A case has been lodged in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg last week by five women to remove the state-sanctioned gender bias among the nobility and to give girls and boys equal rights to inherit.
In 2013, the royal laws of succession were amended to give equal rights to a baby girl, but attempts to extend this to the peerage came to nothing. Princess Charlotte of Cambridge was…
King Carl XVI Gustaf- The top dog of the royal family. Awkward, scandal prone but ultimately loves his family very much and people who meet him away from the cameras always say how personable he is.
Queen Silvia- Carl Gustaf’s wife. She was born in Germany to a German father and Brazilian mother. She lived for some time in Brazil as well. They met at the Munich Olympics and the rest is history. Effortlessly chic always. She’s a highly impressive woman who can speak multiple languages fluently
Crown Princess Victoria- The oldest daughter of Carl Gustaf and Silvia. Born in 1977 she was displaced by her younger brother until Sweden changed the law in 1980 and she given back her rightful place as heir. Pure cupcake
Prince Daniel- Victoria’s husband. He was a personal trainer and had his own gyms. That’s where he met Victoria and their relationship blossomed. They married in 2010. Daniel loves Victoria more than anyone loves anything
Princess Estelle- Victoria and Daniel’s oldest child and the future Queen of Sweden. She was born in 2012. Just like her mum was, she is the mama hen of the other royal children and has entertained us with her sass for six years.
Prince Oscar- Victoria and Daniel’s younger child. He was born in 2016. He is the master of serious faces. I’m pretty sure it’s because his smile is so beautiful that if he did it too much the world would implode
Prince Carl Philip- Silvia and Carl Gustaf’s middle child and only son. He was born in 1979 and immediately became heir to the throne. A year later the laws were changed and he was moved down to second in line. He’s extremely beautiful and is also super sensitive so he’s basically the perfect man
Princess Sofia- Prince Carl Philip’s wife. They got married in 2015 (I was in Stockholm for their wedding). She was a glamour model and reality TV star which caused a bit of a stir but she also founded her own charity and is extremely eloquent and passionate. Also beautiful.
Prince Alexander- Carl Philip and Sofia’s first son. He was born in 2016. Initially he was a little quiet but now he’s basically a little cherub who has a vibrant personality and filled the chaotic gap we’d come to expect from the kids when Leonore couldn’t go to a family event.
Prince Gabriel- Carl Philip and Sofia’s second son. He was born in 2017. We haven’t got to know him too well yet because he’s still so little but he has the biggest blue eyes and loves chomping on his programme
Princess Madeleine- Carl Gustaf and Silvia’s youngest child and second daughter. She was born in 1982. She had a bit of a reputation as a wild thing as a young woman but she’s settled down. She lives in London now and works privately for Childhood, a charity founded by her mother Silvia.
Chris O’Neill- Madeleine’s husband since 2013. He is not a working royal and didn’t take a title. At first people didn’t trust Chris and kind of thought he was a bit cold. But then he cried at their wedding and gave an interview where he just talked about how much he loved her and how amazing she is for an hour and everyone fell in love
Princess Leonore- Madeleine and Chris’s oldest child. Leonore was born in 2014 and her mum was likely a few weeks pregnant at the wedding. She is known as the Princess of Destruction and I call her the Little Adventurer after a nickname Madeleine gave her because she’s always a whirlwind of chaos
Prince Nicolas- Madeleine and Chris’s middle child and only son. He was born in 2015. He’s more stoic and quiet than his sister and seems to be the more gentle soul. Apparently he loves taking himself off to quietly read a book. Probably best known for chomping on a light up toothbrush at Oscar’s christening in 2016
Princess Adrienne- The baby of the siblings. She was born earlier this year (2018). We obviously don’t know her too well yet but I’m excited to get to know her over the years
CAROLE’S SURROGACY MAFIA! haha. Anyway, unfortunately royal laws haven’t caught up with technology or society so I don’t believe there’s any law about whether a child born to a surrogate could be in the line of succession. I’m quite torn because royals go first and foremost off genetics so it would make me think that they could be in line but in the UK the surrogate is legally considered the mother of the child until she gives up parental rights which is essentially like the royals adopting their own child. And adopted kids can’t be in the line of succession. I don’t know about every other monarchy but I know in Norway surrogacy is illegal as it caused a scandal when MM went to India to look after twins born through surrogacy for a gay couple she’s friends with. I think it’s unfortunately a question without a clear answer. There are so many ways that monarchies haven’t caught up with modern society- there are no title systems for same sex couples for example- and this is one of them
In Denmark they tend to switch the names Christian and Frederik so that a King Christian calls his heir Frederik and he calls his son Christian and so on. For over 500 years they have alternated between King Christian and King Frederik. Margrethe acted as a “Christian” in that her father and son were Frederiks but Frederik has continued the tradition with his son and if Christian’s first child is a boy he’ll likely call him Frederik.
Awww you’re a cutie. I’ll do my best but @norwegianroyalfamily might be able to help out if I get something wrong:
1) Why don’t princess Martha Louise’s daughters have titles? I know she gave up her own style and duties and stuff but shouldn’t they be at least something ! In Norway- as in most places- you get titles based on your father so ML’s children are styled with their father’s last names.
2) Do you think they will have access to the tiaras when they grow older? I expect they’ll have access for weddings and major events like birthdays and so on. I don’t expect they’ll attend as many tiara events as IA though.
3) Do you think prince sverre magnus will still be a working royal when Ingrid Alexandra becomes Queen? And will his offspring have titles ? I think he’ll follow Martha Louis’s pattern and do engagements but at a lesser level than his sister. I don’t know the title system well enough in Norway to know if they get titles but I know the King pretty much has the control over it. He said SM would be His Highness instead of His Royal Highness and I can see his children having the same, but still being a Prince/ss if Haakon is King.
So this is a couple of months later but here are my answers/confirmation of basically what you said
1) Why don’t princess Martha Louise’s daughters have titles? I know she gave up her own style and duties and stuff but shouldn’t they be at least something ! First of all, you gotta remember that Norway isn’t Swedenandthey give out titles differently. There aren’t any Dukes/Duchesses but rather you’re a Prince/ss or not. Since Märtha Louise was born at the time when women didn’t have a right to be in line of the succession, naturally her (younger) brother was the only one prepared to be the future monarch. But I feel like having limited people having titles is a good thing as Maud, Leah and Emma are not close to the throne and having title it would mean they would have to by working royals or the would give it up. And with Royal Family wanting to be as “short” as possible, Märtha Louise is not the heir, and her daughters don’t have any titles.
2) Do you think they will have access to the tiaras when they grow older? I agree with you, Jess, on that. However, I don’t feel like they’ll be attending many major event so we’ll see. If there’d be any huge celebration like Harald and Sonja’s 80th birthday celebration, I’m sure they would wear a tiara. But I’m 100% sure they’ll have a tiara on their wedding days unless they won’t want that.
3) Do you think prince sverre magnus will still be a working royal when Ingrid Alexandra becomes Queen? And will his offspring have titles ? I don’t see him as a working royal. At the moment, the royal family has 4 working royals (Harald, Sonja, Mette-Marit and Haakon) and once Ingrid gets older she’ll join them. I see Magnus as Astrid. She attends some engagements, usually gala dinners or some openings, as does Märtha Louise so he’ll probably follow their footsteps. I feel like in the future if Magnus has children, they won’t get any titles (or just style since being a boy gets your legal offsprings titles). But I hope that by then women and men will be completely equal and I think that the royal family will be operating the same way so that’s why I think Ingrid’s children will be the only ones having titles and style, while Magnus’ won’t. But we’ll see. Usually males only get their titles down on their offsprings but since Norway hasn’t had a case like that (Haakon VII had one son only, Olav had two daughters and a son, and Harald has a son and daughter) and law prevented women from ascending to the throne, we’ll just have to wait and see.
The Speech to end all speeches.At their wedding, Daniel delivered a heartfelt, eloquent speech to his new bride. Every time I watch it, it brings a tear to my eye.
Nine years ago I had the privilege of getting to know a young woman with a great sense of humour, a strong sense of duty who was also very, very smart. We became friends. The more I got to know her, the more irresistible she became. These years with you Victoria have flown past and have been the best in my life.
There have been times when Victoria’s Official Duties have separated us. Often she is taken to far away countries and continents. I will never forget some years ago when she left for one of her many trips, this time to China.We were going to be apart for a whole month. The night before she left she got home late after an official engagement, and she had many preparations to make before the long month of duties ahead. Instead of getting some valuable sleep she stayed up the whole night writing.In the morning after she had gone I found a box. And in that box I found 30 beautiful letters, addressed to me. One for every day she would be away. This romantic gesture is typical of you Victoria. It says everything about the loving person you are.
Once upon a time the young man was … perhaps not a frog, in the beginning of the fairytale … as in the story first told by the Grimm Brothers. But he was certainly not a prince. The first kiss did not change that. His transformation was not possible without the support of the wise king and queen, who had ruled the kingdom for many years, and who were full of wisdom, experience and had good hearts. They knew what was best and guided the couple with a gentle hand, generously sharing all their experience.
I feel a great gratitude to Your Majesties the King and Queen, for your strong support, and for the way you have welcomed me into your family. My thoughts are naturally also with my own family. To my mother and my father, and my sister and her daughters. Mother and father, during my childhood you gave me your unconditional love. You have helped me with your wisdom, and you have helped me to build strong self-esteem and confidence through sound values which have guided me through life.Today, when we traveled through the streets of Stockholm we were met by incredible joy and warmth. A memory we will carry with us deep in our hearts, forever. In the years that Victoria and I have had together, I have felt a great support from the people I have met. It has been very important to me. Thank you.
I feel a deep respect for the tasks ahead of me. It will undoubtedly be a major challenge. I will do my utmost to live up to the expectations that will be placed on me. I will do my utmost to support my wife, the Crown Princess, in her important achievements. Beloved Victoria. I am so proud of what we have together. I am so happy to now be your husband. I will do everything I can ever do for you to remain as happy as you are today. Victoria, the greatest of all is love. I love you so.
“When I saw Queen Margrethe break drown at Henrik’s funeral, my heart broke into pieces for her. I know that he had his faults (we all do), but he will be remembered by his family as a loving husband, father, and grandfather. It just reminded me that we do get to celebrate the highs in life (weddings, births) with the royals, but we also see the lows. This is a great reminder that behind the royal facade is a FAMILY.” – Submitted by Anonymous
Countess Alexandra arrive to the gala banquet on the occasion of The Crown Prince’s 50th birthday at Christiansborg Palace on May 26, 2018 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Denmark 1997, Silver Jubilee:Their Royal Highnesses Prince Joachim, Princess Alexandra, The Prince Consort, and The Crown Prince of Denmark, and Their Majesties Queen Ingrid of Denmark and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes, greet Danish officials, foreign guests, and family, before a gala dinner at Christiansborg Palace in celebration of Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark’s Silver Jubilee.
“Lots of royal ladies have good fashion sense, but I think we can all agree that the award for BEST dressed royal goes to Infantas Leonor and Sofia.“ – Submitted by Anonymous
The Norwegian Royal Court has introduced new ethical guidelines for its employees following the #MeToo campaign. The new ethical guidelines give zero tolerance for sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination among the staff of the Norwegian royal household. This was announced by the Royal Court in their annual report which was published by the Court yesterday. The Court had started to rework…
House of Brat 