The Swedish royal court today confirmed what has been long expected, namely that Princess Madeleine and her family will soon be moving to England. Princess Madeleine moved to New York on the day the end to her engagement to Jonas Bergström was announced in April 2010 and remained there after marrying Chris O'Neill in June 2013. Their daughter, Princess Leonore, was born in New York in February last year, while their second child, which is expected almost any day now, will be born in Stockholm, whence the family moved at the end of 2014. However, it was stated at that time that they were only living in Stockholm temporarily while looking for a home somewhere in Europe.
Chris O'Neill holds both British and American citizenships, but has stated that he considers himself primarily British. London is also where he was born, and where his mother Eva O'Neill lives. While Chris O'Neill changed his tax domicile to England on 22 April, Princess Madeleine and their daughter are still living in Stockholm. His absence from a handful of recent events, including the celebrations of King Carl Gustaf's 69th birthday on 30 April, has been remarked upon by the press, and it is now clear that he will also be unable to attend the National Day celebrations on 6 June. Obviously this is not too strange considering that he is not a working member of the royal family, but has a full time job to look after even though he is married to a princess.
The Act of Succession includes a rather vague stipulation for princes and princesses to be brought up in Sweden, and at the time of Princess Leonore's birth it was stated by the Marshal of the Realm, Svante Lindqvist, that the court had interpreted this to mean from about the age of six and that the children should attend Swedish schools in order to maintain their succession rights. It is of course not really for the royal court to make binding interpretations of constitutional matters, but as their interpretation has not been challenged it seems the family will have to return to Sweden before 2020 if Princess Leonore is to retain her succession rights (and possibly her royal titles, which have in recent generations been seen as conditioned by succession rights).
Could it be that Princess Leonore - by having been brought up in Sweden during the past months - has already fulfilled the constitutional requirement and can thus no longer be stripped of her succession rights?
ReplyDeleteNo, spending a few months of your infancy in Sweden is not by any definition to "be brought up within the realm", as the Act of Succession demands. As stated above, the royal court interprets it to mean that princes and princesses must be brought up in Sweden from about the age of six, attend Swedish schools and speak Swedish fluently. Contrary to what one journalist claimed a few days ago it will also not be enough for them to attend Swedish schools abroad, as the Act of Succession clearly says "within the realm".
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