Christening of HRH Princess Leonore of Sweden

The christening of Princess Leonore of Sweden, the daughter of Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Chris O'Neill, took place at the Royal Chapel of Drottningholm Palace outside Stockholm today, 8 June 2014. The christening coincided both with Pentecost as well as the first wedding anniversary of Princess Madeleine and Mr. O'Neill.

Princess Leonore, Duchess of Gotland was born at New York City, USA on 20 February 2014, and is fifth in line of succession to the throne of Sweden.

With such a great weather I preferred to stay outdoors rather than watching the televised ceremony, so I am not able to give a personal review of today's events, but here are the main facts.

The ceremony was officiated by Archbishop Anders Wejryd assisted by Chief Court Chaplain of the Royal Court and Bishop Emeritus Lars-Göran Lönnermark and Vicar of the Royal Court, Court Chaplain, Michael Bjerkhagen. The latter two also officiated at the wedding of Princess Leonore's parents, Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill, on 8 June 2012.

Sponsors
Princess Leonore's six sponsors were: 

• Crown Princess Victoria
• Louise Gottlieb (friend of Princess Madeleine)
• Patrick Sommerlath (first cousin of Princess Madeleine)
• Tatjana d’Abo (sister of Chris O'Neill)
• Count Ernst Abensperg und Traun (brother-in-law of Chris O'Neill and Princess Madeleine)
• Miss Alice Bamford (childhood friend of Chris O'Neill)

Guest list
After the christening ceremony there was a reception for all the 160 people who attended the ceremony, followed by a private lunch hosted by the King and Queen for about 100 guests. The following guest list was published at the official website (I haven't always followed the same order of names):

The Royal Family

• King Carl XVI Gustaf
• Queen Silvia
• Crown Princess Victoria
• Prince Daniel
• Princess Estelle
• Prince Carl Philip
• Princess Madeleine
• Christopher O'Neill

HM The King's family

• Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler 
• Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld and Baron  Carl Silfverschiöld
• Baroness Christina Louise De Geer and Baron Hans De Geer
• Hélène Silfverschiöld and Fredrik Dieterle
• Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson and Tord Magnuson 
• Gustaf Magnuson and Vicky Magnuson
• Countess Marianne Bernadotte of Wisborg
• Countess Gunnila Bernadotte of Wisborg

HM The Queen's family

• Thomas de Toledo Sommerlath and Bettina Aussems
• Walther L. Sommerlath and Ingrid Sommerlath
• Patrick Sommerlath and Maline Sommerlath
• Leopold Lundén Sommerlath
• Anaïs Sommerlath
• Chloé Sommerlath

Mr. Chris O'Neill's family

• Eva Maria O'Neill
• Annalisa O'Neill
• Karen O'Neill
• Tatjana d'Abo and Henry d'Abo
• Anouska d'Abo
• Jasper d'Abo
• Countess Natascha Abensperg und Traun and Count Ernst Abensperg und Traun
• Countess Milana Abensperg und Traun
• Countess Chiara Abensperg und Traun
• Count Louis Cajetan Abensperg und Traun

Germany

• Prince Andreas of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Riksdagen (the Parliament)

• Speaker Per Westerberg and Ylwa Westerberg

The Government

• Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt
• Deputy prime minister and Minister for education Jan Björklund and Anette Brifalk Björklund
• Minister of Justice Beatrice Ask

Party leaders

• Chairman of the Social Democrats Stefan Löfven

Corps diplomatique

• Martin Rivera Gómez, Ambassador of El Salvador
• Mark F. Brzezinski, Ambassador of the USA 
• Paul Charles Johnston, Ambassador of the United Kingdom
• Anne K. Lund, Ambassador of Norway
• Kirsten Malling Biering, Ambassador of Denmark
• Harry Helenius, Ambassador of Finland

Other officials

• Fredrik Wersäll, President of Svea Court of Appeal
• Archbishop Anders Wejryd and Kajsa Wejryd
• General Sverker Göranson, Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces
• Governor Cecilia Schelin Seidegård, Gotland county

Personal friends

• Sofia Hellqvist (girl-friend of Prince Carl Philip)
• Louise Gottlieb and Ludvig Blomqvist
• Nathalie Werner and Dag Werner
• Katarina von Horn and Robert von Horn
• Charlotte Kreuger Cederlund and Christoffer Cederlund
• Countess Louise Cronstedt and Count Jacob Cronstedt
• Lovisa de Geer and Niklas Bolle
• Ellen Dinkelspiel and Jan Dinkelspiel
• Marco Wajselfisz and Heike Wajselfisz
• Cedric Notz and Andrea Engsäll
• Alice Bamford
• Sofi Fahrman and Nick Zijlstra
• Fredrik Gottlieb and Carola Gottlieb
• Lena Biörck Kaplan 

Arms and monogram
The arms and monogram of Princess Leonore were also published in connection with the christening. 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 Gotland (Princess Leonore is also Duchess of Gotland), while the inescutcheon shows the arms of the House of Bernadotte. The arms are crowned by the princess crown. The monogram consists of the initial L and a princess crown above. The heraldic artist Henrik Dahlström has designed the arms, while the monogram has been designed by Vladimir A. Sagerlund. Both were approved by the king. Sagerlund also designed the arms and monogram of Princess Estelle.

It was also announced that King Carl Gustaf had bestowed upon Princess Leonore the Royal Order of the Seraphim in connection with the christening.

All the press releases connected to the christening can be read here. 

Updated on 9 June 2014 at 13.20 (names of heraldic artists corrected), last time on 1 July 2020 at 22.10 (had one place written «Countess of Gotland» when I obviously meant «Duchess of Gotland», as also written otherwise in the article).

HRH Princess Leonore Lilian Maria of Sweden, Duchess of Gotland

In the Council of State at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on Wednesday 26 February 2014, King Carl Gustaf informed his government that his new granddaughter, born in New York City on 20 February 2014, had got the name Leonore Lilian Maria. Her call name was Leonore, and besides her princess title with style of Royal Highness she had also got the title Duchess of Gotland.

According to Dagens Nyheter's coverage of Chris O'Neill's press meeting last Friday, the newborn princess had got five names, but that seems to have been a misquote, unless O'Neill referred to his daughter's middle name and surname as well (Bernadotte O'Neill or the other way around). I guess three given names are far enough...

Princess Leonore's parents have not yet said anything in public about the given names, so it is impossible to know for a fact their motivation behind their choices. We can only guess. It is, however, not difficult to gather that the name Lilian comes from Princess Madeleine's late great-aunt Princess Lilian, who died in 2013. Princess Leonore's paternal grandmother is named Eva Maria, so that surely explains her third name.

The name Leonore surely surprised most people. It could be described as a more modern and trendy version of the name Eleonora, which is well.rooted in Swedish royal history. Queen Ulrika Eleonora (1688-1741), who became reigning Queen of Sweden in 1719, but abdicated in favour of her husband, Fredrik I, the year after, is just one example. One can also find the name, or a variation thereof, in other European royal families (Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands). I think the Swedish connection is more important, but Princess Madeleine and her husband have most likely chosen the name because they like it. It is as simple as that.

The last Duke of Gotland was King Oscar II's second son Prince Oscar (1859-1953), who lost his succession rights, membership of the royal house as well as his ducal title when he married a Swedish "private man's daughter", Ebba Munck af Fulkila in 1888. It is nice that such and old ducal title has come back to light again. It is also nice that in this way the beautiful island of Gotland might get more attention and attract more tourists, as the governor of Gotland, Cecilia Schelin Seidegård, touched upon in an interview on Wednesday. The county administration issued a short press statement, expressing happiness in the fact that the island of Gotland would have a special place in the heart of the royal family.

After the Council of State, the Marshal of the Realm, Svante Lindqvist, informed that the requirement in article 4 in the Act of Succession, which says that "princes and princesses of the Royal House shall be brought up [...] within the Realm", was interpreted into saying that it would be fulfilled if the princess lived and started school in Sweden from the age of 6. In other words, while Princess Leonore and her parents live in New York City today, they would have to move to Sweden by August 2020.

The christening will take place in the Royal Palace Church in the spring.