| Princess Madeleine | |||||
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| Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland | |||||
.jpg) Princess Madeleine in 2017 | |||||
| Born | (1982-06-10)10 June 1982 (age 43) Drottningholm Palace,Ekerö, Sweden | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue |
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| House | Bernadotte | ||||
| Father | Carl XVI Gustaf | ||||
| Mother | Silvia Sommerlath | ||||
| Education | Stockholm University | ||||
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Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland (Madeleine Thérèse Amelie Josephine;[1] born 10 June 1982) is the second daughter and youngest child ofKing Carl XVI Gustaf andQueen Silvia. Upon her birth, she was third inline of succession to the Swedish throne; currently, she is ninth. Princess Madeleine is married to British-American financierChristopher O'Neill. They have three children, Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas and Princess Adrienne.
Madeleine was born on 10 June 1982 at 19:05CEST[2] atDrottningholm Palace and is a member of theSwedish royal family from theHouse of Bernadotte. She was christened at The Royal Palace Church on 31 August 1982, her godparents being her father's maternal cousin theHereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, her maternal uncle Walther L. Sommerlath, her father's paternal cousinPrincess Benedikte of Denmark, and her paternal auntPrincess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson.[1] Madeleine was given the honorary title of Duchess ofHälsingland andGästrikland. It was the first time since the early 17th century (when such titles were still more than honorary) that aSwedish ducal title included more than oneprovince. Both Hälsingland and Gästrikland are encompassed byGävleborg County.
From 1985 to 1989, Madeleine began her education at Västerled Parish Pre-School. In the autumn of 1989, she entered Smedslättsskolan inBromma, attending at the junior level. For the intermediate level, she proceeded to Carlssons School inStockholm, and then went on toEnskilda Gymnasiet in Stockholm, which she attended at the senior level. She also completed upper secondary school at Enskilda, from which she graduated in 2001.[1] During the autumn of 2001, she lived in London, where she studiedEnglish.[1] In the spring of 2002, she took a basic module in Introduction to Swedish Law and studied for theEuropean Computer Driving Licence.[1] In January 2003, she enrolled at theStockholm University where she began studies in art history. She took 60 Swedish academic units in this subject (two semesters). In the autumn of 2004, she began a course inethnology at the same university. She speaks English, German and Swedish fluently, and also intermediate-level French.[3] She graduated 23 January 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts in art history, ethnology and modern history. During 2007, she studied child psychology atStockholm University.
Madeleine is an enthusiastic equestrian. She has owned horses (which were stabled at theRoyal Stables) and competed in showjumping under the name "Anna Svensson".[3] She also enjoys skiing, and is interested in theatre, dance and art. In recognition of herage of majority in 2001, a scholarship fund was created in her name by theGävleborg County, which comprises herduchies ofHälsingland andGästrikland. It encourages and supports young people involved inhorse riding. In 2001, Madeleine first distributed such awards as 'Pony Rider of the Year with trainer in Gävleborg' and 'Gold Rider'.[citation needed]
Madeleine undertakes various engagements on behalf of her father and the people of Sweden. She participates in the celebrations of Sweden's National Day, the Nobel festivities, dinners and state visits with other members of the royal family.[4] She represented Sweden at the opening of theNew Sweden Gallery on 5 June 2011, at theAmerican Swedish Historical Museum inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, which features an animated map of the New Sweden settlement by Sean Moir.[5]
From 25 October to 1 November 2024, Madeleine temporarily acted as Regent Ad Interim. This is because her father the King was traveling to Brazil together with Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Carl Philip, leaving Madeleine as the closest in line to the throne remaining in Sweden.[6]
Madeleine is the patron of the organisationMin Stora Dag (the Swedish equivalent ofMake-A-Wish Foundation), more commonly known asMy Big Day (its translation into English). She is also affiliated with Europa Nostra, Carl Johan-League and the Royal Motorboat Club.[7]
In 2006, Princess Madeleine interned forUNICEF for six months in New York City and worked for the division of Child Protective Services.[3] In 2012, she co-founded the ThankYou by Childhood campaign which works to raise awareness of the issues surrounding the sexual abuse of children and the work the World Childhood Foundation does to prevent it.[8] Princess Madeleine became involved in the work of the World Childhood Foundation during her studies.[9] She became one of the juries of the Childhood Prize.[9] She serves on the board of Swedish branch and is an honorary member of the board of the American branch of the World Childhood Foundation since 2016.[9][10] She became the vice honorary chair of the World Childhood Foundation in December 2021.[9] Her first visit as a vice honorary chair was in July 2022 when the Princess visitedFrankfurt, Germany. There, she visited the German branch of the World Childhood Foundation, construction of Child House and met a former child sexual abuse victim.[11] She also visited Frankfurt University Hospital and toured the hospital's children department to meet with doctors to learn about their work.[11]
In 2015, the Princess initiated the #EyesWideOpen campaign. It aims to increase the awareness about the sexual abuse of children. In conjunction with a high-level meeting in New York City in the autumn of 2016, the Princess presented the continuation of the campaign – an app that makes it easier for adults to prevent, recognise and react to sexual abuse and exploitation of children. The app is a collaboration between the World Childhood Foundation, Darkness to Light and Ericsson.[12] In February 2017, the Princess announced she was writing a children's book during a visit to London's Southbank Centre.[13] On 28 January 2019, the Princess shared the book's title and cover via Instagram.[14] She wrote: "I'm very excited to finally share with you a book which will hopefully show children how important it is to stand up for themselves and to tell someone when something doesn't feel right."[15] The book titledStella och hemligheten (English: Stella and the Secret) was published in support of the World Childhood Foundation[13] and was released on 4 June 2019.[16]
Madeleine announced her engagement to lawyer Jonas Bergström (b. 1979) in August 2009.[17][18] She said in her engagement interview that they became engaged in Capri in early June that year. An engagement dinner took place on the engagement day in Solliden Palace onÖland. The engagement could only take place after Bergström had been awarded the official approval of theSwedish CabinetRegeringen and that had been communicated to her father, the King.[17]
The wedding was originally due to take place in the second half of 2010 but was postponed due to "many things happening in an intense period of time", mainly her sister Victoria's wedding in June. Queen Silvia denied the rumoured relationship issues.[19] However, media reporting of the relationship issues escalated, and on 24 April 2010 it was announced that the wedding would not go ahead, and the engagement was broken off.[20]
After her relationship with Bergström ended, Madeleine moved to New York City, where she worked for theWorld Childhood Foundation, the organisation that her mother co-founded.
On 25 October 2012, the Swedish Royal Court announced Princess Madeleine's engagement with the British-born American financierChristopher O'Neill.[21] On 23 December 2012, it was announced that thewedding would take place on 8 June 2013, at theRoyal Palace chapel in Stockholm.[22] O'Neill chose to remain untitled: a member of the Swedish royal family must hold Swedish citizenship which O'Neill declined.
The couple has three children:
In February 2015, the Swedish Royal Court announced that the family had moved to Stockholm from New York.[28] In May 2015, the Swedish Royal Court announced that O'Neill had moved to London in April. In Autumn 2015, several months after the birth of Prince Nicolas, the entire family moved to London, where O'Neill's business is located.[29][unreliable source] In August 2018, the Swedish Royal Court announced that the princess and her family would move to Florida.[30][31] In March 2023, it was announced that the family would move back to Sweden in August 2023.[32] In June 2023, it was announced that the move has been postponed until 2024.[33]
On 7 October 2019, the king issued a statement rescinding theroyal status of her three children in an effort to more strictly associate Swedish royalty to the office of thehead of state; they are no longer styled asHis/Her Royal Highness (HRH), but their princely titles remain and they are still duchesses and duke of their provinces, remaining in the line of succession to the throne.[34][35][36] Madeleine commented that her children now will have greater possibilities to shape their own lives as private individuals.[37][38]
| Styles of Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland | |
|---|---|
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| Reference style | Her Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
Sweden:
Member and Commander of theRoyal Order of the Seraphim (LoKavKMO) Member of theRoyal Family Decoration of King Carl XVI Gustaf[1].png)
Recipient of theRuby Jubilee Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf Recipient of theWedding Medal of Crown Princess Victoria to Daniel Westling Recipient of the50th Birthday Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf
Recipient of the70th Birthday Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf[citation needed].png)
Recipient of theGolden Jubilee Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf
Bulgaria: Member 1st Class of theOrder of the Balkan Mountains
Brazil: Grand Cross of theOrder of Rio Branco[39][40]
Germany: Grand Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany[41]
Greece: Grand Cross of theOrder of Honour[42]
Iceland: Grand Cross of theOrder of the Falcon[43]
Japan: Dame Grand Cordon of theOrder of the Precious Crown[41]
Jordan: Knight Grand Cordon of theOrder of the Star of Jordan[41]
Luxembourg: Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of Adolphe of Nassau[44][45]
Malaysia: Honorary Commander of theOrder of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia[46]
Norway: Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of St. Olav[47]
Romania: Grand Cross of theOrder of Faithful Service[48]Sweden: Honorary Grand Cross of theSocial Order of Innocence[49]People reported, "While they will remain members of the royal family, they have lost their official HRH (His/Her Royal Highness) titles." This means that the children of Princess Madeleine and her husband, Christopher O'Neill, and the children of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia will no longer be required to perform royal duties, nor will they be referred to as princes or princesses.
Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland Born: 10 June 1982 | ||
| Lines of succession | ||
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| Preceded by Princess Ines | Succession to the Swedish throne 9th in line | Succeeded by Princess Leonore |
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