The King of Sweden is making some big changes. And TBH, it might cause some family tension. He’s decided to denounce his grandchildren of their royal titles and duties.
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia have five grandchildren who will be affected by this massive change of tradition.
The children of Princess Madeleine and her husband Christopher O’Neill, and Prince Carl Philip and his wife Princess Sofia, have lost their official HRH (His/Her Royal Highness) titles. As of Monday, they’re now just regular kids. Sort of. They will retain their titles of Prince and Princess, but any future spouses or children will not have a right to them.
The change will not affect Crown Princess Victoria’s two children, Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar, as they are heirs to the throne and will continue to be part of the royal house.
The official palace statement explained, “His Majesty The King has decided that the children of Their Royal Highnesses Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, and the children of Her Royal Highness Princess Madeleine and Mr Christopher O’Neill will no longer be members of The Royal House.”
As for the reasons why, it’s apparently nothing personal. “His Majesty The King has decided on changes to The Royal House. The purpose of these changes is to establish which members of The Royal Family may be expected to perform official duties incumbent on the Head of State or related to the function of the Head of State,” said the statement.
While it seems like a bold move to take away the titles bestowed upon Princess Madeleine’s three children Adrienne, Leonore, and Nicolas, and Prince Carl’s two sons Alexander and Gabriel, it looks like this may become a bit of a new-gen royal tradition.
Duchess Meghan Markle and Prince Harry decided against giving baby Archie a royal title; instead, he carries the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. According to BAZAAR‘s royal editor-at-large Omid Scobie, Meghan and Harry’s decision was “all part of giving him as normal a life as possible”.
Addressing the new change, Princess Madeleine wrote on her Instagram: “Earlier today, the court announced that Leonore, Nicolas and Adrienne will no longer belong to the royal house. This change has been planned for a long time. Chris and I think it’s good that our children are now getting a greater opportunity to shape their own lives as private individuals in the future.”
Similarly, Prince Carl shared the news and his thoughts via his own Instagram:
“Today, the King announced the decision that our children no longer hold the Royal Highness position. We see this as positive as Alexander and Gabriel will have freer choices in life.”
“They will retain their prince titles and their duchies, Södermanland and Dalarna, which we value and are proud of. Our family has strong connections to both landscapes and we maintain our commitment there.
“We will continue to focus on our heart issues and commitment. We will also continue to support the King and Crown Princess – our future head of state – and participate in the King’s House activities as we wish.”
