934-2017) is buried with other family members at Lagmansered Cemetery not far from Koberg Palace in Trollhättan municipality.

Sweden: Council of State to take place on Monday 10 February 2025

The Council of State, in which the name and ducal title of the nwborn daughter of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia will be announced, will take place on Monday 10 February 2025 at 11:15 a.m.

At 12:15 the same day there will be a Te Deum in the Royal Palace Church to mark the birth of the princess. At noon a salute of 21 shots will also be fired to mark the birth from the salute stations at Skeppsholmen in Stockholm, Boden, Härnösand, Karlskrona and Gothenburg. 

Sweden: Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia have become parents to their fourth child

The Swedish Royal Court announced today the birth of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia's fourth child, a girl:

7 February 2025

TRH Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia welcome their fourth child – a daughter

Today, Friday 7th February at 1.10 p.m., HRH Princess Sofia gave birth to a daughter at Danderyd Hospital in Stockholm.

The baby weighs 3645 grams and is 49 centimetres long.

Prince Carl Philip was present at Danderyd Hospital throughout the birth.

The pregnancy was announced in September 2024. The couple has three boys - Prince Alexander, b. 2016, Prince Gabriel, b. 2017 and Prince Julian, b. 2021. The new princes, who is no. 8 in the line of succession to the Swedish throne, is King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia's 9th grandchild.

The updated line of succesion:

1. HRH Crown Princess Victoria (b. 1977)
2. HRH Princess Estelle (b. 2012)
3. HRH Prince Oscar (b. 2016)
4. HRH Prince Carl Philip (b. 1979)
5. Prince Alexander (b. 2016)
6. Prince Gabriel (b. 2017)
7. Prince Julian (b. 2021)
8. Princess NN (b. 2025)
9. HRH Princess Madeleine (b. 1982)
10. Princess Leonore (b. 2014)
11. Prince Nicolas (b. 2015)
12. Princess Adrienne (b. 2018)

Due to the king's decision in 2019 to "downsize" the Swedish Royal Family, the princess is not a member of the Royal House, but "only" of the Royal Family. The name and ducal title will be announced by the King in a Council of State. The date of the council has not been announced yet.

 

It is difficult to guess what the name of the newborn princess could be. As always I hope for  a traditional royal name, or at least a traditional Swedish name, but I suppose we can expect something more modern.

The Swedish Tax Agency, which has taken over the name statistics from Statistics Sweden, has, by the way, just recently published the list of the most popular Swedish names given to girls and boys born in 2024. The top ten list of names for girls born in 2024 is as follows:

1. Alma
2. Alice
3. Olivia
4. Elsa
5. Vera
6. Saga
7. Selma
8. Astrid
9. Ella
10. Signe

It would be nice with a Princess Alice, a Princess Elsa or a Princess Astrid, don't you think?

Sweden: Princess Sofia is pregnant

The Swedish Royal Court announced today that Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia are expecting their fourth child and that the due date is some time in February 2025.

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia are expecting a child

Their Royal Highnesses Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia are delighted to announce that The Princess is expecting their fourth child.

Princess Sofia is feeling well, and the birth is expected to take place in February 2025. During the autumn, no changes in the public schedule of Princess Sofia are planned.

The princely couple has three boys – Prince Alexander, b. 2016, Prince Gabriel, b. 2017 and Prince Julian, b. 2021. The future prince or princess will become 8th in the line of succession to the Swedish throne, and will become the king and queen's 9th grandchild. He or she will become a member of the Swedish Royal Family only and not of the Royal House, following the changes made in October 2019.

Prince Gustaf (1827–1852) of Sweden and Norway remembered

Today it is 170 years since Prince Gustaf, second eldest son of King Oscar I (1799–1859) and Queen Josephine, née Duchess of Leuchtenberg (1807–1876), died of typhoid fever at Christiania Palace (The Royal Palace) in Christiania (today Oslo). If it had not been for his death, he would have succeeded his brother Carl XV (IV) in 1872 and the history of the Swedish and Norwegian monarchies would of course have been very different.

Prince Gustaf was known as a composer, having written several well-known songs (in this part of the world), including Studentsången (The Student Song) and Vårsång (Spring Song) and several marches among others.

The 170th anniversary of Prince Gustaf's death was marked today in the Palace Chapel in Oslo where there were lectures by Odd Inge Skjævesland, who has written the book Sangerprinsen. Bernadottenes svensk-norske sjarmøretappe (2018), and the architect professor dr.philos. Thomas Thiis-Evensen, who spoke about The Royal Palace as a symbol. Prince Gustaf is one of only two members of the Norwegian Royal House (House of Bernadotte and from 1905 House of Glücksburg) to have died in The Royal Palace. The other was of course King Haakon VII, who died there in 1957. The arrangement in The Palace Chapel started at 11 a.m., which was at the exact time Prince Gustaf died on 24 September 1852.

Kåre Nordstoga and Per Anders Håvelsrud played several pieces by Prince Gustaf on the organ - Mina lefnadstimmar stupa, Sorgmarch – mig sjelf tillegnad [Mourning March – dedicated to myself], Tidens flykt [Flight of time] and Aftonhymn [Evening Song] (the two first by Nordstoga, the other two by Håvelsrud), while an ensemble from the Gudlbergs Akademiske Kor (Guldberg's Academic Choir) sang Morgenhymn, Vårsång and Studentsången. The event was arranged in co-operation with the Church of Sweden.

The event was opened by Sandra Lorentzen, head of curatorial and public engagement at the Royal Collections. She took over the position in June 2022 after having spent 7 years as a curator at the art and industry museum Blaafarveværket. Lorentzen has a Master of Arts in arts history from the University of Oslo and a Bachelor of science in management science from Warwick Business School in Coventry, England. Before Blaafarveværket she has worked at institutions such as Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum in Tromsø and Stenersenmuseet (from 2021 a part of the new Munch Museum in Bjørvika) and The National Theatre in Oslo. I mention all this to stress that she is more than qualified for her position at The Royal Palace, but as I am a genealogist it is interesting to note that she is the daughter of the artists Ida Lorentzen and Ulf Nilsen. Ida is the youngest child of Øivind Lorentzen, jr. (1919–2020) and Evelyn Byrd LaPrade (1921–1972), and Øivind was of course an elder brother of Erling Lorentzen (1923–2021), who was married to Princess Ragnhild of Norway (1930–2012) from 1953 to her death in 2012).

All in all it was an interesting and enjoyable time in the Palace Chapel, and after having heard Skjævesland's lecture his book about Prince Gustaf is added to my reading list.

Sweden: Christening of Prince Julian, Duke of Halland

The christening of Prince Julian of Sweden, Duke of Halland, who was born on 26 March 2021 as the third son of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia of Sweden, took place at Drottningholm Palace Church today, 14 August 2021.

Sponsors were Johan Andersson, Stina Andersson, Jacob Högfeldt, Patrick Sommerlath and Frida Vesterberg, who, with the exception of Patrick Sommerlath, who is a first cousin of Prince Carl Philip on his mother's side, all are friends of Prince Julian's parents.

The ceremony was officiated by Bishop and Chief Court Chaplain Johan Dalman and Court Chaplain and Rector of the Royal Court Parish Michael Bjerkhagen.

The Swedish Royal Court has released the guest list, which includes King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Princess Estelle, Prince Oscar, Prince Carl Philip, Princess Sofia, Prince Alexander, Prince Gabriel, Princess Madeleine, Christopher O'Neill, Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas, Princess Adrienne, Patrick Sommerlath, Anaïs Sommerlath and Chloë Sommerlath (children of Patrick Sommerlath), Erik Hellqvist and Marie Hellqvist (parents of Princess Sofia), Lina Hellqvist and Mattias Wikström (sister of Princess Sofia and her partner), Sara Hellqvist (sister of Princess Sofia), Britt Rotman (grandmother of Princess Sofia), speaker of Riksdagen (the Swedish Parliament) Dr. Andreas Norlén and his wife Helena Norlén, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Morgan Johansson, members of the court and many friends of the family.

After the ceremony the guests attended a lunch at Drottningholm Palace.

Prince Julian's christening was not televised, a first for the grandchildren of King Carl Gustaf, but a summary will be broadcast on SVT on Sunday 15 August.

Sweden: Prince Julian Herbert Folke, Duke of Halland

The Marshal of the Realm announced earlier today that the King in the Council of State held at the Royal Palace in Stockholm had announced the name and ducal title of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia's third son, who was born on Friday 26 March:

Prince Julian Herbert Folke, Duke of Halland

The call name will be Julian. I was not too surprised that Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia didn't land on a more traditional royal name. When you get so far down in the line of succession you obviously have more freedom. Personally I think the name goes well Julian with Alexander and Gabriel. It is not among the most popular names in Sweden. Julian was no. 77 in the list of male names chosen for babies born in 2020, down from no. 74 in 2019. Folke was no. 83, while Herbert was not in the top 100 list at all.

All in all, as of 31 December 2020 there are 4444 men who have the name Julian in Sweden, while 3060 of them have Julian as their call name, i.e. the name in daily use. Julian is also a female name - in 2020 there were 22 of them, while 17 had Julian as their call name. And there are 6 people who has Julian as their surname. What about Herbert and Folke? The numbers are 5484 (623) named Herbert and 17388 (3809) named Folke with the call name in parentesis.

The genealogist and author Ted Rosvall has in a message in the Facebook group Royalty Digest Quarterly pointed out that Herbert is the second name of Princess Sofia's maternal grandfather Janne Herbert Ribbe Rotman (1934–1996), so that could be an explanation for the name. See my previous blog article on Princess Sofia's ancestry for more details. 

The third name Folke is easier to explain, as it is the third name of Prince Julian's grandfather King Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus. The king was named after the diplomat Folke Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (1895–1948).

Prince Carl Philip's great uncle Prince Bertil (1912–1997) was Duke of Halland, and as Prince Carl Philip and his family are now residing in Prince Bertil's old home at Djurgården in Stockholm, Halland is a good choice.

Prince Julian was the first member of the family to be born after the King in 2019 decided to «downsize» the Swedish Royal House, meaning that Prince Julian is not a member of the Swedish Royal House, only a member of the Royal Family. 

The now 2-days-old prince was born as no. 7 in the line of succession to the Swedish throne. The complete line is now as follows:

1. HRH Crown Princess Victoria (b. 1977)
2. HRH Princess Estelle (b. 2012)
3. HRH Prince Oscar (b. 2016)
4. HRH Prince Carl Philip (b. 1979)
5. Prince Alexander (b. 2016)
6. Prince Gabriel (b. 2017)
7. Prince Julian (b. 2021)
8. HRH Princess Madeleine (b. 1982)
9. Princess Leonore (b. 2014)
10. Prince Nicolas (b. 2015)
11. Princess Adrienne (b. 2018)

Pregnancy news in Sweden and the United Kingdom

The Swedish Royal Court announced on Friday 11 December 2020 that Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia are expecting their third child in late March or early April 2021:

Their Royal Highnesses Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia are delighted to announce that The Princess is expecting their third child.

"We are happy and excited, and are looking forward to welcoming our third child – a sibling for Prince Alexander and Prince Gabriel, and a new addition to our family," say Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia.

Princess Sofia is feeling well, and the birth is expected to take place at the end of March or the beginning of April 2021.

The future royal baby will be the 8th grandchild of King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden. He or she will at birth become no. 7 in the line of succession to the Swedish throne. Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia already have two boys – Prince Alexander, born in 2016, and Prince Gabriel, born in 2017.

In the extended British Royal Family there will also be an addition next year. Mike Tindall, husband of Zara Tindall, née Phillips, the daughter of Princess Anne (The Princess Royal) and Mark Phillips, has recently told that they are expecting their third child. The couple has two daughters – Mia, born in 2014, and Lena, born in 2018. The baby will become Princesse Anne's fifth grandchild and Queen Elizabeth's 9th great-grandchild. The baby will enter the world as no. 21 in the line of succession to the British throne.

Sweden: HRH Princess Adrienne Josephine Alice, Duchess of Blekinge

In the Council of State held at Stockholm Palace yesterday, 12 March 2018, King Carl Gustaf informed his government that his new granddaughter, who was born 3 days earlier, had received the name Adrienne Josephine Alice and the title Duchess of Blekinge. The name in daily use would be Adrienne.

As usual the choice of name immediately became a debate topic in newspapers, TV, blogs and other social media. It was not difficult to point at Queen Josephine, née Princess of Leuchtenberg (1807–1876) as the inspiration for the second name, and to Queen Silvia's mother Alice Sommerlath, née de Toledo (1906–1997) as the inspiration for the third name. Josephine is also the fourth name of Princess Madeleine, mother of the (now relatively) newborn princess, and also appear among the names of other members of the larger Bernadotte family. Princess Adrienne's aunt Crown Princess Victoria has Alice has her third name, as has Adrienne's great-aunt Princess Birgitta. Both Josephine and Alice are rather common names in royal European history.

But what about Adrienne? Of course it was once again a name no-one had guessed. It is has no roots in Swedish royal history and is French of origin, but considering the French roots of the Bernadotte family it is in my opinion a good choice, even if it is deemed «untraditional» in the European royal circle. So where have Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill taken inspiration from? In the Facebook group Royalty Digest Quarterly, its administrator – and editor of the magazine with the same name – Ted Rosvall mentioned yesterday that «The name ADRIENNE does appear in the Bernadotte family. The soon to be 102, Dagmar von Arbin, née Bernadotte af Wisborg, has two granddaughters by that name: JANA Adrienne De GEER [Gummeson] and ADRIENNE Ebba Sophie De GEER [Heurlin]. The former has a daughter named ADRIENNE Maria Madeleine Gummesson De GEER».

I followed up, after having read a Twitter message on the subject, by mentioning that one of Queen Josephine's ancestors (and of Princess Adrienne, of course) had the name Adrienne – Adrienne Dyel de Graville. There was some initial confusion about which Josephine I was actually referring to and the number of generations, and I have to take the main responsibility for that (such things happen when you write in haste during a short break), but eventually I think the connection was well settled:

Princess Adrienne (b. 2018) --> Princess Madeleine (b. 1982) --> King Carl XVI Gustaf (b. 1946) --> Prince Gustaf Adolf (1906–1947) --> King Gustaf VI Adolf (1882–1973) --> King Gustaf V (1858–1950) --> King Oscar II (1829–1907) --> Queen Josephine, née Princess of Leuchtenberg (1807–1876) --> Eugène de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (1781–1824) --> Josephine, Empress of the French 1804–1810, née Tascher de la Pagerie (1763–1814) --> Joseph Gaspard de Tascher de la Pagerie (1735–1790) --> Marie Françoise Boureau de la Chevallerie (1709–1787) --> Marie Thérèse de Jaham (b. ca. 1686) --> Adrienne Dyel de Graville (ca. 1658–1729).

And if that is not enough, Adrienne's parents were named Adrien Dyel de Graville and Adrienne Dyel de Vaudroque. However, we should take some reservations about the eldest generations, as the tweet mentioned above based its information on the ancestry table given in the Wikipedia article about Empress Josephine, and as of today it is completely without sources.

There are also other Internet pages which either gives details about Adrienne Dyel de Graville and or mentions the connection between her and the Bernadottes, such as Geneanet.org and Généalogie et Histoire de la Caraïbe, including «G.H.C. Numéro 54 : Novembre 1993 Page 890» and «Généalogie et Historie de la Caraïbe No 115 Mai 1999» (rtf file)). The website covering French-Caribian genealogy seems to be rather serious, but unless my somewhat limited understanding of the French language has failed me, I can't find any sources stated there either.

I should add that the genealogist and author Ted Rosvall in his book Bernadotteättlingar (2010) shows on p. 114 Queen Josephine's ancestry back to Marie Françoise Boureau de la Chevallerie (1709–1787), the granddaughter of Adrienne Dyel de Graville. Chantal Cosnay is responsible for the genealogy research in France.

So, if we for the sake of the argument accepts the connection mentioned above – Adrienne of the 17th century would then be Princess Adrienne's 11 x great-grandmother, if I have not messed up the counting completely – has Princess Madeleine consulted her ancestry table in order to find a suitable name? She has most likely knows her de Geer relatives and can have taken inspiration from them. It is difficult to say for sure before she or her husband should one day in the future decide to comment on the name choice.

Adrienne is, by the way, not a very common name in Sweden, but according to Statistics Sweden there are currently (as of 31 December 2017, that is) 305 women with the name Adrienne, of whom 141 have Adrienne as their call name.

Following the birth of Princess Adrienne, the line of succession to the throne of Sweden is as follows:

1. Crown Princess Victoria (1977)
2. Princess Estelle (2012)
3. Prince Oscar (2016)
4. Prince Carl Philip (1979)
5. Prince Alexander (2016) 
6. Prince Gabriel (2017)
7. Princess Madeleine (1982)
8. Princess Leonore (2014)
9. Prince Nicolas (2015)
10. Princess Adrienne (2018)

Royal birth in Sweden: Princess Madeleine's third child

Photo: © 2017 Christopher O'Neill.

The Swedish Royal Court (The Office of The Marshal of the Realm) announced yesterday morning 9 March 2018 that Princess Madeleine and her husband Chris O'Neill earlier that day had become parents for the third time.

Announcement from HE The Marshal of the Realm

The Office of The Marshal of the Realm is delighted to announce that HRH Princess Madeleine gave birth to a healthy child on Friday 9 March 2018 at 00:41 at Danderyd Hospital.

Both mother and child are in good health.

Svante Lindqvist
Marshal of the Realm

The announcement was later followed up by a press release in which the gender of the child was revealed:

HRH Princess Madeleine and Mr Christopher O’Neill have had a daughter

On Friday the 9th March at 00.41, Princess Madeleine gave birth to a daughter at Danderyd Hospital in Stockholm.

Weight: 3465 gram
Length: 50 cm

Mr O’Neill was present at Danderyd Hospital throughout the birth.

"We are thrilled about the new addition to our family. Leonore and Nicolas are looking very much forward to finally meeting their new little sister," says Mr O’Neill.

Salutes of 21 shots were fired at noon on the occasion of the birth . The parents returned home with their new daughter later the same day.

The newborn princess is the seventh grandchild of King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia. The baby has entered the line of succession to the Swedish throne as no. 10. The name and title will be announced in a Council of State to be held on Monday 12 March at 11:15. A Te Deum to mark the birth of the princess will take place the same day at 12:15.

It is more or less impossible to predict what name Princess Madeleine and her husband has decided on. Neither Leonore or Nicolas were traditional names in Swedish royal history. But maybe the couple will surprise us with Martha or Eugenie this time?

Arms of Prince Gabriel of Sweden

The National Archives of Sweden published today the arms of Prince Gabriel of Sweden, whose christening will take place on 1 December.

The arms were presented at the meeting of the Heraldic Committee of the National Archives on 24 October 2017. The four quarters of the arms show the lesser coat of arms of Sweden (field 1 and 4), the arms of Folkunga (field 2) and in field 3 the arms of Dalarna. As previously mentioned, Prince Gabriel was also given the title of Duke of Dalarna at the Council of State held at Stockholm Palace on 4 September 2017. The inescutcheon shows the arms of the House of Bernadotte.The arms are then crowned by the Swedish prince crown. Prince Gabriel will receive the Order of the Seraphim in connection with the christening, which explains why the arms are encircled (in lack of the correct heraldic term) by the collar and badge of the said order. The arms are drawn by the heraldic artist Henrik Dahlström, the Swedish National Archives.

The arms of Dalarna, taken from the website of the National Archives:

Blazon: "Azure, two Dalecarlian Arrows Or in saltire point upwards pointed Argent and in chief a Crown of the first". Source: Wikipedia.

The monogram consists of the initial G and a prince crown above and is drawn by the heraldic artist Vladimir A Sagerlund.

Sweden: Prince Gabriel's christening date set

The Swedish Royal Court announced today that the christening of Prince Gabriel, second son of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, will take place in the Royal Chapel at Drottningholm Palace on Friday 1 December 2017.

Prince Gabriel was born on 31 August 2017 at Danderyd Hospital. His name and title was announced on 4 September 2017. Prince Alexander, Prince Gabriel's elder brother, b. 19 April 2016, was also christened in the Drottningholm Palace Chapel (9 September 2016).

Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neills children, Princess Leonore, b. 20 February 2014, and Prince Nicolas, b. 15 June 2015, were christened at Drottningholm on 8 June 2014 and 11 October 2015 respectively.

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel's children, Princess Estelle, b. 23 February 2012, and Prince Oscar, b. 2 March 2016, were on the other hand christened in the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. Princess Estelle's christening took place on 22 May 2012, while Prince Oscar's christening took place on 27 May 2016.

Sweden: HRH Prince Gabriel Carl Walther, Duke of Dalarna

In the Council of State held at Stockholm Palace today it was announced (*) that Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia's son, who was born on Thursday 31 July 2017, had received the name Gabriel Carl Walther. It was also announced his first given name Gabriel was to be his call name. He had also received the title Duke of Dalarna.

When I commented on the name possibilities on Thursday, I said that everything was possible. That was why I argued, with my tongue in cheek, that Alfred was a good alternative for the newborn prince. It would go well together with his brother Alexander's name  as well. I was certain, however, that Folke would be one of the names, as the three earlier princes of the present generation – Nicolas (Paul Gustaf), Oscar (Carl Olof) and Alexander (Erik Hubertus Bertil) – all had got one of their names from their grandfather King Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus. But I was wrong on that as well.

In the end no-one had guessed Gabriel for the baby prince's call name. No members of the Bernadotte family have the name Gabriel. But in the European Royal Family we have Prince Gabriel of Belgium – second child of King Philippe – and Prince Gabriel of Nassau, eldest son of Prince Louis. So in other words not a tradtional Swedish royal name, but something the parents opted out of personal preference. They might have felt that as Prince Gabriel was far down in the line of succession, they were less bound by tradition. Then again, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel were not so committed to royal traditions when they named their first child Estelle... Prime minister Stefan Löfven said that the prince «without any doubt was a little Gabriel», whatever he meant by that.

Gabriel is a common name in Sweden, but not among the most popular names. According to Statistiscs Sweden, 341 boys received the name Gabriel last year, which resulted in a 42nd place. All in all 17 709 men in Sweden have the name Gabriel, while 10 297 men has Gabriel as their call name.

It should be added that there have been a few surprises earlier as well. Just think about Prince Sigvard and Prince Lennart. The name Gabriel, even though it is not a traditional Swedish royal name, will work well, and it goes well together with Alexander too, I think.

The second name Carl is of course a very popular royal name in Swedish history. It is part of the current king's name, and is also the second name of Prince Gabriel's first cousin Prince Oscar. The third name Walther obviously comes from Queen Silvia's father Walther Sommerlath (1901–1990). One of her brothers also has the name Walther.

Many had guessed that Prince Gabriel would receive the ducal title of Dalarna, because his mother Princess Sofia grew up there. Then again, so did many before Prince Alexander's title was announced. As Trond Norén Isaksen pointed out in his blog article today, it was actually «the first time that such personal connections are taken into consideration for the choice of dukedom». Isaksen wrote, by the way, an excellent article on Swedish Royal Dukedoms in Royalty Digest Quarterly no. 2, 2016.

Prince Gabriel is the third member of the Bernadotte dynasty to receive the title Duke of Dalarna. Previous dukes of Dalarna were Prince August (1831–1873) and Prince Carl Johan (1916–2012) until he lost his titles in 1946.

Following the birth of Prince Gabriel, the line of succession to the Swedish throne is as follows:

1. Crown Princess Victoria (1977)
2. Princess Estelle (2012)
3. Prince Oscar (2016)
4. Prince Carl Philip (1979)
5. Prince Alexander (2016) 
6. Prince Gabriel (2017)
7. Princess Madeleine (1982)
8. Princess Leonore (2014)
9. Prince Nicolas (2015)

(*) English version of the announcement.

Updated on Tuesday 5 September 2017 at 09.30 (subject title standardization).

Royal birth in Sweden: A son for Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia

The second child of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia was expected to take place in September, but arrived already today. The Marshal of the Realm released the following press statement earlier today:

Announcement from the HE The Marshal of the Realm

The Office of The Marshal of the Realm is delighted to announce that HRH Princess Sofia gave birth to a healthy child Thursday the 31 August 2017 at 11.24am at Danderyd Hospital.

Both mother and child are in good health.

Svante Lindqvist
Marshal of the Realm

Just like when the newborn baby's brother Prince Alexander was born, the sex of the child was not revealed until Prince Carl Philip held a press conference. That event took place at Danderyd Hospital around 3 p.m., and the court released another press statement:

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia have had a son

On Thursday 31 August at 11.24 am, Princess Sofia gave birth to a son at Danderyd Hospital in Stockholm.

Weight: 3.400 gram
Length: 49 cm

Both mother and child are in good health.

Prince Carl Philip was present at Danderyd Hospital throughout the birth. In the afternoon, Prince Carl Philip met the media at Danderyd Hospital.

Just like when Prince Alexander and Prince Nicolas (the second child of Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill) were born, midwife Anna Ståhl and birth doctor Sophia Brismar Wendel assisted the birth.

The newborn prince is no. 6 in the line of succession to the Swedish throne, after his brother Prince Alexander, but before his aunt Princess Madeleine. The prince is King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia's fourth grandson and sixth grandchild.

The happy event was marked by a salute – 21 shots – from the salute stations in Boden, Härnösand, Karlskrona and Gothenburg at 6 p.m.

The court has also informed that a Council of State, in which the name and ducal title will be announced, and a service of thanksgiving («Te Deum»), will take place on Monday 4 September 2017 at the Royal Palace.

The name guessing has of course already started. It has been rather difficult to predict the names of the royal babies in Sweden. Prince Oscar, the son of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, was perhaps the exception. So it is not easy to say what to expect. Everything is possible! I have said many times before that my personal preference would be a traditional Swedish royal name – and now I am first of all thinking about the name to be used daily – or at least a traditional European royal name. Alternatively a name with Swedish/Norse roots. So I was actually quite pleased with choice of the name Alexander for Prince Carl Philip's eldest son. I have read that many have mentioned William – or Wilhelm – as a possibility. I agree that the name would go well together with Alexander. In the Facebook group Royalty Digest Quarterly I suggested – just for fun, mind you – the name Alfred and the ducal title Dalarna. At least Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, was a distant relative of the newborn baby. And I think Alfred would go well with Alexander. I am confident, however, that I will be wrong on at least one of the guesses, probably on both accounts.

What about the other names? An interesting point, as made by Robert Warholm at the Facebook group Kungligt forum back in 2016, is that the three earlier princes Nicolas (Paul Gustaf), Oscar (Carl Olof) and Alexander (Erik Hubertus Bertil) all have got one of their names from their grandfather King Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus. So I think that we can expect Folke as one of the given names. Princess Sofia's grandfathers were named Stig and Janne Herbert, just to mention it. So, how about Alfred Wilhelm Herbert Folke?!

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia could be influenced by the current trends. According to Statistics Sweden, these were the most popular names for the boys born in 2016:

1. Oskar 879
2. Lucas 864
3. William 850
4. Liam 790
5. Oliver 700
6. Hugo 688
7. Alexander 668
8. Elias 664 
9. Charlie 650 
10. Noah 627

Sweden: Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill to become parents for the third time

The Swedish Royal Court announced today that Princess Madeleine and her husband Christopher O'Neill are expecting their third child in March 2018:

HRH Princess Madeleine and Mr Christopher O'Neill are expecting a child

HRH Princess Madeleine and Mr. Christopher O'Neill are delighted to announce that The Princess is expecting their third child.

The Princess is feeling well and the birth is expected to take place in March 2018.

The couple's first child, Princess Leonore, was born in New York City on 20 February 2014. The second child, Prince Nicolas, was born on 15 June 2015.

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia are expected to become parents again for the second time in September, which means that the March child will become King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia's seventh grandchild.

In other words, the Swedish royal house is blessed with many princes and princesses. The king has decided that all his grandchildren will receive the title of Prince or Princess as well as a ducal title. In the next generation I expect that the royal titles will be reserved for the grandchildren of Crown Princess Victoria.

Sweden: Date of funeral service for Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld announced

Erska Church, Sollebrunn. Photo: Artifex, Wikimedia Commons.

According to the death announcement published in among others Svenska Dagbladet on 22 April 2017, the funeral service for Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld, who died on 11 April 2017, will take place at Erska Church in Sollebrunn on Thursday 11 May 2017 at 2 p.m. There will be a reception at Koberg Palace after the funeral service.

The announcement was signed by Silfverschiöld's wife Princess Désirée, their children Carl, Christina Louise (Hans) and Hélène, grandchildren Anna Margreta, Estelle, Ian and Fred as well as «släkt och vänner» («family and friends»).

It is expected that Niclas Silfverschiöld will be laid to rest at the Royal Burial Ground at Haga outside Stockholm.

Postscript: Niclas Silfverschiöld was interred at Lagmansered Cemetery in Trollhättan municipality, not at the Royal Burial Ground.

Updated on Wednesday 21 January 2026 at 20:36 (postscript added).

Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld (1934–2017)

Baron (Friherre) Niclas Silfverschiöld, husband of the Swedish Princess Désirée, died today, 82 years old, the Swedish Royal Court has announced.

Friherre Niclas Silfverschiöld har avlidit

Tisdagen den 11 april 2017 avled friherre Niclas Silfverschiöld, make till H.M. Konungens syster Prinsessan Désirée, friherrinna Silfverschiöld.

Med anledning av friherre Niclas Silfverschiölds bortgång gör Kungen följande uttalande:

– Jag och min familj har med stor sorg tagit emot beskedet att friherre Niclas Silfverschiöld, Prinsessan Désirées make, har gått ur tiden. Våra tankar går till Prinsessan Désirée med familj.

Friherre Niclas Silfverschiöld blev 82 år.

In translation:

Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld has died

Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld, husband of HM The King's sister Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld, has died.

In connection with the death of Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld's death the King has made the following statement:

– My family and I have with great sorrow received the news that Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld, Princess Désirée's husband, has passed away. Our thoughts are with Princess Désirée and her family.

Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld was 82 years old.

Baron Niclas Silfverschïold, whose full name was Nils August Otto Carl Niklas* Silfverschïold, was born at Gåsevadholm on 31 May 1934 as the son of Baron Carl-Otto Silfverschiöld (1899–1955) and Baroness Madelaine Silfverschiöld, née Bennich (1906–1995). He married Princess Désiree, third daughter of Prince Gustaf Adolf  of Sweden (1906–1947) and Princess Sibylla of Sweden, née Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1908–1972), in Storkyrkan (The Great Church/Church of St. Nicholas) in Stockholm on 5 June 1964. The couple had 3 children (Carl, Christina and Hélène) and four grandchildren.

Niclas and Désirée lived at Koberg Castle at Sollebrunn in the municipality of Trollhättan. Both Koberg Castle and the other Silfverschiöld family-owned castle, Gåsevadholm, are entailed property (fideikommis), the latter have been in the family since 1818.

At the time of death, Baron Niclas was listed as either chairman or member of the board of three limited companies – Koberg Förvaltning AB, Gåsevadholms Fideikommiss AB and Borgudden Vind AB.

According to Ratsit.se, both Koberg Förvaltning AB («Koberg Management Ltd.») and Gåsevadholms Fideikommiss AB are registered as businesses in agriculture and forest management as well as capital and property management. Borgudden Vind AB, which is a daughter company of Gåsevadholms Fideikommis AB, is an energy production company (wind turbine company).

*While the Swedish Royal Court and most genealogies spell his name Niclas with a c, he is in the Public Register listed with the spelling Niklas with a k, cf. Ratsit.se.

Updated on Wednesday 12 April 2017 at 00.05 (link added, ownership to Gåsevadholm amplified).

Sweden: Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia to become parents again

«Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth ...» (Genesis 1,28).

The Royal House of Sweden continues to expand. The Royal Court released today the following press statement:

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia are delighted to announce that The Princess is expecting their second child.

The birth is expected to take place in September 2017.

«We are happy to announce that we are expecting a child, a sibling to Prince Alexander. We are looking forward to welcoming a new little member to our family,» says Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia.

No changes in the schedule of The Prince Couple's public engagements are planned during the spring and summer of 2017.

The news mean of course that Prince Carl Philip's parents King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia are to become grandparents for the sixth time.

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia became parents for the first time on 19 April 2016. The name and ducal title were announced two days later: HRH Prince Alexander Erik Hubertus Bertil of Sweden, Duke of Södermanland.

The future Prince or Princess of Sweden will at birth enter the line of succession to the Swedish throne as no. 6.

Funeral service for Gunnila Bernadotte, Countess of Wisborg

The funeral service for Gunnila Bernadotte, Countess of Wisborg, who died on 12 September 2016, 93 years old, took place at the Palace Church in Stockholm today. As previously told it was a private ceremony for the closest family members and friends and thus with no media coverage inside the church.

Gunnila Bernadotte was the second wife of Carl Johan, Count of Wisborg, an uncle of King Carl Gustaf.

The king, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia represented the royal house. According to Expressen, also the King's sister, Princess Christina Mrs. Magnuson, and her husband Tord Magnuson, were present, in addition to among others Princess Benedikte of Denmark.

The service was officiated by Lars-Göran Lönnermark, Bishop Emeritus and head predicate and Michael Bjerkhagen, pastor of the Royal Court Parish.

After the service the coffin was taken to the Royal Burial Ground at Haga outside Stockholm, where Count Carl Johan is also buried. For a couple of photos from the church service, go here.

According to the death announcement, which was published in among others Svenska Dagbladet and Helsingborgs Dagblad on 22 September, there will be a memorial gathering at Norrvikens Trädgård in Båstad on 6 October 2016.

Both the death announcement as well as Expressen earlier today listed Bärbo (i.e. Tistad Castle) as Countess Gunnila's place of birth. This contradicts the information from the church books of both Bärbo and Engelbrekt, which said she was born in Stockholm, something I discussed earlier this month. The churchbooks are much closer to the event, so for the time being I think Stockholm is the most likely place of birth, but I would still like to find an independent source, like for instance a midwife report, to get the question settled once and for all.

Expressen also repeats the claim that Gunnila Bernadotte in her first marriage with Carl-Herman Bussler had 3 children, while they in fact had four. Their second daughter Catharina was born on 21 July 1946 and died shortly after on 8 August.

The last interview the weekly magazine Svensk Damtidning made with Gunnila Bernadotte took place in 2014. The interview was republished at its website today. In the interview she told among others about her life after the death of her husband, her new apartment in Båstad and her five grandchildren.

Updated on Thursday 29 September 2016 at 9.55 p.m. (photo link added), last time on Sunday 23 April 2017 at 14.15 (minor typo corrected).

Date set for the funeral service for Gunnila Bernadotte, Countess of Wisborg

The Swedish newspaper Expressen wrote late yesterday evening that the funeral service for Gunnila Bernadotte, Countess of Wisborg, who died on Monday 12 September 2016, 93 years old, is to take place on Thursday 29 September 2016. Gunnila Bernadotte was in 1988 married to Carl Johan Bernadotte Count of Wisborg (1916–2012), an uncle of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. She was previously married to Carl-Herman Bussler from 1942 until his death in 1981.

According to the calendar at the website of the Swedish Royal Court, the funeral service is to take place at the Palace Church in Stockholm. King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia are all scheduled to attend. The director of the information and press department, Margareta Thorgren, told Expressen that the funeral service was going to be «quiet and private».

It is still not known where the late countess will be buried. One possibility is the Royal Burial Ground at Haga next to Carl Johan, but it should not be ruled out that the interment will take place at Bärbo cemetery in Nyköping where her first husband Carl-Herman and their two eldest children Louise (1943–1986) and Catharina (b. and d. 1946) are buried.