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Earlier Monday, the Swedish royal court released several photos of newborn Princess Estelle, the first child of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, who was born Thursday.
 Click here for more photos! It appears the little Princess resembles her mother!
Sweden has been elated over the birth of its future Queen. On Friday, there were long lines at the palace for people to sign congratulations books.
Also on Friday, King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Prince Car Philip and proud father Prince Daniel attended a thanksgiving mass at the royal chapel.
That’s right – Sweden’s future Queen is named Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary.
 Click here for related photos The name of the newborn Princess was revealed by proud grandfather King Carl XVI Gustaf during a cabinet meeting Friday.
“The family was there and we had a nice community together,” His Majesty said. “She was very cute and behaved the way she should do. It was a happy moment for the whole family and as Prince Daniel said, to give them a time as any new parents together and enjoy the right way. I can understand their desire for it.”
Also, Princess Estelle got her own duchy today – Östergötland. Which means, she is the Duchess of Östergötland.
Estelle is a name of French origin corresponding to the Latin stella, star. The name has been in Sweden since the 1800s, but has never been very common. Since 2001, Estelle’s name day on August 15, according to the National Encyclopedia.
In Sweden there are 1217 women with first name Estelle, according to statistics.
Sources: Aftonbladet, Sveriges Radio
A new Queen for Sweden has been born!
 Click here for original Sveriges Radio article At 4:26am local time, Crown Princess Victoria delivered a healthy baby girl. The newborn Princess weighed 3.2 kilograms and was 51 centimeters long.
Proud father Prince Daniel spoke to the media at Karolinska Hospital, saying everything has been great. “It is a very pretty princess,” he said.
“My feelings are a bit all over the place. Well, when I came down from the room, the little princess was laying on her mother’s chest, and it looked like they were having a very cosy time, so it was hard to take my eyes off them.”
Daniel also admitted being nervous during the birth. “It’s a new situation, something you never experienced before. It is always subject to certain risks when to redeem a child but it has gone very well.”
 Click here for the Swedish Monarchy on Facebook! At the same time, the Prince asked for some privacy. “As I am sure you can all understand, we have a great need just to be with our own little family right now. You understand that surely, that we want to treasure what has just happened.”
At noon, a salute of 42 shots will be heard throughout Sweden, while church bells will toll.
Prince Carl Philip and his girlfriend, Sofia Hellqvist, released a statement, saying: “We are overjoyed on their behalf and (we) wish Daniel and Victoria a big congratulation and bid the little daughter welcome to this world. I’m looking very much forward to meeting her and getting to know her.”
With the birth of this new Princess, Europe will one day have five reigning Queens. The countries of Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and now Sweden all have girls as their second-in-line to the thrones.
Victoria and Daniel left Karolinska Hospital later on Thursday. The name of this new baby will be revealed at a cabinet meeting Friday.
Congratulations to Victoria and Daniel, and long live the new Princess!
Sources: Sverige Radio, Royal News Examiner, Svensk Damtidning
 Click here for more photos That’s right! The Swedish court’s Bertil Ternert confirmed this to Aftonbladet less than an hour ago that Crown Princess Victoria is right now at Karolinska Institute, giving birth to not only her first child, but the baby that would be second in line to the throne!
This would be the first royal birth for Sweden since Princess Madeleine in June 1982 – nearly 30 years ago!
Victoria and Daniel were admitted to the hospital at 12:30am local time.
It’s 8:27pm right now where I am (New York City) and I intend to stay up as long as possible to find out whether it is a boy or a girl (personally, I think its a boy but we’ll see!).
I’ll keep everyone updated as much as I can!
11pm: If you want to keep an eye on Karolinska Hospital, click here for live broadcasting at Expressen.tv: http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/kungligt-live/live-senaste-nytt-om-kungababyn/
11:30pm: I’m sorry, everyone, but sleep is coming onto me. I have to work tomorrow, so I better go to bed now. I promise to get up early though for the latest developments! Hopefully, we’ll know what Victoria had by then!
After weeks of speculation, the Swedish royal court confirmed last week that Princess Madeleine has been living with New York City beau, financier Chris O’Neill, since November.
 Click here for photos at PurePeople.com “They have lived at the same address for a long time,” says Bertil Ternert, the court information officer.
The couple, who have been dating since 2010, have set off engagement rumors because of this revelation. That, and also because Chris, age 37, accompanied the Princess to an official engagement in late January.
Madeleine went to a concert at Carnegie Hall as a royal representative of Sweden, and for her boyfriend to come with her despite not being officially intended to marry her. That broke royal protocol, considering the fact that Prince Daniel could not go with Crown Princess Victoria to any public event until he was formally engaged to her.
“This definitely shows that it is very serious. Now I do not think that it is impossible that there will be engagement in a year or two,” says Roger Lundgren of Aftonbladet.
Princess Madeleine originally left Sweden for New York City in 2010 after splitting with her fiancée Jonas Bergström. She met O’Neill through mutual friends.
Source: Aftonbladet
In about a month, Sweden – and royal fans everywhere – will celebrate the birth of Crown Princess Victoria’s first child. The baby will be second in line to the throne and will usher in a new generation of Swedish royals.
 Click here for more photos of the couple But is the anticipated birth really only a month away? The Swedish Court has long said March, but the Crown Princess seems to disagree.
“It’s so close now,” Victoria told Aftonbladet after visiting the Centre for Business and Policy Studies yesterday with husband Prince Daniel.
“One doesn’t know. Sure, it will be at the end of February, turn of the month to March. But I mean, one doesn’t know what it means. It could come now. It could come later.”
One thing for sure, when the newborn comes into the world, it’s grandpa, King Carl XVI Gustaf, will have the first official photo. Photography is the King’s hobby and he took many pictures of his three children as they grew up. It’s pretty certain that he will do the same for his grandchildren.
The Crown Princess praised her parents for their support during her first pregnancy.
“They have been a very big support,” she said. “But I’ve been nervous and I don’t know how one fully prepares to become a parent. I think that being able to give a security is among the most important things one can do for one’s child. It’s something we will definitely try our utmost to do. To build a foundation as good as possible.”
So, whether it’s a month or a week away, sooner or later, Sweden is going to have a new royal baby!
Source: Sofia’s Blog
This past Friday saw Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel go to the Raoul Wallenberg Square in Stockholm to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Friday remembered the liberation of Auschwitz in 1945.
 Click here for additional photos Victoria and Daniel met with Kofi Annan, former U.N. Secretary General, who gave a speech at the ceremony. At the beginning of it, he greeted the royal couple by saying, “Your Royal Highnesses, Victoria and Daniel, and the little one”.
But there wasn’t much room for humor during the commemoration. Annan urged those in attendance not to forget the millions who died in the Holocaust. Swedish Speaker Per Westerberg said “We humans need good role models. Role models who fights evil and gives us hope and courage.”
“It was Raoul Wallenberg’s courage, ingenuity and drive that saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from death in Hitler’s gas chambers,” Westerberg added.
The Crown Princess placed a lit candle jar at the center of the square to remember both those who died and Wallenberg’s bravery.
Wallenberg was a Swedish diplomat who orchestrated the survival and rescue of thousands of Jews in Budapest during World War II. Wallenberg was captured by the Soviet Union, however, and no one knows what happened to him.
When he was asked why he risked his life to save Budapest’s Jews, he said, “I had no choice.”
Sources: AP, Epoch Times
 Click here for original Swedish article and photo Sweden’s Prince Carl Philip was on hand to award the Chef of the Year Wednesday. This year’s winner is Klas Lindberg, a freelance chef who’s dish of fried steak and lobster won him the prestigious title.
The Prince placed a medal around Lindberg’s neck as he expressed his delight over winning. He beat out 147 chefs for this title.
“It feels great,” Lindberg said.
This award ceremony showcases Carl Philip picking up more duties as his older sister, Crown Princess Victoria, goes on maternity leave as she waits for the birth of her first child, due in March.
“We are very happy and proud of the Prince’s participation. The Prince has a great commitment to the Swedish gastronomy and it’s a great honor that he now crowns the Chef of the Year 2012,” says Hannah Halpern, General for the competition.
Sources: Aftonbladet, SVD
 Click here for more of Victoria's arrival Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria paid a visit to the Astrid Lindgren Children’s hospital in Solna Thursday. The hospital recently merged with the Children’s Hospital in Huddinge into one pediatric hospital under the organization of Karolinska University Hospital.
While Her Royal Highness met with the staff and patients of Astrid Lindgren, the media focused mainly on her ever growing baby bump. The Crown Princess is due to have her first baby in March, and will go on maternity leave possibly next week.
One member of the press presented Victoria with a knitted onesie – or jumpsuit – for her soon-to-be born baby. She graciously accepted the gift.
Victoria was all smiles during this visit. She has been looking content and relaxed during her pregnancy.
The Crown Princess has two more engagements to perform, according to Pure People. After that, she will be waiting for the arrival of her first child. In the meantime, it is expected her brother and sister – Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine – will take over for her in her absence.
Sources: Expressen.tv, Pure People
The girlfriend of Sweden’s Prince Carl Philip was in Helsinki, Finland Thursday to attend the Strauss concert where she accepted a check for her charity, Project Playground.
 Click here for original Finnish article Dressed in a simple white and black dress, Sofia Hellqvist was all smiles as she accepted the check and gave a little speech in both Swedish and Finnish about the foundation. Project Playground helps disadvantaged children in South Africa.
“Project Playground offers children and young people in activities after school as an alternative to street life. Many of the children have to face the horrors in their lives, and shoulders to carry the small problems that no child should face,” Sofia told the audience.
“Township areas have high unemployment rates, and they lead to alcohol and drug problems, violence, the spread of HIV and AIDS, and abuse. We want to encourage and motivate children to work towards a better future. Our children are the future generation of teachers, workers and managers. Sport, play and leisure activities to help children get the skills that are not necessarily taught at home or at school. We want our children to remain children as long as possible.
“Once again, we thank all the companies which are involved in donating. We hope that this day is a good start for our cooperation in Finnish companies and individuals. Together, we can take small steps towards a better world. There are many ways to help, not just financial. We can also help by opening the heart, opening the eyes and understanding of what happens elsewhere in the world, and disseminate information. These children need advocates.”
With that, Ms. Hellqvist thanked everyone.
She and the Prince have been dating for about two years. There has been controversy swirling Sofia due to her past as a reality show star and modeling nude. Yet, she and Carl Philip have been living together for quite some time, and some see her involvement with Project Playground as a rehabilitation of her image.
Sources: Iltalehti, MTV3
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