Swedish Royal couple, the Crown Princess Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée and her husband Prince Olof Daniel are considered to be one of the most elegant and attractive royal couples. Due to their generous philanthropic services both are highly respected not only within their homeland but abroad too. The couple is very active on social welfare sector and had undertaken entourage to Asia and Europe. The royal couple is entitled as Duchess and Duke of Västergötland.
Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée Duchess of Västergötland, is the eldest child of His Majesty King King Carl XVI Gustaf and Her Majesty Queen Silvia and was born on 14 July 1977. The declaration of Crown Princess Victoria’s majority took place in the Hall of State at the Royal Palace of Stockholm on 14 July 1995. The Crown Princess will be Sweden’s first female Head of State from the Bernadotte Dynasty. In modern times Sweden has only had two queens regnant, Kristina and Ulrika Eleonora.
Tuesday 24 February 2009, The Crown Princess and Daniel Westling announced their engagement at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. The wedding took place on 19 June 2010 in Storkyrkan in Stockholm. On 23 February 2012 Princess Estelle was born. On 2 March 2016 The Crown Princess and Prince Daniel had a son, Prince Oscar.
In accordance with the 1979 Act of Succession, which entered into force on 1 January 1980, Crown Princess Victoria is heir to the Swedish throne. The Crown Princess resides at Haga Palace together with Prince Daniel, Princess Estelle, and Prince Oscar. The Crown Princess attended Västerled parish pre-school from 1982-84. In autumn 1984 she started school at Smedslättsskolan in Bromma, where she completed her junior level.
She completed her intermediate level at Ålstenskolan in Bromma and went on to pursue senior studies, following a Science and Social Studies programme at Enskilda Gymnasiet upper secondary school in Stockholm and graduated in June 1996. The Crown Princess was confirmed in the summer of 1992 at Räpplinge church on the island of Öland. She spent her summer holidays gaining additional foreign language experience with trips to countries such as Germany and the United States. During the 1996-97 academic year, the crown princess studied French at the Centre International D’Études Françaises at the Université Catholique de L’Ouest in Angers, France. In autumn 1997, The Crown Princess followed a specially designed programme in order to gain a general insight into the workings of the Riksdag (the Swedish Parliament) and the Swedish Government.
In the spring of 1998, Crown Princess Victoria began academic studies in Political Science and History at Yale University in the United States. In conjunction with her stay The Crown Princess completed two periods of work experience at the United Nations in New York (June and September 2002) as well as one at the Swedish Embassy in Washington DC in May 1999.
In autumn 2000 The Crown Princess completed studies in conflict resolution and international peace-building.
In autumn 2001, The Crown Princess followed a study programme at the offices of the Swedish Government. During this time she visited the ‘Swedish Style’ exhibition in Tokyo and the west coast of the USA in connection with the Nobel Jubilee. In spring 2002, The Crown Princess completed a study programme at SIDA, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and spent time in countries such as Uganda and Ethiopia. During this time she also continued with her official engagements. In autumn 2002 she completed an internship with the Swedish Trade Council in Berlin and Paris.
In 2003 The Crown Princess continued her education on Swedish trade and industry with a study and work experience programme in Swedish agriculture and forestry, as well as completing basic military training at SWEDINT (the Swedish Armed Forces International Centre). In 2004 The Crown Princess participated in a state visit to Iceland , and visited Saudi Arabia and Hungary with official Swedish delegations. She also visited the Rome branch of the UN, made field trips to various companies in Sweden and continued with her official engagement duties. The Crown Princess also studied at the Swedish National Defence College in Stockholm in 2004, focusing on Political Science, International Relations and Conflict Resolution.
In spring 2005 The crown princess travelled extensively, including a trip to Australia in connection with the ‘Swedish Style’ exhibition, and a trip to Japan to attend the World Exposition in Aichi. The Crown Princess also travelled to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to study international aid efforts in these countries. In June 2005 she visited Turkey with Thomas Östros, the Swedish Minister for Trade and Industry, in order to promote relations between Sweden and Turkey.
During the autumn 2005 the crown princess spent a month in China where she followed the work of the Swedish Embassy as well as traveled in order to gain insights in the Chinese community. The Crown Princess also continued her studies on Social Science in 2005. In September 2006 the Crown Princess embarked upon the diplomatic programme at the Swedish Foreign Ministry. The programme lasts for one academic year and includes lectures, seminars and group work. The Crown Princess also took part in field trips to various different authorities and institutions.
Olof Daniel, Prince of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland, was born in Örebro on 15 September, 1973. His parents are Ewa Kristina Westling and Olle Gunnar Westling. Daniel Westling and the crown princess got to know each other in 2001. They announced their engagement at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on Tuesday 24 February, 2009. The wedding took place on 19 June, 2010 in Storkyrkan in Stockholm. On 23 February 2012 Princess Estelle was born. On 2 March 2016 The Crown Princess and Prince Daniel had a son, Prince Oscar.
Prince Daniel is the youngest child of Ewa and Olle Westling. He has one older sister, Anna Westling Söderström. Prince Daniel lives at Haga Palace with the crown princess, Princess Estelle, and Prince Oscar. Prince Daniel attended Rabo Primary School and Perslunda School in Ockelbo, and later Hammar Upper Secondary School in Sandviken. He graduated from upper secondary school in 1991. Prince Daniel spent many of his summers working, including at a home for the elderly in Ockelbo.
After graduating from upper secondary school, The Prince worked within elderly care in Ockelbo again while waiting to begin his military service. He carried out his military service at I14 in Gävle. When he had completed his military service, Prince Daniel worked for just over a year at a school and recreation centre for children with special needs. Prince Daniel moved to Stockholm in 1994 to study at the Lillsved Sports Folk High School. He studied the youth recreation leader programme here from 1994-1996, focusing on sport.
Prince Daniel worked for a fitness company while studying at folk high school. After completing his course he began working for the fitness company full-time. While working at the fitness company, The Prince also taught on a course for personal trainers and body building coaches. Prince Daniel started his own company in 1997 and worked as a consultant in the fitness industry. He then went on to run his own gym, Master Training, together with a colleague. Master Training expanded and now has two gyms in central Stockholm.
In 2006, he started the company Balance, a gym featuring a new concept, also situated in central Stockholm. The company now has approximately 100 employees. Together, the gyms have around 5,000 members. Two of Prince Daniel’s greatest interests are skiing and golf.