80 thoughts on “Swedish Royal Family Summer Photocall”

1. Yes – blue overload ! But Leo does look very cute in that outfit – and the colour goes well with blond hair. Sofia’s jeans – too tight for a photo shoot IMO

   1. I’m almost wondering if they wanted all the kids to wear blue so the Queen would stand out…

2. Okay, love the SRF!

   Can someone send a copy of this picture to William and tell him to focus on Dan and how he slays in his summer weight jacket and trouser combo. He’s working the slimmer silhouette, but his was more than likely tailored to fit him properly. No looking like his clothes shrank in the dryer, no overt sightings of various body parts. He looks so good.

   I can understand your frustration with the blue that Maddie’s kids wear, but they look so darned good in it. Leonore…I bet she goes full out from the moment her eyes open. I’m sure her nannies earn their wages keeping track of her and Chris and Maddie probably fall over when she heads off to bed. I wonder if she’ll show Nicolas her fidgety ways.

   Sofia and CP’s baby boy has got some wonderful chipmunk cheeks on him. That is one good sized boy. It was kind of funny watching them scoot up, then over, the a little more for the photographers.

   Estelle is a little pro, they should have sent her after Leonore. She seems to get her settled very well.

   Thank you to the SRF for the summer photo call and thank you KMR for the update. Nice break from recent events.

   1. +1

   2. +2

      1. +3

   3. + 4

   4. I adore fat cheeked babies. That baby is giving me life!!

   5. +10x

3. Madeleine looks gorgeous and how freaking cute is Oscar, gahhhh

4. I can tell I’m in a grumpy mood because I normally love this family and there are so many things about this photo shoot that bother me: Sophia, pants are waaaay too tight. I’ve said before but needs saying again, next size up can be more flattering! That middle part has to go, change it up. Even her updos have it! Either dye your hair the lighter color or go closer to natural look. The ombré look is trashy.
   The all blue doesn’t bother me in this setting since I think they’re trying to match but Sylvia threw all that out the window with hot pink jacket and not an inkling of blue.
   Madaleine whom I think is absolutely beautiful has something off with her face, can’t tell what it is. Need to switch to summer foundation color? There’s something but I can’t out my finger on it. She’s still lovely tho.
   Chris, who I don’t know much about, clearly was exasperated in the video. At some point your child’s free spirit might get tiring and you just want her to hold still for a photo tho. Does he speak Swedish?
   What I did like: the two sisters standing next to each other =)and even their blues and pinks matched. Carl Philip going after Leo, good uncle points. I guess they’re used to that tho. Leo’s sea shell, Alexander’s little chipmunk cheeks! Oh and the dog trying to get in on the action.
   I feel less grumpy now that I listed my positives! Or maybe looking at oscars little grumpy face put a smile on mine.
   Thanks KMR for posting about them. I needed a break from the news!

   1. I wonder also if Chris speaks Swedish. Maddie is fluent in English, and all interviews I’ve seen of them, he did not speak Swedish. They had a bilingual wedding ceremony. I have heard him on camera making jokes about only knowing how to say “rabbit” in Swedish because Leonore has a pet or toy rabbit; but he may have been joking for laughs from the audience so I’m not really sure.

   2. Hi Sarah, regarding Maddie: I watched the video of this shoot and it seemed to me that Maddie was pretty exasperated with both Lenore and Chris but she turned on the smile before the camera so maybe the difference in her face that you’re seeing is the “camera smile” put on in between the “I’m gonna strangle someone” face?

      1. Ha, that could be it. She always looks smashing to me and has a lovely smile, something was throwing it off for me.

   3. I agree about the ombré. It looks really bad on everyone.

      I’m fine with the matching blue for this photoshoot, I just am bored with the blue on Nicolas and Leonore in general. Nicolas has literally worn blue in almost every photo we’ve seen of him except for his first photos and his Christening outfit.

      No, I don’t think Chris speaks Swedish.

      1. Thanks, you’re faster than google! At some point, I’m sure you start to pick it up at some point but the Scandinavian languages all look hard to me and they all speak English and want to speak English with you thus making it harder. I try to learn a few key phrases but went to Iceland and just said sorry, I don’t even know where to begin trying this. They just laughed and said they get that all the time.

         1. Sarah l can comfort you – Icelandic is pretty different from other Scandinavian languages, having developed on a remote island, and it isn’t easy even for us who’re fluent in other Scandinavian languages! I’ve learnt to read it pretty fluently, but speaking is not that easy!

      2. I was googling Chris when you responded but it said Leonore was born in the states. Does that mean she also has US citizenship? To be in the line of succession did/does she have to give it up?

      3. No, he doesn’t seem to speak Swedish very well. We actually happened to be in the same restaurant with him, Madeleine and some of their friends and kids last year and I overheard him ordering. He just said a few words in Swedish like thank you. But what puzzled me the most was Madeleine talking to her daughter in a mixture of Swedish and English. I’m a linguist and grew up in a bilingual family, so I have to say that’s not what one should do. I’ve even heard her do that on TV and heard other people have overheard her addressing Leonore both in Swedish and English, so I don’t think her kids will learn Swedish from her properly if she doesn’t stick to Swedish.

         1. Thanks for telling us about your encounter with Madde and her family Grace.

            Is she just as stunning in real life? (Terrible question to ask, sorry)

            My sister in law is Swedish, my brother speaks fluent Swedish and their 2 girls speak both English and Swedish fluently. When their family moved back home they decided to speak Swedish as home and English out of the house. I’ve found you can speak a mixture of languages to kids and they do pick up both well. When my littlest niece was small she would use the Swedish word when she didn’t know the right word in English so we all learnt Swedish with her too!
            I’ve found from living there that Swedish is a difficult language to learn but most Swedes actually want to practice their English on you. Of course it’s a good idea to learn how to say please and thank you so good for Chris for learning to say tack så mycket.

            1. Madeleine does look stunning in real life too!

               Swedish is absolutely the easiest Germanic language to learn if you ask me (and I speak Danish, Norwegian, German and some Dutch as well), but on the other hand I’ve been learning it since I was a baby, so it’s the one closest to me.

               Of course it’s up to each parent what they decide to do when teaching their children their native tongues, but learning a language properly is a complicated thing and it also affects one’s emotional and intellectual development. I didn’t mean to offend anyone or criticize anyone’s decisions, what I’ve experienced in my childhood and studied has simply made me understand how important it is that parents consistently teach their children the language they know best. I’ve learnt new languages on the way in addition to those I’ve been speaking since I was a kid, and I’ve understood I’ll never master let’s say Italian the way I master my native tongues. I never need to think about deeper meanings when I’m speaking my native tongues, because that comes naturally. As I said, I don’t want to offend anyone, so I hope I managed to explain what I mean :-). Being a linguist I just can’t help thinking like one! When I had my daughter I actually had to give her first language some thought; which one to pick, the one I’d learnt from my father or my mother’s one. Finally I made my choice based on which language I felt most emotionally connected to.

            2. Ha, I was going to ask the same question about Madde! With everyone doing photoshop you never know if they look as good in person.
               My hats off to anyone who speakers multiple languages. I wish the US would be more like other countries and do better with that in educational system. Plus, Scandinavian languages look hard for those of us not familiar with them.
               I’m now the dirty American with google translate =)

            3. Hi Grace
               Thanks for answering my question about Madeleine 🙂

               I was interested in your comments about learning another language. My brother had his girls learn Swedish first as they were living in Sweden when they were born. I think it’s great to keep the connect to your country by teaching your child your first language. It was a very easy transition to speaking English for my nieces, the main thing we all made sure of was that the girls never felt uncomfortable if they didn’t have the right words in English to express themselves. that meant we all learnt some Swedish too 🙂

      4. That must be tough for Chris to be around the family when they are all speaking Swedish and not really know what’s going on or what people are saying.

         1. I think it can be hard, but you do pick up certain things. My family speaks Chinese. I grew up with both and am fully fluent in both. My boyfriend is Scottish and my parents sometimes forget that and they’ll speak to him in Chinese. Chinese is hard to learn! But he has picked up words here and there and will be like “did your mom just say this?”.

   4. I always find Princess Sophia not very regal looking and it has nothing to do with her past. No amount of exquisite, expensive dresses and tiaras etc… could change her look in my eyes.

      1. I’ve heard other people talk about that look in Sofia’s eyes on other blogs. I cant see it myself and I really like her, but I’m about the worst reader of people in the world. I hope she’s in this for the right reasons. Carl Philip sure looks happy around her imo.

         1. I don’t dislike her at all Charlotte. She just doesn’t have that dignified look and it starts with her eyes. They make me shudder.

            1. I like her too, but I get what you’re saying. She’s still a little rough around the edges. Not quite refined yet. For me, it’s the tooth gap she has.

   5. It is becoming common to have everyone wear the same color pallete in a photo shoot. It makes the photo cohesive so no one person stands out, and everyone gets to wear their own clothes. Here, it looks like everyone was told to wear something in blue, cream or peach. Yes, the Queen ruined it with hot pink. She stands out like a sore thumb.

      1. +1

5. I loved listening to them all trying to call the dog in Swedish and the part where Nicholas tried to eat Sofia’s hair ?

   1. How funny was Nico 😀 hahahahahaha

6. Is it just me or does Daniel look a little bit ill in his eyes? I absolutely adore him –for a nonmushy person, his wedding speech to CP Victoria made me cry!– but he did not look well to me in the last few times I’ve seen him. I hope he is doing ok.

   1. Same here
      I dont know why but to me, it feels like he has a forced smile..

   2. His eyes do look a little pouchy. Could just be the ravages of age, I’m noticing my mortality more every morning I look in the mirror! – sigh –

7. Gosh I love the SRF photo shoots!! This is a family that seems to enjoy being together!

   Omg, Prince Alexander is the new Prince Chubby Cheeks, too cute for words!!! And his cousin Prince Grouchy Face, I so hope they will be close as they grow up!! My goodness, Lenore seems to be quite the handful, I really feel for Maddie and Chris having raised a handful myself. This might sound harsh, but while I love my children more than anything or anyone, there were times when they were younger that I just didn’t like them very much, sometimes they were just a bit too much.

   I am starting to find royals dressing their children in blue a bit tiring. Are they unaware that there is a whole rainbow of colors available? I think little Lenore would look great in a sunny yellow color, to match her sunny personality. And I think purple/lavender for Estelle, to bring out her beautiful eyes. Or even a great floral print if they can’t decide on one color.

   1. You are right. I just cant inagine my children being dressed up in the same colors every.single.time when i would have access and affordability to almost every possible children’s brand in the world… their imagination starts from blue and dies right there ….

   2. Exactly I had asked in an earlier post they that the Royals and aristocrats dress their children in blue or white (most of the time as I see on this blog) and the clothes are so simple/ordinary looking, esp for the girls?

      And I have a handful little toddler myself. I adore his energy and his zest for life, but I feel physically and mentally exhausted everyday- then I sleep and literally recharge my batteries, lol. When I saw Maddie’s facial expression, I had to smile, as it’s similar to the face that I’ve had to have many times 🙂 my toddler doesn’t tend to run off, he’s more of a climber! The more dangerous something looks, the more he wants to climb it.

      1. Ah yes, I totally understand how Princess Madeline feels too… while my 4 year old girl is an Estelle, my 18 month old girl is a Leonore. She keeps us busy all the time!

8. Such a beautiful, beautiful family. These babies are all freakin’ adorable.

   I mostly agree with everyone upthread that different colors would be nice to see on the kids, but 1) it’s the parents’ choice and blue might be just their designated photocall color and 2) the kids may also be attached to the color and want the blue. With how willful Leonore seems to be, she might be the one who chose it.

   Great post KMR!

9. KMR, I needed this Swedish sweetness as I’ve had a long day of physical and occupational therapy.

   I agree with the blue. I would love to see some forest green, orange, etc. I did feel for Chris at one point because he looked over it. I’m sure it’s difficult to not know the language as well.

   Estelle is a pro. She is sunshine personified. Little Nicolas looks like his daddy. I need to eat Alexander’s cheeks. Please remind me how much he weighed at birth. He’s a big boy and I say that with love. I love a chubby baby. Leonore is a sweet girl. I can see how it would be trying at times. On one hand, you want to let her be, the other reign it in a bit.

   What made me smile was Vic and Oscar. I love to watch her interact with her kids. She’s so loving and sweet. Dapper Dan didn’t disappoint. I like the small glances and the way he touches Vic. They are beyond cute.

   I could never imagine a Cambridge photocall like this. Will would implode. Kate would freeze and George would side eye it. If this were Mr. Rhiannon and I, we would just roll with it. I wonder if Charles would like a photocall like this. He would be in his element.

   Huge thanks, KMR!

   1. Alexander weighed 7.9 lbs at birth.

      Charles used to do photocalls like this with Diana and his kids, and then just his kids.

      1. Lovely post KMR, thank you!

         I totally agree, Prince Charles, POW and Di did have a lot of Calls with their young princes. Entitled whiny bill middleton remove all the good of his royal family and adopt the classless common middletons with taxpayers funds.

   2. I’d love to see a photocall with the Cambridges along with Charles, Camilla and Uncle Harry. I’m dying to see some interactions between George and Charlotte with their grandpa and uncle. Sigh…but I doubt we’ll ever see that.

   3. rhiannon, I would pay just to see George side eye the whole thing. Sadly I seriously doubt we’ll get a full family photo call unless it’s at some event. Nothing kind of informal like this. William won’t want to give up control and people could get hurt from the elbows and shoving that Kate will do to get front and center.

10. I want to put in a word for Chris:

    It’s not easy learning a foreign language as an adult, especially when your main focus is already divided between job and wife and kids. Also, they do not live in Sweden, so it’s not like he’s getting immersion.

    I’ve been living in France for the past 5 years and didn’t know any French when I arrived. I’ve been picking it up as I go along. I’m ok in French, but it’s still tiring and overwhelming to attend family functions with my in-laws in a foreign language. At some point, I tend to tune out or go get some air, as I need to recharge my batteries, so to speak.

    1. +1 on the Chris support. Im admittedly a sugar for this whole family, and he seems like such a great guy.

       1. I can understand too it’s not always easy for Chris, and I respect him for trying to learn Swedish because knowing at least some also gives him a deeper understanding of his wife’s culture and background.

    2. Hi, LizB. How is your little Anne doing? How are you and all the other family members?

       I can imagine how tough it is to move to a different country and try to learn the language. Especially, when you are raising children, too. So, your understanding of CHris is laudible.

       Do your in-laws ever try to speak to you in your language? Is your toddler bi-lingual?

       It must have been difficult to move to France and not know any of the language. Obviously, your husband knows English, but did you learn French mostly from him? Watching TV?

       My cousin’s husband is from Italy and he speaks English beautifully. They live here in NY and I just adoare hearing him speak Italian. So charming. My cousin has learned his language and speaks it quite well. I try to pick up some phrases whenever i see them.

    3. I just commented about this upthread before seeing your post saying that this must be exhausting and perhaps a bit lonely for him.

       He looks pretty tired in the video while Leonore is running around in circles. You can see Daniel trying to help out and go get her and Chris says to just ignore her and she will come back. Sounds like some parenting struggles!

11. Love this family! So, so funny! I’m mega impressed that they got all the kids to be assembled and almost all looking at the photographers. My husband is one of five, and when we would all have our kids together (6 under the age of 7) group pictures were rough.
    Love Oscar’s fierce eyes. He’s so cute. I liked how the photographers laughed as Lenore scampered around. Maddie and Chris are great. Chris’ face was priceless looking at the photographers like “get the hell done already.” He kind of reminds me of PP. Daniel looked great in his jacket and Vic is terrific as always. How impressive is Estelle? I look forward to seeing her grow into the amazing person I think she’s going to be. Really impressed with how relaxed Sophia was about Nicolas pulling (gently) on her hair. Thanks KMR for updating

    1. +1 Agreed. Sofia just rolled.with it. It was adorable.

    2. Chris gave a wicked eye roll when Leonore was running around and one of the babies was crying! He looks exhausted and this photocall was probably trying on his patience.

       It looks like maybe they were trying to at least initially ignore Leonore running about.

12. I saw another pic somewhere else and it was like a total mess but it’s also nice to see that not everything is perfect for a royals either and adds a bit of fun..

    They look great imo and they seem to be so caring and loving around each other. They talk and interact every time you see them and it doesn’t seem forced. Especially CP and his nieces… ah love it.

    And yes, it’s a bit too much of blue but understand that it’s a colour a lot of people like and looks good on most. It also doesn’t seem to be too coordinated and with Silvia in another colour it’s alright.

13. This is how a ‘normal’ family looks and acts. The BRF are frosty in comparison. What’s not to love about this family? Between Alexander’s chubby cheeks, Nicolas playing with Sophia’s hair, independent and wild Leonore, Oscar’s old man face & serene Estelle, I loved that video you posted KMR, it gave an insight to the family dynamic and the babies’ personalities. Maddie seemed exasperated throughout the shoot, both of her children seem high maintenance and Chris seemed a little cold towards her.

    1. I think Chris looked exhausted and seemed to have a short patience level with the kids. You never know what’s going on in the background of their life though. Maybe the kids aren’t sleeping.

       I agree about Chris looking cold. It also looked like maybe chris and maddy were bickering about what to do with Leonore running around? It seemed as though Daniel attempted to step in and help but Chris said to ignore Leonore. Maddy ended up chasing her around. Maybe Chris is trying to discourage this so that Leonore doesn’t continually run around to get attention. Parenting is exhausting and straining on a marriage, especially with older children.

       1. Those can be tough years, especially with a willful little turkey like Leonore. She wants attention and doesn’t care if it’s the good or bad kind! They will have to firm with her or she’ll take a mile every time haha. Hopefully Nicky will be their “easy” child. Same dynamic as my children, actually, and I know how they feel when I watch their faces in that video.

          Oooh, just saw the comments below about this! Looks like we are all of like mind here

14. I know little or nothing about thw SRF family but wow does that video clip show a whole host of tension between all the adults. Thank God for those beautiful children because the body language between the adults is fraught and very tense.

    1. Exactly,no one seems to even look at sofia,the grandfather is just not interested in touching his eldest granddaughter and so on….

       1. Yea King CG seems to be an unpleasant man, perhaps a lot more so than William. And I noticed too that neither Vic nor Maddie nor their spouses even look or interact with Sophia. Maybe it’s just a one off and not reflective of their relationship. I’m not sure if Maddie and Chris are entirely happy together- they and along with the King and Queen are the only couple that didn’t seem to interact with each other in any way.

          1. One sees Sofia/Alexander and Madde/Nicholas interacting with each other in the video and we’ve seen them all interacting with each other before too. Maybe everything can be bit tense if you know that cameras are focused on you and you try to smile and take care of children, especially Leonore, at same time.
             And though Madde and Chris never gave me the “we are deeply in love” feels some couples aren’t just into showing affection in public… and everyone can have a bad day.
             But still interesting to see the video and pay attention to what they do or don’t do and try to analyse it.

             1. Hi, Miss K. So, you are thinking, “What goes around comes around!”
                Don’t stress too much! I am sure if/when you have a child, you’ll be fine and not tested too much. It’s a challenge, but so well worth it. There are days, I long for time when I can just retreat into a good book and stay with it. But, kids are truly a blessing and don’t think of life as being “pay back” time. Think of all the wonderful things you can offer as a mom.

          2. Hi Red Tulip, I’ve seen photos and videos in the past where everyone interacts well together and seem to enjoy each other’s company, so I’m not reading too much into today’s photocall.

             Re: Maddie and Chris – having raised a very hyper, rambunctious child I can tell you it does put a strain on a marriage and Maddie got pregnant during their honeymoon so they really haven’t had time together to just be a married couple before they started having kids. I really hope that Nicholas will be a bit mellower than Lenore so they don’t go completely crazy 🙂 Anyhow, I think we just a got a peek into the “real” life of a royal couple, one where the wife is exasperated with one of her children and her husband and is probably counting down the minutes until cocktail hour 🙂

             1. Lauri, I would rather see the wife being exasperated by her child. Madeleine looks like she has a great connection with her kids. I find it hard when looking at Kate sometimes with George or Charlotte. Kate just isn’t in tune with them and you don’t have to be all the time but when a baby cries you pay attention not focus on your other half.

             2. I agree, Lauri. I think Leonore is a really darling child, but I cannot imagine taking care of such a little dynamo. Everyone on this blog raves about her, but I wonder if they would be so awed by her if they had to spend 24 hours with her. I’m half teasing. But, it has to be a huge issue for the parents.

                I think caring for her must be challenging. Fun at times, but very nerve wracking, too. She has spirit! But, Maddie and Chris were not married for too long before such an active baby arrived on the scene. I think they look strained when they are together. At least in the last few months, when we see photos of them.

                Yes, they have help and the Swedish Royals all seem to be there for one another, but it must be exhausting.

                Re: The photos. They are are lovely, I think. One big, loving group of people — except for the King, who annoys me. Each child is so cute and oh, Baby Alexander and Baby Oscar!

                Estelle is a sweetheart. She just is so special. And, Leonore in her mom’s arms, looked heavenly. Otherwise, wow, what a cute and very active child. Maddie and Chris need a vacation more than William and Kate do! Send Nanny Maria over for a weekend. I know you (Will and Kate) are hands-on parents, and you could go it alone for two days, couldn’t you?

             3. Jenny, I was that free loving child who ran everywhere. To this day, my mom still talks about how exhausting it was running after me AND she had a nanny. She’d have the nanny and my cousins to help keep me in check. Now she also jokes that she can’t wait until I have kids because my boyfriend was also the free spirited runner and she’s waiting to see karma get us when our hypothetical children run all over the place. To be honest, I’m kinda scared. I think I’m screwed!

          3. CG looks miserable. He’s with his whole family and can’t muster a smile? I’ll never think highly of him after he fought to keep Victoria off the throne. With what a playboy his son ended up to be, he should consider himself lucky he lost that fight. Victoria will be an amazing queen.

             1. I wonder if Carl Phillip is still a playboy. Sofia seems to be a good influence. I think it would be hysterical watching Will and Kate looking after the kids for a couple of days. With my nieces it is non-stop from the moment they get up.

       2. Perhaps no one was looking at Sofia because Leonore was running around like a banshee and one of the babies sounded like they were fussing. Everyone seemed to have their hands full and be pretty stressed out.

    2. Hi MrsBBV, I noticed the tension too but I’m not reading a whole lot into it because most of the time the adults seem to enjoy each other’s company and well, they are family and family tensions can arise over the silliest things, it might have just been one of those days.

       1. HI Lauri, I think because I know so little about them I can’t give them the benefit of how they usually interact with each other. As an isolated video clip one could make all kinds of assumptions about the relationships here. Aks is absolutely right Grandpa looks as if he’s got no interest in any of them. Actually it makes them look a more normal as a family as it seems like there has been a God almighty row behind the scenes before they all trundled out and put their fixed camera smiles on. Oh to be a fly on the wall before and after the shoot. Quite amusing though. Xx

15. A beautiful family! Little Estelle is so sweet. I loved her between her grandparents. She is my kind of child. So pretty, so smart, so loving. I just love her. Little Leonore is picture perfect with her mom, but wow, what a little whirlwind. Her parents must be exhausted. I think Maddie is one of the most photogenic women in the entire world. I can see how she might become exasperated chasing after her child. Chris, too.

    The babies are too cute for words and I am not bothered by the blue. I think everyone looked wonderful and Queen Silvia shook things up with her bright and bold hue of pink. She is the ultimate loving mom and grandmom!

16. What a gorgeous family and those babies and children are beautiful and it is fun to see the individual personalities of the kids emerge. I expect cute Leonore is in to everything and Estelle looks sunny and poised.

    I like Madeleine’s outfit and it is good to see her run around after Leonore. In fact I think Madeleine handled it very well. I also like seeing Sofia with Alexander. Very caring and Victoria with grumpy Oscar, who nearly upstages his sister. Daniel looks handsome in his blue jacket. I expect he just wants to be alone with his wife and kids again. I really like seeing this family. Very relaxed and you can feel the affection. They rub along together. Thank you KMR, for this lovely post. Roll on the next Christening.

17. The best part of this photo are the babies! Each is so different and bring so much personality:

    Estelle: happy and poised and mature. Will make a wonderful queen one day.

    Leonore: with mischief in her smile and eyes. A little hurricane

    Nicholas: looking confused and is completely over it.

    Alexander: sleepy and yawning. He just wants to rest in them sunshine. And he’s so chubby, you can see his elbow rolls through his sweater.

    Oscar: Prince Grouchy face! He’s giving a glare at the photographer! So cute!

18. Hi this is my first post here.

    I think sometimes we tend to judge, criticise or condemn a parent and label him/her as lousy or bad parent because you cannot make your child stand still or sit still.

    Leonore is very active and I think she just wants to run free in the garden and doesn’t want to be stuck in this photo-taking session. Chris looks tired and upset, it’s understandable and I am not blaming him for this.

    From my own personal experiences, it is really frustrating when your child just doesn’t show acceptable behaviors at times. My son behaved worse than Leonore, I had a difficult and challenging relationship with him when he was younger. He had terrible twos, terrible threes and fours moments, I admit I am not perfect and I did get angry at him when he had his meltdowns in public.

    So I just want to say, I will not judge Chris for not helping Madde and ignoring Leonore. Of course these will incur lots of stress and strain on a marriage, I had lots of fights and cold wars with my husband, but we know this is part of life and for Leonore this is part of growing up.

    I remembered Madde mentioned in the family documentary that Leonore has a special bond with daddy and she understands and listens to daddy very well. So I think Chris understands her too and thinks it’s best not to run after her as she may take it as playing time, playing catching or hide-and-seek with mummy and daddy.

    Chris is not into this royal circus thing and he did mention that he gets uncomfortable sometimes especially when there are lots of journalists and photographers around.
    Both Madde and Chris are just learning how to be parents and they are trying their best to keep calm, keep cool and be very patient.

    1. Welcome Ash and very well said. I have a high spirited child too and it’s stressful dealing with both family and work and daily life- my husband and I have disagreements and moments when we are frustrated at each other due to exhaustion 🙁

    2. Welcome Ash!
       🙂

       1. Hi Red Tulip and Cathy, thank you for the welcome.

          A lot of memories came back to me when I saw this video and I remembered very well I looked like Chris whenever my son had those difficult moments. It was very easy for us to say to Madde and Chris, that you need to be firm to Leonore, restrain her or give her time-outs, but it gets very sensitive and difficult when both of them face lots of negative press in Sweden. One wrong move from either of them will result in bad headlines in the papers. They know and I think they were trying to do their best with Leonore that day.

          My son is 17 now and he has grown up into a fine, young man. He is very much into Science, so I think all those earlier years of meltdowns might have something to do with his scientific kind of mentality. He is very strong-willed and sometimes we still have arguments, but at the end of the day, he is still my son and I love him the way he is. I learn a lot from him, I have become more patient, calmer and less rigid. The best thing is he loves to share his problems with me and talks about almost everything to me.

          So again I wish Madde and Chris well and hope they have lots of timeouts for themselves.

          Actually I feel very happy that Leonore gets to run free and I really wish to see Estelle running and having fun with Leo.

19. Hi, Ash and I loved your comments. It must be hard, as you so eloquently said, to have such a spirited and active child. For you, the terrible twos went on for a few more years and I am sure that was trying. I hope things are calmer now. Although, active kids must be staying pretty active.

    I don’t think I would have the patiencence to take care of Leonore on a daily basis. I love the fact that she is such a little imp, but I know my limits. My baby is crawling now and she’s literally “off to the races.” Being on constant watch and alert can be hard. Still, it’s also a joy to see little ones learning and growing. My two step-sons are forever into things, but are old enough to be spoken to when they get to be too much. Still, I wonder how I would do if I was Maddie. Or, Chris.

    Nice to have you commenting. And, best of luck with your son.

Comments are closed.