According to the Swedish royal court it has been decided that Princess Madeleine’s and Christopher O’Neill’s daughter, who is expected at the end of next month, will be born in New York, where the Princess has lived since 2010.
I believe the little Princess will be the first person in line to the Swedish throne to be born abroad (obviously not counting those who were not in line of succession at the time of their birth, such as Oscar I), and I cannot think of many members of reigning royal families to be born in the USA (King Bhumibol of Thailand being one example). I suppose this will also mean that the child will acquire American citizenship by birth, thus creating the unusual situation of a Princess of Sweden also being a citizen of and owing allegiance to another country.
Saturday, 11 January 2014
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I suppose this will also mean that the child will acquire American citizenship by birth, thus creating the unusual situation of a Princess of Sweden also being a citizen of and owing allegiance to another country.
ReplyDeleteAmerican and British nationality legislation (Christopher O'Neill is also a British national, cf. the Swedish royal court) incorporate the principle of jus sanguinis in addition to jus soli. Had they been born in Stockholm, the children of Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill would nevertheless have acquired American and British citizenship by birth (you may verify my assertion by consulting the regulations of the nations in question.)
The situation will indeed not be unusual in forthcoming years, assuming that members of royal families continue to wed foreign nationals, as many countries that formerly permitted only patrilineal transference of nationality now permit transference through either parent.
Addendum to my previous comment:
ReplyDeleteYou may wish to consult, for instance, the webpages of the U.S. State Department and of the U.K. government services (Gov.uk), respectively.
I might add that, due to the expanding tally of countries permitting plural nationality, the number of individuals whose status as plural nationals is acknowledged by all jurisdictions is likely to burgeon.
Apart from issues of succession, etc., have the Swedish media touched on other issues regarding Madeleine's decision. Yes, we have excellent hospitals and maternity units in the USA, but we do not have maternity leave or paid day care or other benefits that Swedish moms and dads enjoy. One assumes Chris has excellent health insurance. Thanks to the AHA, health insurances cannot deny insurance for maternity care although, of course, there will be bills to be paid. Insurance does not pay 100% of costs. No one comes to see you after you leave the hospital -- you make the appointment to bring the baby to the pediatrician. Madeleine and Chris will be able to afford a nurse, etc., but if Madeleine were an average American woman, she would have had to save vacation and sick days for her maternity leave -- and then perhaps if she could afford it, use the Family Leave Act, which allows for a woman or man to take off for 12 weeks without pay from their job for giving birth, illness in a family, adopting a child. Some states have enhance the Family Leave act with 6 weeks pay and 6 weeks no pay ... but you won't lose your job at that time. One hopes a mom or mother-in-law or other family member can help out in the early days. Women also struggle because day care can be difficult to find .. and expensive. Very few American companies offer paid maternity/paternity leave ... many would consider maternity leave to be discriminatory because it is a benefit that is not enjoyed by employees. Of course, Madeleine and Chris won't to face these issues, but her decision certainly highlights the huge differences between the US and Sweden regarding maternity/paternity leave, care and so forth
ReplyDelete