Princess Lilian laid to rest in Sweden

Sweden bid fair well to Princess Lilian who died in her 98th year at her Stockholm home on Sunday, 10th March, surrounded by the royal family with a state funeral. In 2010, the Royal Court announced she was suffering from Alzheimer's and that she would not be participating in Crown Princess Victoria's wedding in June that year. Her late husband Prince Bertil, an uncle of King Carl XVI Gustaf, died in 1997.

She was born Lillian May Davies in Swansea, Wales, on 30th August 1915, the daughter of William Davies and his wife, Gladys Mary Curran. She originally spelt her name with two “l”s, but changed to Lilian when she adopted a career variously described as fashion model, ballerina and singer. In September 1940 she married the Scottish actor Ivan Craig (1912 - 1995), whose career never flourished beyond bit parts such as 2nd policeman in Murder at the Windmill in 1949 and Lord Blackheath in four episodes of Ivanhoe in 1958. He served in Africa during the WWII.

In the early 40s Lilian Davies worked at a factory in London making wirelesses for the Royal Navy, and at a hospital for wounded soldiers. In 1943, she met Prince Bertil of Sweden at the Les Ambassadeurs nightclub in London, some say at a cocktail party to mark her 28th birthday, others at a nightclub called Nuthouse; yet another version placed their meeting on the London Underground. She divorced Ivan Craig in 1945 on amicable terms, her husband having also met someone new while abroad.

During World War II Prince Bertil was stationed at the Royal Swedish embassy as a naval attaché. He was the third son of the then Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf, later King Gustaf VI Adolf (1882 – 1973) and a great-grandson of Queen Victoria through his late mother, Princess Margaret of Connaught (1882 – 1920).

On 26th January 1947, Prince Bertil's eldest brother and heir presumptive Prince Gustaf Adolf (*22nd April 1906), died in a plane crash in Denmark, leaving behind a nine-month old son who was second in line to the throne and would one day inherit the throne as King Carl Gustaf (*30th April 1946).

Prince Bertil's two other brothers had already renounced their succession rights. Their father ascended the throne as King Gustaf VI Adolf in 1950 and Prince Bertil became heir presumptive and no 2 in the line to the throne. As long as his nephew, Crown Prince Carl Gustaf, was a child, Prince Bertil would have to serve as Regent of the Kingdom until his nephew coming to age.

A big responsibility was put on Prince Bertil’s shoulders and for the future of the Monarchy he followed his father’s advice and did not marry Lilian Craig. Prince Bertil and Lilian Craig had moved to Sweden in 1957, living in Villa Solbacken on Djurgården in Stockholm. She stayed in the shadows, but the couple lived together openly, if discreetly at their homes in southern France and Stockholm. They remained together until Prince Bertil’s death in January 1997.

When Prince Bertil's father died in 1973, his nephew Carl XVI Gustaf ascended the throne. King Carl Gustaf allowed Bertil and Lilian to marry, which they did on 7th December 1976, 33 years after their first meeting.

She was 61, he was 64.

Prince Bertil once said that one of his biggest regrets was that the couple had to sacrifice having children in order to protect the throne.

Hugely popular in Sweden for his romance with Lilian and known as "the prince of cars" for his love of fast vehicles, Bertil died in 1997 aged 84.

"In this life choice of hers, there must have been a lot of pain," he said, referring to how long Lilian had to wait until she was able to marry Bertil.

Princess Lilian was laid to rest next to her husband in the Haga Park royal cemetery on the outskirts of Stockholm.

The Swedish Crown Princess Couple is expecting a child

Their Royal Highnesses The Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel are happy to announce that The Crown Princess is expecting their first child.

The birth is expected to take place in March of 2012. No changes in the schedule of The Crown Princess´s public engagements are planned during the autumn of 2011.

Swedish tabloids immediately jumped into a frenzy over the the news.


"It is with great joy that I have been informed of the news that the Crown Princess and Prince Daniel are expecting a baby. You have a fantastic experience to look forward to and I want to send my warmest congratulations to you both," wrote Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt in a statement.


Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel married on 19th June 2010. Their wedding attracted 500,000 spectators to the streets of Stockholm (according to the TV station RTL: "Selon les premières estimations officieuses, quelque 500.000 curieux seraient descendus dans les rues de Stockholm pour assister aux noces de la future reine de Suède.")

Prince William to visit New Zealand and Australia in March

Prince William will visit New Zealand and Australia next week to tour areas devastated by recent natural disasters, St James's Palace has said. On 17th March the Prince will travel go to Greymouth, near the site of the Pike River mine disaster on the South Island of New Zealand in which 29 people died. The following day he will go to Christchurch where more than 150 people died in an earthquake last month. Prince William will give a reading at a National Memorial Service in a Christchurch park on the 18th March, which is expected to be attended by up to 100,000 people, and then carry out other engagements in the area.

On 19th March will arrive in Australia and spend two days visiting a number of areas in Queensland affected by the recent floods and cyclone. On 21st March he will arrive in north-western Victoria to view areas affected by the worst floods in the state’s history.

The Prince will visit the two countries on behalf of the Queen following invitations from Her Majesty’s prime ministers of New Zealand and Australia. "William will be travelling on behalf of the Queen and the wider Royal Family," St James's Palace spokesman said.

The spokesman added: "The Royal Family have been watching the natural disasters with the same shock and sadness as everyone else.

"They wanted to show their solidarity with the people of New Zealand and Australia, and the decision was taken with the prime ministers' offices and the royal household that Prince William should attend and visit the countries."

Prince William will meet those affected by the recent disasters, and members of the emergency and other support services.

New Zealand
Prime Minister John Key told reporters today that Prince William would speak at the memorial service.

"This is a heart-warming gesture that will mean a lot to the thousands of people whose lives have been forever changed by these events," Mr Key said. "I think all New Zealanders will appreciate the gesture from The Queen to ask Prince William to come down. It's a very important step that he's taking because it shows you the international feeling for Christchurch and Cantabrians."

Victoria
Premier Ted Baillieu said he was "delighted" Prince William was showing his support to hard-hit communities.

“The Royal Family has shown a lot of interest in the terrible damage done to communities and families by the floods and Victorians will be greatly heartened to know of their interest,"’ Mr Baillieu said.

“The Prince’s visit will provide immense support and comfort to communities and families stricken by these floods.”

Queensland
Premier Anna Bligh said the visit would do wonders for the state’s struggling tourism industry.

"I do thank the Prince for his decision to visit Australia," she told state parliament, "I hope that he sends the message back to his friends and colleagues in the UK that Queensland is open for business and that while he’s here he gets an opportunity to see that himself."

The local media
The Age published a rather silly comment by Michael Shmith: Will we still have the will for Will? . What else could be expected?

Jubilant Swedes

Nothing attracts more people than a royal wedding.

The official wedding photo.

H.M. the King's speech to the married couple, June 19, 2010

Your Majesties,
Your Imperial Highness,
Your Royal Highnesses,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Her Majesty the Queen and I wish to greet you all with a most heartily welcome to the Royal Palace and to this wedding gala dinner. It is wonderful to see you all here! On behalf of my family — and especially on behalf of my oldest daughter and my son-in-law — I wish to thank you for coming and for participating in our joy! You will always be a part of this unforgettable and memorable day!

Your Royal Highnesses Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel!

Dear newly-weds!

The Queen and I would like to wish you — The Crown Princess of Sweden and Prince Daniel — all the best for the life ahead together!

It is a major step in life to enter into marriage. Not only for the bride and groom, but also for their parents. The promise you have given to each other today on mutual support and loyalty ties the two of you further together. It is, however, an unavoidable consequence of your decision that the ties to your parents thus will be changed. From now on, your first loyalty will be to one another.

We as parents take joy in the affection by which you look at each other. But — as so many parents before us have experienced — the joy of seeing one's children standing on their own to build their families, is also spiced with a touch of grief. I wish that you also one day will be able to experience such happiness that we feel today.

Dear Victoria!
You are the successor to the throne of Sweden. It is a mission that comes with duties and responsibilities. And it is with pride and gratitude I have seen you grow into this role.

One day you will — because so it is stated in our constitution — succeed me as the head of state of Sweden. My mind is put at ease when I see the wisdom and determination by which you prepare yourself for this task.

I know that I share this confidence with a large number of the Swedish people. You could, perhaps, with a reference to our ancestor Karl XIV Johan, say "The love of the people is my reward."

Our relation is, however, deeper than that between a monarch and his successor. I am your father. You are my beloved daughter.

No one should believe anything else than that my highest wish has always been — and is — to see you happy. It has therefore always been self-evident to your mother the Queen and me, that you — as any person in our country — should have the freedom to choose your life´s companion as your heart desires. I have today seeked to make this point clear by accompanying you to your future husband, and thereby confirming the decision to approve of your marriage according to our constitution.

Dear Daniel!
On behalf of the Queen and myself I would like to welcome you most warmly into our family. We would also like to congratulate our daughter on her choice of husband. And we — your parents-in-law — congratulate you on your choice of wife.

We have got to know you as a very ambitious and skillful entrepreneur. I have often been impressed by the purposefulness and the go-ahead spirit which you have shown. And we have with approval noticed the energy and determination by which you have been preparing yourself for your mission as Prince Consort. That is: to give your wife, the Crown Princess, support and confidence.

We are also delighted to have made the acquaintance with your parents Eva and Olle Westling as well as your large and lovely family.

Dear Victoria and Daniel!
The Queen and I, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine would like to congratulate you and wish you all the best. On your walk through life together, you can always count on our support and affection. And we pray that God Almighty always will be merciful to you.

Finally, I would like to propose a toast to — and that we all raise a cheer for — the Crown Princess and Prince Daniel, our beloved and beautiful bridal couple.

Four cheers for them!

And to please the republicans' desire to point out to scandals, here is the one and only casualty of the royal wedding:

Swedish wedding - a great boost for the economy

While republicans seem to believe that „the money question“ could be the trigger to raise antipathy against a country’s Monarchy, they never actually calculate as a good accountant would: "debit and credit". Take Sweden as an example.
This Saturday Crown Princess Victoria (32) will get married to Daniel Westling (36), who will be invested with the title Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland.

If you follow the official figures, the Swedish taxpayer has to contribute €2 mill. (AUS$ 2.85 mill.) to the royal wedding. The Swedish republicans claim, this figure were closer to €10 mill. (AUS$ 14.2 mill.). No matter who is right, the positive aspects of the royal occasion outnumbers the public cost multiple times.

The Swedish foreign ministry expects 2,300 journalists, among them 700 from all over the world, to report on the royal wedding. The capital’s hotel industry and commerce expect an additional turnaround of several billion Kronor (Kronor 1.000 = AUS$ 147). Even bed & breakfast accommodations are sometimes rented out for €500 to 600 (AUS$ 710 – 850). The Swedish tourism promotion is very satisfied with the inflow of foreign visitors. Around 200,000 spectators are expected to line the streets of Stockholm, and the souvenir sales could top €250 mill. (AUS$ 350 mill.).

Swedish shops all over the world benefit from the attention that is drawn to the Scandinavian Kingdom. In Berlin all IKEA shops will broadcast live the royal wedding on big screens. And a slice of princess torte will be offered to the customers who will turn up that Saturday morning. Children dressed as a prince or a princess will receive a free meal also. The supermarket chain ICA offers the whole range of specially produced items, from chocolate to coffee and napkins. The German chocolate manufacturer Halloren (Halle) is also producing "Wedding Chocolates". A beer brewery in Saxony provides a special beer for a reception at the Royal Swedish Embassy in Berlin. "Schwedenquell" has a label with Swedish King Gustav II Adolf, who – according to legend had enjoyed the Krostitz beer in 1631.
Sweden can expect an economic boost, which will swipe in additional tax revenue into the Kingdom’s treasury that will exceed by far even the highest republican estimates.

For a whole day Sweden will attract the world’s attention. TV stations know of the people’s desire to watch royal events. Well, nearly all, because Australia’s SBS has refused to broadcast the Swedish wedding. Germany TV stations will not miss the opportunity to get a high rating. When Crown Prince Felipe of Spain married in 2004 ARD/ZDF attracted 52 %. The Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon married in 2001 ARD/ZDF rated even higher: Nearly 60%.

SBS has in the past shown such events either whole or in part, such as the wedding of Crown Prince Felipe of Spain and of course Princess Mary of Denmark in May 2004, which kept one million spectators glued to the TV screen until 3 am.

"The royals are simply too beloved by the people, says Peter Althin, chairman of the Republican Association, which wants to abolish the monarchy. “There is not enough pressure in Sweden yet for the actual dismantling of the monarchy.”

If you can't beat them, join them! Let's celebrate with the newly-wed royal couple!