The annual Aret med Kungafamiljen (A Year with the Royal Family) aired on SVT last week. The program featured footage of the Swedish royal family throughout the year, as well as interviews with all of the royals, including: Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine, and Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia.
[Anna-Lena Ahlström/Kungahuset.se]
Additionally, the Swedish royal court released the above photo of the family for New Years with the message: “Gott nytt år!” (“Happy New Year!”). The photo was taken at Solliden Palace in July 2016. For clarification, this photo is different than the summer photocall they also did in July.
Now on to the Aret med Kungafamiljen interviews. You can watch the program at SVTPlay. For all of these interviews, I’ve painstakingly transcribed the Swedish captioning and then translated them with Google Translate. As always the Google translation isn’t always great, so I’ve edited the translations a bit to make the wording less wonky.
Crown Princess Victoria gave a sit down interview at her home, Haga Palace, on December 8. Victoria spoke a lot about the environment and her work with the UN, as well as on her father’s 70th birthday and her parent’s 40th anniversary.
On celebrating the King’s 70th birthday:
-
Victoria: “It gave an opportunity for reflection. Sure, we [celebrated], absolutely! Then [reviewed] very many pictures, as they say. All dad has stood for as a father, but also as the present picture and as king. I think of all that he has done so faithfully and so ambitious and so committed. But I also think what 70 years means for the development of Sweden. Everything was the means in terms of industry, culture and innovation. It was an occasion for reflection.”
On Victoria’s speech at the King’s 70th birthday:
-
Victoria: “The most important thing was to say, also on behalf of my siblings that we love dad as a father, and what he has meant to us. But also that we appreciate him for that ham has [been] as king.”
On what being a UN ambassador means:
-
Victoria: “It becomes a kind of ‘spokesperson,’ a spokesperson for highlighting the UN’s sustainability goals. They are 17 [goals].”
On the importance of the global objectives:
-
Victoria: “Extremely important! World countries have come together and finally agreed that we have huge problems with how we manage the Earth’s resources and that it must be changed. It is we who must change us and it must happen now.”
On the ecosystem:
-
Victoria: “We must ensure that our ecosystems do not collapse and that biodiversity is not lost. A huge challenge is to be able to feed our population in the future.”
On keeping this her focus in the future:
-
Victoria: “It will be natural for me to focus on the marine case. It is something I feel very strongly that I focus more on that. The Baltic Sea is so complex. It looks so beautiful on the surface. With more information, you realize that it is feeling very bad.”
On how Victoria noticed how the Baltic Sea has changed:
-
Victoria: “One thing is the availability of fish. When I was little we fished pretty much outside Öland, Kalmar particular. You get up the other fish in the day – if you get the fish. Sometimes it is very short on fish. Then we have mucilage which I think most people who try to swim in the Baltic Sea suffer. You realize that you can not swim or you see water is not funny. It is so obvious that we can not ignore the fact that something has occurred. Something has happened to the Baltic Sea and we need to discuss it. It is only when you can not swim [you] become influenced by it. It gave birth to many good discussions with us. Estelle is four years [old], but you can talk to her about it. If the fish are not doing well and that we fish in an unsustainable way. We talked a lot about dead zones and anoxic bottoms. Of the world’s ten marine dead zones, so there are seven in the Baltic Sea. 20 percent of the bottom is oxygen deficient. Only bacteria living there. It was unbelievable. There are huge challenges, but it is also very much. We have the knowledge and technology. Sweden is in the front on many levels. I hope that by joining forces and an understanding that it is serious and it is urgent to gather issues and make a positive difference, an improvement.”
On her year and adding to her family:
-
Victoria: “[This] year has been tumultuous since we got a new family member. Fantastic to experience little Oscar! He is almost a year. There is a lot going on in the body. It is a great gift to have to follow a small child so close and see its evolution and all that it meant – it is great fun. To get one, a child, and the ability to give Estelle a sibling, it feels incredibly good. She is a good big sister – incredibly warm and inclusive. She has a lot of patience, so she’s a very good big sister. [Also], Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia had a young son. He is wonderful, little Alexander.”
On her parent’s marriage and her mom in particular:
-
Victoria: “It feels really nice that they have got to live side by side for 40 years. They have had the privilege, if you now say privilege, to work together. And it requires enough part … Mom has been the Queen of Sweden [for] 40 years. On the way she has been the queen and taking on Sweden and the people, the culture, the language and everything included in the package … It is amazing with what unite and with the energy that her mother made it. I admire her for that. She has not only tackled a man and a new country. a matter of course, she has taken in the country and made it hers.”
On what Victoria will take away from her mom and dad being King and Queen:
-
Victoria: “As a child [you see your] parents: ‘That I do not take with me. But that I might refine and manage.’ I have two very wise parents. Two very curious parents. I think curiosity is something I particularly want to protect, and at best also give [to] my children because that is a huge gift to be curious. Then I think the time will be easier.”
Princess Madeleine and Chris O’Neill gave an interview while in Gotland for their day of engagements in June with Princess Leonore. Their interview focused mostly on Gotland and horses and Leonore.
On Gotland:
-
Madeleine: “First time. It is a special island. Such a special island. It is a very special island. I have longed for this visit.”
-
Chris: “We’ve only been here for a little while, but so far it’s so beautiful. It’s hard not to see that immediately. And flying over on such a clear day you saw the beauty of the island and of course the sea around it, so we look forward to the rest of the day to see more about the island.”
-
Madeleine: “And more visits to come.”
-
Chris: “More visits to come for sure.”
On the meeting with the horse:
-
Chris: “The horse? Very exciting. As you can see, Leonore, she’s full of energy, full of life, and horses are one of her great passions already, taking after her mother, so it can only be the start of a beautiful relationship.”
On what horses have meant to Leonore:
-
Madeleine: “Very much. If Leonore [likes] horses, we should encourage it. You get feet on the ground as a horse girl. You learn to take responsibility and to sometimes take a hard line. I think it’s important for girls of today to [learn to] speak up. It is good in many ways. The contact with [horses] also provide affection and respect for other creatures. So I’m very happy that she seems to like horses.”
On which horse Madeleine learned to ride on:
-
Madeleine: “It was a Gotland Pony named Travolta – a very strange name. Me and my siblings spent [a lot of] time on her. She learned a lot, which is to hold when she wanted to eat. It went over her head sometimes. Gotland Russ is voracious. You had to learn to hold on.”
Gotland Ponies can be fast:
-
Madeleine: “Yes, but they can be sluggish, too. Heidi seems to be a spirited foal. Her personality matches well with Leonore. It’s full speed with her.”
On the name of the horse Chris learned to ride on:
-
Chris: “Um, this was a small part of my childhood, though I think it was called Mr. Paint but it was not a horse that I had a big relationship with.”
-
Madeleine: “Mr. Paint?”
-
Chris: “Mr. Paint, yeah. And I fell off him pretty quickly, so that was over. So a couple times when we’re down in Oland we ride together, or at least Madeleine teaches me to ride. These are on some of the chariot horses to they’re very, very large, very high and I don’t feel comfortable yet taking a big gallop, but I’m trying. I’m learning.”
-
Madeleine: “Now Gotland is a very good start.”
Will Madeleine continue to work with issues related to horses?
-
Madeleine: “Absolutely. I have a great interest in equestrian sport. Although I do not ride much now, it is my heart.”
Prince Carl Philip‘s and Princess Sofia‘s interview was done when they were at the Hykjeberg nature reserve in Älvdalen in September. Predictably, their interview was all about nature.
On the bench they received as a wedding gift and the mountain in general:
-
Sofia: “We got the bench [at] the banns before the wedding, as a wedding gift. We got a beautiful picture as well so when we are not sitting here, we can look at the view at home. First time [we visited the reserve], we took a walk here. That was before we knew that we would get this gift. It was my way of showing up the whole river valley and the municipalities around it. I think I sold in Dalarna significantly that way.”
-
Carl Philip: “Absolutely! Hykje mountain is like a good descriptions of Dalarna. When you come up here and see this amazing view is thinking: ‘Wow, God, how beautiful!'”
On developing Prince Alexander’s interest in nature:
-
Carl Philip: “We will spend time in nature so that he feels comfortable with being in nature and experience it.”
-
Sofia: “I think it comes naturally, in that we are very much in nature. We have fantastic scenery in Stockholm, too, so it will probably [be] natural.”
-
Carl Philip: “Our parents enjoy being in nature. It will be very obvious.”
Why do they like getting out into nature?
-
Sofia: “Peace of mind when you live a busy life. You can not get it any other way. It for peace and balm for the soul. We need to preserve nature, so it is extremely important nature reserve. Nature may live [its] own life, without human involvement.”
Wow this was a tremendous effort KMR, thank you so much!
The picture is beautiful! All in one photo.
I liked to read what they all had to say, especially Sofia and Chris, he is so endearing.
And one thing is sure, I now know that Gotland is a very special island for sure 🙂
OMG, I love, love, love the Swedish Royal Family. A few days ago I saw a tumblr page about Victoria and if I already loved her I love her much more now. She has a light, and she conveys a kindness that I only saw in Harry when I met him here in Brazil. Like him, Victoria’s smile is genuine and she really looks happy when she meet people. I saw her wedding to Daniel and OMG how wonderful it was. I was very excited. And at Carl Philip’s wedding, when the bride started walking the aisle, Victoria wiped away her tears. I don’t know if she approves her brother’s choice, but at that moment, his marriage, she seemed moved by his happiness. I read once that Victoria hoped for Swedish people to approve her date to Daniel and she said if they (the people) didn’t approve him she wouldn’t marry him because her first appointment was with Sweden. And at her wedding speech she said: “I would like to start by thanking the Swedish people for giving my prince”. Wow, this show Victoria cares about people opinion, she is not the type “I’m a Royal, I marry who I want and you will have to swallow”. No, as I said before a royal who does not listen turns his back on the people.
This is an article filled with pictures of Princess Estelle wearing dresses worn by her mother.
http://www.newmyroyals.com/2016/03/swedish-princess-estelle-wears-old.html?m=1
PS. I love the Swedish Royal Family (apart the King) has Brazilian blood. It may look silly but I am very proud of it. Once I saw an interview of queen Sylvia (her mother was Brazilian) and she spoke happily about her life here in Brazil. I love them.
Which tumblr? I love Victoria and would like to see! I agree about her message for her wedding, she cares about her country her people and their approval. While I don’t know how much she and family members approved of their marriage choices, I feel like they are the romantic royals bc you can really tell the love they had for the ones they chose as their partners in life.
Dear Kmr, I enjoyed reading your blog for a long time now, but today I want to thank you for your work, dedication and moderation. I think it is not always easy but you are doing a great job. It is fantastic that you are trying to translate even swedish. I have also watched the video of the swedish royal family and wished that they would include english subtitle. Maybe they should do this because they have fans everywhere in the world. But of course their main focus is their own people and thats easy to understand. I wish you a fantastic 2017 and please keep writing the blog. Please excuse my poor English
Thank you, Ardnas. I wish they’d have an option for English subtitles; that would be great. Your English is very good.
Hi all, when I watched the special online, on STV, I was able to get an English subtitle caption by clicking on the “T” by the volume control at the bottom of the picture.
Great translation, KMR. And great comments from above posters.
I love the Swedish royals too and knew nothing about them until I found this site. (Thanks KMR!)
Victoria’s comments about saving the Baltic Sea feel just as urgent as Harry’s work saving the elephants. She is doing great work and I wish her great success (for all our sakes). I always love reading a Chris interview. He seems honest and grounded and doesn’t have any airs of self importance.
I think Victoria sounds much better when speaking about the Baltic Sea than William and Harry do about wildlife conservation.
I love Chris interviews, too. He seems to grumpy in photos, but in interviews he comes across very well.
Well, Victoria is speaking about her home (the Baltic Sea), not a far off “exotic” continent. I think that makes a difference.
I’m a definite fan of Chris!
Lol. I love his grumpy look! He seems like a genuine family man who works long hours to support his family and then goes directly home to be with his family. Just love him.
I agree with all of these sentiments. There is an authenticity to all of them that I find so very refreshing.
And I add my thanks, as well, KMR.
I think he refuses to be a performing monkey for the press, which gets him bad press in return. It feels like he married Maddie in spite of the fact that she’s a princess, so he’ll tolerate the attention and no more. When he does open up (on his terms), he appears as an intelligent, self-assured, and loving man.
Exactly.
I think it also helps that there is no obvious hypocrisy with Victoria- William and Harry’s pleas always seem to fall flat to me given they are reportedly advid hunters. William in particular has chosen to turn a blind eye or ignore, and arguably thus implicitly condone, utterly horrific acts of animal cruelty such as the Yulin festival in China. I agree Victoria’s statement seem qualitatively different to me.
Chris always makes me laugh! I really like him. Their interview on Skavlan (spelling?) was great.
Victoria is classy and dignified as always. I love hearing what she has to say, despite some silly naivete she seems to have not understanding why people would never want a monarchy; I think she will make a great queen one day, though, with how down to earth she is and all the trials she has gone through, her eating disorder and being able to finally marry Daniel after her father kept denying them.
So much work, KMR. Beautifully translated. Thank you.
Just makes me enjoy and appreciate the Swedish Royals even more.
That photo is wonderful. Estelle, with her daddy, really was a central point.
Love the babies, too. And, Maddie with her mom.
Victoria does speak intelligently and eloquently. Especially in her care for the Baltic Sea and the problems that are being faced. She also loves her family and it shows. Her mother is a very special woman and I think Victoria realizes and appreciates that. Her dad? I am not a fan of the King, but she spoke well of him.
Madeleine and Chris’ little girl is a whirlwind and she is encouraged and appreciated. Love the way Maddie discussed the importance of horses in her life and the life of her little girl,
Really, this family is super special. Again, thanks for bringing them so close to us.
Wow, this must have been a lot of work, KMR – thank you so much!
Victoria is just the best. Love her (as much as anyone could love someone they’ve never met lol).
Considering who her father is, I’m always Impressed how amazing Victoria turned out.
I know she can’t say my dad’s a chauvinist and I hate him but she’s alway diplomatic and nice when talking about him, which for me, wouldn’t be easy.
She and Madeleine seemed to both find good men for themselves
It would be difficult to accept him as he is, considering how he has treated their mother for years. Is it down to Silvia making it clear to them that their marriage is a separate issue from him as a father, I wonder?
Silvia does conduct herself with great dignity and it’s clear her family adores her.
I don’t speak Swedish, so I could be way off (and please correct me if I am), but just listening to them talk, they all come across as very clear. They don’t garble their words like a certain royal we know. Even the parts with Sofia, where you can hear the wind in the background, she is still clear. No mumbling to be heard.
Leonore has so much energy! Consider me a sugar!
Out of curiosity, does Chris speak or understand Swedish?
Chris speaks a little Swedish according to what he said in his 2014 (?) interview and says he’s slowly learning. He’s completely honest about not being even remotely fluent. So maybe by now he’s a much better speaker. Or at least understands it better when spoken. Madeleine is fluent in English to the point you can barely detect an accent.
Goodness, thank you for the translation. I wish google translate was easier to work with.
They just seem so down to earth yet smart and articulate; this is how a great heir to the throne does “normal”, while still being a role model and representative for her country.
A very special family and there’s a lot of love there! KMR, your hard work with the translation is so appreciated.
Victoria is going to make a wonderful Queen. So bright, loving and articulate. Caring of so many issues and so dear when it comes to her family.
The Royal Portrait is lovely. So many darling children. So many — except for that stuffy King — amazing adults. I think Silivia is a great Mom and raised wonderful children. Her daughters and son seem like they are great parents, too.
Estelle in her Daddy’s arms? So sweet. Little Oscar and his cousins. All so very adorable.
Thank you.
I think that is a horrible photograph. Was the photographer trying for artsy with this bad angle? Last year’s picture, head on so everyone was the same distance from the camera, was much better. Grumpy Oscar and Madeleine’s smile are the winners for me here.
Thank you KMR for taking the time to post a translation. I’m sure we’ve all been wondering what was discussed!
Thanks for all that hard work! The Swedes really seem lovely!!!
Thanx Kmr for your daily coverage. This is a blog that I love following because of its accurate opinions .
So nice to see the Swedish royal family. They’re Incredibly and impeccably poised.
On the other hand.. Whenever you mention other royals besides the Cambridges, there are much less comments attached. Was just interesting to notice. I guess when there’s less gossip, there are comments..
Even though you don’t get as much comments on other royal families, I do hope you continue to cover them.
+1
Mainly to let you know KMR that taking the time to translate into English is appreciated.
Thank you.
I love the Swedes! Have no idea what they’re saying when they speak their native tongue but thank you so much for doing the translation.
Thank you KMR so much for this post! I must have missed this or then it has not been shown in Finland yet. You have done an excellent job translating the program, amazing. Swedish is my second language and by the translation one could believe it’s yours too!
Queen Silvia was the star of the show for me, she’s so regal but yet humble. And very kind. The introduction of the dementia home, so lovely.
Prince Daniel was so sweet the children. It’s a nice project, to offer sport activities to the whole family, not just the children. And how he spoke about that exercise should be a right for everyone, not a privilege.
Crown Princess Victoria was so warm also and interested in her work. And it seemed that she was genuinely happy for her brother and of little Prince Alexander.
Princess Sofia gave a good impression too, she speaks very well and I got the feeling she really cares for Sweden and the Swedes. I think she will be an excellent princess.
The King on the other hand, sigh… In Finnish there is a word for when you feel really embarrassed on behalf of someone else, so embarrassed that you just want to put your fingers in you ears and say lalalalalalaaa and look away. That’s how I felt almost every time he opened his mouth.
I said it in a previous post but I’ll say it again. My favourite posts are the ones of the Scandinavian Royal families. I think they are way more interesting than Kate. So I wish that we will hear from them in the future too.
Wow, wow, wow. Thank you for this. I have to admit, the first couple times I stumbled across your blog, I wasn’t sure what to expect from a critical blog; I am not anti- Cambridge as many readers seem to be (not that I don’t understand where those readers are coming from). I am continuously impressed with how fair your blog is. Your writing is thoughtful and fair, and you post so often! I love your coverage of other royals. Thank you for all that you do, I am now a regular reader. 🙂