Monday 21 May 2012

Guests for Princess Estelle’s christening

The christening of Princess Estelle of Sweden will take place in the Palace Church in Stockholm tomorrow, and today the royal court released a list (external link) of the official guests who will be present.
Princess Estelle and her parents Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel will obviously be present and they will be joined by King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine, whereas Princess Lilian, at 96, is too ill to attend. The King’s four sisters - Princesses Margaretha, Birgitta, Désirée and Christina will also be present, but only the latter will be accompanied by her husband, Tord Magnuson.
Princess Birgitta will bring her daughter and son-in-law, Désirée and Eckbert von Bohlen und Halbach, while Princess Désirée will be accompanied by her three children and their partners - Baron Carl and Baroness Maria Silfverschiöld, Baroness Christina and Baron Hans De Geer af Finspång, and Baroness Hélène Silfverschiöld and Fredrik Diterle - as well as her grandson, Baron Ian De Geer af Finspång. Princess Christina’s three sons, Gustaf, Oscar and Victor Magnuson, will bring their respective partners, Vicky Andrén, Emma Magnuson and Frida Bergström.
Also in attendance will be Countess Marianne Bernadotte af Wisborg, the widow of the King’s eldest uncle Sigvard, and Countess Gunnila Bernadotte af Wisborg, the widow of the King’s youngest uncle, Carl Johan, who was also expected to be present, but who sadly died on 5 May. From the extended Bernadotte family we will also see Count Bertil Bernadotte af Wisborg and his wife Jill. The Count, who is a close friend of King Carl Gustaf, is a grandson of the late Prince Oscar Bernadotte, and the youngest son of the late Countess Estelle Bernadotte af Wisborg, who is believed to have inspired the name. His elder brother, Count Folke Bernadotte af Wisborg, and his wife Christine, were also invited to the christening, but after initially accepting their invitations they have had to send their regrets due to illness. Their cousin Dagmar von Arbin, who is 96, will however be in attendance.
The only foreign heads of state present will be the Queen of Denmark and the new President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, the latter accompanied by his wife Jenni Haukio. Queen Margrethe will be accompanied by Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, while Crown Prince Haakon, Princess Märtha Louise and Ari Behn will represent Norway (the Crown Princess has prior engagements in the USA and is thus unable to attend).
The three Benelux countries will all be represented by their heirs with partners: Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, and Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg and his fiancée Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy. The other European royal families will not be present, while the President of Iceland, who is fighting a re-election campaing (after having initially announced that he would not stand for re-election he is now trailing in the polls), will be represented by his wife Dorrit Moussaieff.
From Queen Silvia’s family we will see her two surviving brothers, Ralf de Toledo Sommerlath and Walther L. Sommerlath, the former accompanied by his wife Charlotte, as well as the Queen’s nephew Thomas de Toledo Sommerlath and Bettina Aussems, her nice Carmita Sommerlath Baudinet and Pierre Baudinet, her nephew Patrick Sommerlath and Maline Sommerlath, and her great-nephew Leopold Lundén Sommerlath.
Prince Daniel’s family will also be out in force, led by his parents Olle and Ewa Westling, and his sister Anna Westling Söderström with her husband Mikael Westling Söderström, her daughters Hedvig and Vera Blom and her stepchildren Casper and Caisa Söderström. Many aunts, uncles and cousins of Prince Daniel will also be present: Olle and Anita Henriksson, Tommy Henriksson, Hans and Marika Henriksson, Nils and Ann-Catrin Westling, Sara Westling and Benji Bessemer, Frida Westling and Rickard Pettersson, Andreas Westling and Amanda Tegnér, Hasse and Anna-Britta Åström, Hans Åström and Helena Olsson, Anders Åström and Kety Lund, Anna-Karin Åström and Christer Wigren, Erik and Birgitta Westling, Ove and Yvonne Westling, and Bo and Carina Westling.
The rest of the list consists of present and past speakers of Parliament and prime ministers as well as other official representatives. Guests attending in a private capacity have not been included, but the court has confirmed that Prince Carl Philip’s girlfriend Sofia Hellqvist and Princess Madeleine’s boyfriend Chris O'Neill will be present.

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