At the risk of becoming the Swedish Royal Family Review, I’m covering the Swedes again. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, Princess Madeleine and Chris O’Neill, and Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist all stepped out for the Swedish Academy Formal Gathering yesterday, December 20, at the Stock Exchange, Stockholm to mark the end of the Academy’s working year.
The Swedish Academy was founded December 20, 1786 by King Gustav III to promote Swedish language and literature. The Formal Gathering marks the end of the Academy’s working year; the Director gives an inagural address and they award the Academy Grand Prize. This year’s Grand Prize recipient was Lennart Hellsing.
The Director’s speech was mostly about how literary criticism is in crisis. Not only are people losing jobs because of the economy but the newspapers have become more entertainment/celebrity focused.
Victoria wore a red dress made of tulle with a red velvet jacket. Love the velvet; not a huge fan of the tulle. Seriously, the Swedes need to get over their love of tulle. Every single one of them has worn tulle in the last ten days.
In “updated calendar news”, Victoria and Daniel will travel to the USA in January next year when they visit San Francisco and Silicon Valley from the 19th to the 21st.
Madeleine wore a dress and jacket from By Malina: the Pleated Sleeveless Dress in green, and the Elsa Jacket in black. This is a fashion repeat for Maddie, who wore this dress last year to Carl Gustaf’s 40th Jubilee Government Dinner when she was pregnant with Leonore. I like the green dress, but I don’t really like the black fur jacket.
Sofia wore a purple dress with a sweetheart neckline and capped sleeves. She looks nice enough. Nothing really special (hair up and a nice necklace would have been great), but at least she’s not wearing sequins and tulle or a body-hugging nude dress with oddly placed beading.
Silvia wore black. Black dress, black velvet jacket, and a fur coat for outside. I’m not a fan of fur.
So who looked best?
I’m leaning toward Maddie because I like her in green, but I’m loving the red velvet on Victoria (I wish the entire dress were made of velvet).
Photos: kungahuset.se/expressen/svenskdam/By Malina
I’m really beginning to love the SRF. Nice dressing, a little drama, sweet babies…lots to love. And they know how to go big with the jewelry and tiaras!!
You know how much I love them, KMR! Victoria looked great. 2015 will be a busy year for them. It would be perfect if Victoria had another baby. On the other hand, I am sure that’s a lot of pressure, too.
Btw, I would love to see a joint engagement with Daniel and Victoria and Will and Kate. The difference between them would be jarring.
Wow, jarring is definitely what it would be. Regal and ready to take on her job with a consort who has stepped up and fits his role nicely, compared to two whiny little brats who just want to be left alone.
William would probably want to know why they don’t keep Estelle tucked away from the press more and Waity just wouldn’t know what to say because she never does. I could have quite the giggling fit watching these couples meet.
I scrolled quickly by the picture of Madeleine waving and had to go back–is it just me, or does she look strikingly like Maxima in that photo?
I know, I did a double-take at her smile; it’s very large and expressive like Maxima’s.
Wishing Victoria and Daniel were visiting the East Coast instead, but understandable- they are here for a working visit building up business and not a photo op charity cash-in. I’m all for charity, but strong business growth funds the ability to help charities.
Do you know if they’re visiting US-based Swedish tech companies while they’re here? Or is the visit aimed at trying to get Silicon Valley to invest in Sweden-based tech companies?
I think Victoria was best dressed overall and I like the tulle look. It’s sophisticated and classic. However, the dress would have looked awesome, too, in all velvet. They all looked nice and I really like Sophia’s dress. I just wish she had put her hair up and worn a pretty necklace. It would have made the neckline really pop. She looks like she is trying to fit in the family and I applaud her for that because it can’t be easy given her past.
I think you’re right that Sofia is trying to fit in. She’s going to need to do everything possible not to appear “cheap”. For example, the slinky beaded gown she wore the other night might have been okay on someone else, but she was criticized for looking :cheap”. I think her dress for this occasion was perfect. And I agree, hair up and beautiful jewels would look awesome.
So far I’m loving the Swedish family posts! It’s a nice break from the whiny Duke and dolittle Duchess.
I, too, enjoy the Swedish family posts.
All the ladies looked fine, but not spectacular. I will never be a fan of tulle on anyone over the age of six. Maddie’s fur jacket detracted from her dress. Silvia’s black was blah and I don’t see the need for anyone to wear fur. I’m feeling snarky this evening…don’t know why, because I really like this family and hope you’ll continue to write about them.
Agree with you on all the points. I think this event was a complete fashion miss but have high hopes this was a small blip. Looking forward to Victoria and Daniel’s US visit
Like the SRF posts!
Thanks for reporting on the Swedish Royal Family. 🙂
It’s nice to see them all appearing together. Fun to see the ladies dress up and the jewels. As for the furs? Is it really cold in Sweden at this time of the year so it is understandable.
ya its laughable when the press keep talking about kates hair, ya sofia, madeleine have georgeous hair but they dont make every appearrance about hair (duchess do little is the only royal who plays with her hair like a 5 year old!!
The Swedes really do have some lovely national traditions. The only thing the BRF does is Trooping and Order of the Garter. Walking to church on Christmas hardly qualifies as an event.
Walking to church on Christmas IS an event if you are Kate Middleton, otherwise how would the Palace be able to “keep” her appearances quota up?
Thanks for this post! I’m really loving the coverage of the other royal families.
I must say that the SRF is one of my favorites. They all seem regal and dignified when the occasion demands it, yet at the same time they seem approachable and “normal.” I don’t know quite how to express it, but whatever it is, it must come from taking the job of royalty professionally. And of course, cutie Estelle tips the scale in their favor :).
I know fur is a subject people feel very strongly about, but I confess that I do like it. Madeleine’s green dress and black jacket are the best combo for me.
Thanks for more info on the Swedish Royal Family. How amazing they are.
I still think Princess Madeleine wins the beauty contest hands-down. She is stunning.
She looks pregnant and so happy. Sophia? I think, as already said, she is trying very hard to fit in.
Happy Holidays to all.
Looks like Sophia should join Duchess Catherine in an workshop titled “Undergarments – what they are and why we wear them.” With the camera flashes, you can see through her dress (I noticed it in other pics too). Does nobody wear a slip anymore?
Just remember you’re talking about two women who spent their 20’s crawling out of their undergarments for the men they were trying to trap – I mean the men they love.
Yikes! I scrolled back to look and now I have to go wash my eyes out. Looked like braless and thong undies. There goes the neighborhood! Victoria and Madeline need to have a little chat with her. I’d pay money to see them tag-team her.
Oops! Just realized it’s Sofia with an “F”
Hey since Willy and Waity aren’t doing anything right now (and are as boring as unbuttered toast even when they do something) why not cover royals who actually contribute to society?
They have released pictures of Monaco royal babies!
Ooh, where are they?
Sometimes I wish Victoria would do something else with her hair, like an elegant chignon. I feel the bun is too severe and makes her look very schoolmarm-ish. She also had the bun in that little Xmas video of theirs.
But, I still love the Swedish royals 🙂
Totally agree.
She does wear her hair up a lot. She has the opposite problem Kate does; I’d actually like to see Victoria’s hair down sometimes.