The Royal Family's Current Events - Part 3 (December 2004 - May 2005)

[Gita]

Over here in Britain it is cold, it has been like this for two weeks now.

During January, February and March we had mild sunny weather, which was one of the mildest winters on record but as soon as April arrived we started to get cold winter weather and it is supposed to be the spring!:(

[GrandDuchess]

From TV4:



He is a "Royal Purveyor" of driving licences. Jan Alexandersson has helped both Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Madeleine to take their driving licences.

It started with him driving with Crown Princess Victoria on Öland before she were to take her licence. When it was little sister Madeleine's turn, she also wanted help from Jan "Alex" Alexandersson.

- It was fun to get that job, but it was nothing I could talk about. But the journalists started to call me after they had seen my car next to the King's at Solliden, he says.

So you became a celebrity driving teacher?
- Yes. At home I was already a local celebrity, but then the national media also started to get in touch. It's okay as long as they write what you say, but often they just make up things...

How were the Princesses as drivers?
- Well, they were totally normal and good. Nice. What do you want me to answer to that?...

Was there anything they had a difficult time with? Parking between cars ("pocket parking")?
- No, not really. Madeleine had horses so she's used to driving trailers with them. So she was good.

Princess Madeleine attended her theory education on distance tuition at Jan's driving school in Karlskrona and she practiced driving in Kalmar. That was also where she took the driving part of the licence.
- She could practice with her bodyguards inside the Solliden area, so that helped for her.

[Lena]

Originally Posted by GrandDuchess

Was there anything they had a difficult time with? Parking between cars ("pocket parking")?
- No, not really. Madeleine had horses so she's used to driving trailers with them. So she was good.

Thank you, GrandDuchess. Interesting information. How is it possible to be used to drive with trailers, when you don´t have the driver´s license.

[Yennie]

Originally Posted by Lena

How is it possible to be used to drive with trailers, when you don´t have the driver´s license.

Perhaps she did it on private property. Many young people who lives on big estates drives before its legal.
Remember Solliden is quite big. Its 1 kilometers from the Palace to the beach, perhaps she´s lazy :)

[Lena]

Originally Posted by Yennie

Remember Solliden is quite big. Its 1 kilometers from the Palace to the beach, perhaps she´s lazy :)

Wow, 1km?! It looks all smaller in the pics. So when Victoria & Daniel really live in the beach house, when they are at Solliden, then they are quite alone there. What a difference it must be, when they spend a few days in the home of Daniel´s family in Ockelbo.
Well, probably I just wanted to hear, that she drove illegal. I did the same My grandparents live completely on the countryside...and I guess policemen cross the streets there only every 3 years or so. My mother started to drive there with the car of her dad at 12...and I followed her "foot steps" :o

[GrandDuchess]

Official Engagements Week 17 (April 25 - 1 May)

Monday 25/4

> H.R.H. The Crown Princess
Attendance at the presentation of the first volume of Nationalnyckeln
Café Klara, The Stockholm City Theatre

> H.M. The King
Awarding of the Vega medal
The Royal Palace of Stockholm (a medal awarded by The Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography)

> H.M. The King
Attendance at the Big Export Day and awarding of the Big Export Prize
The China Theatre, Stockholm

> H.M. The Queen
Attendance at a fundraising gala for World Childhood Foundation
New York, USA

> H.R.H. Princess Lilian
Attendance at The Royal Automobile’s Annual Meeting and medal awarding
The Bolinder House, Stockholm

Tuesday 26/4

> H.M. The King
Attendance at the inauguration of a monument for the Finnish war children
Haparanda, Norrbotten County

> Princess Christina, Mrs Magnuson
Awarding of this years Carina Ari Scholarships for Young Dancers
The Grand Foyer of the Royal Opera, Stockholm

Wednesday 27/4

> H.M. The King
Visit to Arlanda Airport to receive information about the custom’s work
Arlanda Airport, Stockholm

> H.R.H. The Crown Princess
Attendance at The Swedish Work Environment Association’s 100th jubilee celebrations and the awarding of the “Large Work Environment Prize”
Nordiska Museet (the Nordic Museum), Stockholm

> H.R.H. The Crown Princess
Attendance at the awarding of the Large Conductor Prize
The Concert Hall of Stockholm

Thursday 28/4

> H.M. The King
Grand Audiences: Bhutan, The Ivory Coast, Cambodia, Trinidad & Tobago
The Royal Palace of Stockholm

> H.R.H. The Crown Princess
Awarding of the prizes in The Emerich Fund’s school competitions
Fryshuset, Stockholm

Friday 29/4

> H.R.H. The Crown Princess
Inauguration of the Tycho Brahe Museum
Ven, Skåne County

> H.M. The King
Precedence: Lars Kristofferson, the Swedish World Wildlife Fund, and Ulf Holmberg, the World Wildlife Fund
The Royal Palace of Stockholm

> H.M. The King
Annual Meeting with Prince Gustaf Adolf & Princess Sibylla’s Memorial Fund
The Royal Palace of Stockholm

Saturday 30/4

> T.M. The King and Queen, H.R.H. The Crown Princess, H.R.H. Prince Carl Philip, H.R.H. Princess Madeleine, H.R.H. Princess Lilian
The King’s Birthday
The Royal Palace of Stockholm

[GrandDuchess]

Official Engagements Week 18 (May 2-8)

Monday 2/5

> H.R.H. The Crown Princess
Opening of the “Dare to be Your Own” fair in connection to Youth Enterprise’s 25th anniversary
Stockholm International Fairs, Älvsjö

Tuesday 3/5

> H.R.H. The Crown Princess
Opening of The World Heritage House
Falun, Dalarna County

> H.M. The King
Precedence: The resigning and entering over commandants in Stockholm, major-general Bo Waldemarson and lieutenant-general Jan Jonssson
The Royal Palace of Stockholm

> H.M. The King
Precedence: Professor Anders Karlqvist and Professor Elisabeth Kessler
The Royal Palace of Stockholm

> H.M. The Queen
Board Meeting in the Silviahemmet Foundation
Silviahemmet, Drottningholm

> H.M. The King
Attendance at the Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management’s annual meeting and following dinner in connection with their 175th jubilee
Umeå, Västerbotten County

> H.M. The Queen
Attendance at the annual meeting of Sällskapet till Arbetsflitens Befrämjande
The Royal Palace of Stockholm

(Note: this weeks is a short "holiday" week in Sweden, on Thursday it's Ascension Thursday, and most people get off work from Wednesday or Thursday)

[GrandDuchess]

According to my information, there will be 2 more incoming state visits to Sweden this year. After the first State Visit from Latvia in March, the second one will be in May and will be from Brazil, and the third one will come in September.

[HMQueenElizabethII]

Thanks lot GrandDuchess.I think in Sept,is it the State Visit of TM King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway to Sweden?

[GrandDuchess]

Official Engagements Week 19 (May 9-15)

Monday 9/5

> H.M. The Queen
Attendance at The Society of Friends of Artists’ annual gathering and awarding of The Foundation Renaissance for Humanities scholarship
Prince Eugen’s Waldemarsudde, Stockholm

Tuesday 10/5

> H.M. The King
Inauguration of The Foundation Stockholm’s Student Housing’s new student apartments
Solna, Stockholm County

Wednesday 11/5

> H.R.H. The Crown Princess
Inauguration of the exhibition “From His Majesty The King’s graphic collection 2005”
The House of Graphics, Södermanland County

> T.M. The King and Queen
The Royal Couple begin a two-day theme program about the energy support. The first stop on the programme is Forsmark Power Plant

> H.R.H. The Crown Princess
Attendance at The Friends of Nordiska Museet and Skansen’s Annual Meeting
Skansen open-air museum, Stockholm

Thursday 12/5

> T.M. The King and Queen
The Royal Couple continue their two-day theme program about the energy support with visits to Älvkarleby hydroelectric power station, the stream power laboratory in Uppsala and The University of Uppsala

> H.R.H. The Crown Princess
Attendance at the world premiere of the ballet “Pippi Longstocking”
The Royal Opera, Stockholm

Friday 13/5

> H.M. The King
Reception for scholars from the King Carl XVI Gustaf 50th Birthday Fund
The Royal Palace of Stockholm

Saturday 14/5

> T.M. The King and Queen
Attendance at a jubilee banquet on the occasion of The Royal Swedish Yacht Club’s 175th anniversary
The Täcka Cape, Stockholm

Sunday 15/5

> T.M. The King and Queen
Opening of H.M. The King’s exhibition “A collection of royal postcards”
Solliden, Öland

[Gita]

No royal duties for Prince Carl Philip or Princess Madeleine. I guess we will see more of them in a few weeks time.

What is Prince Carl Philip doing now? Is he studying at College/University?

[GrandDuchess]

Neither Prince Carl Philip nor Princess Madeleine perform many official engagements on behalf of the Royal Family at the moment, since both of them are studying full time. Prince Carl Philip is studying graphic design. They only take on a few things per year, mainly at big state events - like banquets and dinners, state visits and the Nobel week.

[Lena]

Originally Posted by GrandDuchess

Neither Prince Carl Philip nor Princess Madeleine perform many official engagements on behalf of the Royal Family at the moment, since both of them are studying full time. Prince Carl Philip is studying graphic design. They only take on a few things per year, mainly at big state events - like banquets and dinners, state visits and the Nobel week.

Yes, it´s surely hard to plan things, when you don´t know for sure, which tests you have a few months later. But I though guess it´s also some kind of excuse for them. To be the center of attention 3 times a year is nice, but to be it every second week is probably a bit boring.
I say "excuse", because I think of the many full time students, who additionally have to work to finance their lives...so why should it be then impossible for Carl Philip and Madeleine to perform more often duties in the afternoons, evenings, weekends or holidays (?)

[mixer2002de]

Hell why should they?
Would you like a Family of nerdy couc potatoes like the Windsors?

[Lena]

I fear I don´t get your comment, Mixer. One can hardly call the Windsors couch potatoes.
Maybe you can explain it to me in the next thread. It´s time to close. Thanks to all, who have participated.
The new thread:
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...497#post212497