Prince Nicolas Paul Gustaf of Sweden, Duke of Ångermanland

At 1.45 p.m. on Monday 15 June, less than 48 hours after the wedding of her brother Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist, Princess Madeleine of Sweden gave birth to a son at Danderyd Hospital in Danderyd outside Stockholm, and in a council meeting with the government earlier today King Carl XVI Gustaf announced that his grandson's name and titles will be Nicolas Paul Gustaf, Prince of Sweden and Duke of Ångermanland.
The name Nicolas has not been used in the Swedish royal family before, except in the version Nicolaus. In 1831, the fourth son of the future King Oscar I and Queen Josephine received the name Nicolaus August, the first of them in honour of Emperor Nikolaj I of Russia, but when the Emperor shortly thereafter cracked down on the Polish uprising the reactions in Sweden were so strong that it was apparently felt safest to let the newborn prince be known by his second name, August.
Paul is obviously in honour of Prince Nicolas's paternal grandfather, the late Paul O'Neill, while Gustaf is a name with deep roots in Swedish royal history and of course also the second name of the current King, the baby's maternal grandfather.
All three names were also used in 1909, when the only child of Prince Wilhelm and his Russian-born wife Maria Pavlovna was named Gustaf Lennart Nicolaus Paul, although he was always known as Lennart.
The dukedom, on the other hand, is without precedent. Since Gustaf III re-introduced dukedoms in 1772 these have been derived from the provinces of Sweden. Some have been used more often than others, while some have never been used for dukedoms. Until today, Ångermanland was one of the latter.
The newborn Prince is sixth (and last) in the order of succession to the Swedish throne. He is the second child of Princess Madeleine and her husband Christopher O'Neill, following Princess Leonore, who was born on 20 February 2014.

Swedish royal wedding on Norwegian television

Today Prince Carl Philip of Sweden will marry Sofia Hellqvist in the Palace Church in Stockholm, a glittering event that seems likely to be the last but one major royal wedding in several years.
NRK will broadcast the arrival of the guests, the wedding and the carriage procession through Stockholm from 3.50 p.m. (the actual wedding begins at 4.30 p.m.) until about 6.30 p.m., with Anne Grosvold and me as commentators. The broadcast should also be available at either https://tv.nrk.no/serie/nyheter/NNFA410151155/13-06-201 or https://tv.nrk.no/direkte/nrk1, or possibly both.
The dinner and dance will also be broadcast on Swedish television SVT, but not on NRK - SVT's broadcast of these events will however also be available through NRK's website.

Official guest list for the Swedish royal wedding

The Swedish royal court has today released the official lists of guests who will be present in the Palace Church in Stockholm tomorrow for the wedding of Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist. Some of the interesting names are:

Members of reigning royal families with partners:
TM King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden
HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
HM Queen Sonja of Norway
HM Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
HM Queen Mathilde of the Belgians
TRH Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden
TRH Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
TRH Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway
HRH Princess Estelle of Sweden
HRH Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Mr Christopher O'Neill
HRH Princess Birgitta of Hohenzollern and Sweden
Princess Margaretha of Sweden, Mrs Ambler
Princess Désirée of Sweden, Baroness Silfverschiöld and Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld
Princess Christina of Sweden, Mrs Magnuson and Mr Tord Magnuson
TRH Prince Edward and Sophie of Britain, Earl and Countess of Wessex
TRH Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark
HIH Hisako, Princess Takamado of Japan
HH Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and Mr Ari Behn
Countess Marianne Bernadotte af Wisborg (widow of the late former Prince Sigvard of Sweden)

Members of non-reigning royal families:
TRH Prince Nikolaós and Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark
HRH Prince Leopold and Princess Ursula of Bavaria
TRH Prince Manuel and Princess Anna of Bavaria
HH Hereditary Prince Hubertus of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
TSH Prince Hubertus and Princess Ute Maria of Hohenzollern

Descendants of royalty with partners
Baroness Sybilla von Dincklage (daughter of Princess Margaretha)
Mr James and Mrs Ursula Ambler (son and daughter-in-law of Princess Margaretha)
Mrs Désirée and Mr Eckbert von Bohlen und Halbach (daughter and son-in-law of Princess Birgitta)
Baron Carl Silfverschiöld (son of Princess Désirée)
Baroness Christina and Baron Hans De Geer (daughter and son-in-law of Princess Désirée)
Baroness Hélène Silfverschiöld (daughter of Princess Désirée) and Fredrik Dieterle
Mr Gustaf and Mrs Vicky Magnuson (son and daughter-in-law of Princess Christina)
Mr Oscar and Mrs Emma Magnuson (son and daughter-in-law of Princess Christina)
Mr Victor Magnuson (son of Princess Christina) and Miss Frida Bergström
Countess Bettina Bernadotte af Wisborg and Philipp Haug (daughter and son-in-law of the late former Prince Lennart of Sweden)
Mr Emil Bernadotte af Wisborg (son of Bettina Bernadotte and Philipp Haug)
Mrs Dagmar von Arbin (granddaughter of the late former Prince Oscar of Sweden and of Norway) (aged 99!)
Count Bertil and Countess Jill Bernadotte af Wisborg (grandson and granddaughter-in-law of the late former Prince Oscar of Sweden and of Norway)

Members of Queen Silvia's family:
Mr Ralf and Mrs Charlotte de Toledo Sommerlath (brother and sister-in-law)
Mrs Carmita Sommerlath Baudinet (daughter of Ralf de Toledo Sommerlath) and Mr Pierre Baudinet
Miss Chloé Radigues de Chennevière (daughter of Carmita Sommerlath Baudinet)
Mr Thomas de Toledo Sommerlath (son of Ralf de Toledo Sommerlath) and Ms Bettina Aussems
Mr Tim de Toledo Sommerlath (son of Thomas Sommerlath) and Mrs Kristina de Toledo Sommerlath
Mr Philip de Toledo Sommerlath (son of Thomas Sommerlath)
Miss Giulia de Toledo Sommerlath (daughter of Thomas Sommerlath)
Mr Walther L. and Mrs Ingrid Sommerlath (brother and sister-in-law)
Mr Patrick and Mrs Maline Sommerlath (son and daughter-in-law of Walther L. Sommerlath)
Mr Leopold Lundén Sommerlath (son of Patrick Sommerlath)
Miss Chloé Sommerlath (daughter of Patrick Sommerlath)
Miss Anaïs Sommerlath (daughter of Patrick Sommerlath)
Miss Helena Christina Sommerlath (daughter of the Queen's late brother Jörg Sommerlath) and Mr Jan Sohns
Ms Maria Salles Souto Ferreira (maternal relative of Queen Silvia)

Members of the bride's family:
Mr Erik and Mrs Marie Hellqvist (parents)
Miss Lina Hellqvist (sister) and Mr Jonas Frejd
Miss Sara Hellqvist (sister) and Mr Oskar Bergman
Mrs Britt Rotman (maternal grandmother)
Mr Anders Rotman (maternal uncle) and Mrs Laila Rönn Rotman
Mr Victor Rotman (cousin) and Miss Eleonora Caiazza
Mr Johan Rotman (cousin)
Mrs Lena Rotman (maternal aunt) and Mr Peter Nygren
Miss Hanna Nygren (cousin)
Mr Andreas Nygren (cousin)
Mr Lars and Mrs Irena Hellqvist (paternal uncle and aunt)
Mr Daniel Hellqvist (cousin)
Mr Martin Hellqvist (cousin)

Foreign guests for Swedish royal wedding

With only three days to go before the wedding of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Sofia Hellqvist on Saturday, the Swedish royal court has not yet released on official guest list, nor do the media seem to have been able to get hold of it, but several foreign courts have already announced which royals who will travel to Stockholm for the nuptials.
The only foreign monarch expected is Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, who is the groom's godmother (the other sponsors being Princess Birgitta of Hohenzollern, Prince Leopold of Bavaria and the late Prince Bertil of Sweden). She will be accompanied by Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie.
There will also be a strong Norwegian contingent, headed by the Queen. She will be joined by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess and by Princess Märtha Louise and Ari Behn.
The Queens of the Netherlands and the Belgians will also attend, while the Earl and Countess of Wessex (Prince Edward and his wife Sophie) will as usual represent Britain. The Japanese imperial family will be represented by Princess Takamado, the wife of a first cousin of the Emperor, who also attended Princess Madeleine's wedding two years ago.
It is not yet known whether Luxembourg, Monaco and Spain will be represented, but the presence of Spanish royals are for security reasons mostly only made just before the event.

Statue of King Olav unveiled in Oslo

24 1/2 years after the death of King Olav V and 20 years after the municipality of Oslo decided to erect a statue of him, the King and Princess Astrid today unveiled Olav Orud's statue of their father outside the City Hall in Oslo. 36 members of the extended royal family attended the unveiling ceremony.
The statue shows the late King in a civilian outfit and holding his hat behind his back, having stepped down from the plinth, which is decorated with four reliefs showing scenes from King Olav's life. It is located in Crown Princess Märtha Square, where Queen Maud Street, Haakon VII Street and Olav V Street meet.
There were speeches by among others the Mayor of Oslo, Fabian Stang, and the Minister of Defence, Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide, and all surviving cabinet ministers and members of the royal household during the reign of King Olav had been invited to the unveiling, which also saw an unusual gathering of almost all the living descendants of King Olav and Crown Princess Märtha.
The King and Queen were of course there, accompanied by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus, the Crown Princess's son Marius Borg Høiby, and Princess Märtha Louise and Ari Behn with their three daughters, Maud, Leah and Emma Behn.
Princess Astrid's branch of the family was also complete. The Princess's eldest daughter Cathrine Ferner Johansen was accompanied by her husband Arild Johansen and their children Sebastian and Madeleine; Benedikte Ferner by her partner Aage Hvinden; Alexander Ferner by his wife Margrét and their children Edward and Stella; Elisabeth Ferner by her partner (whose name escapes me) and her son Benjamin Beckman; and Carl-Christian Ferner by his wife Anna-Stina S. Ferner.
Sadly Princess Ragnhild, who would have turned 85 on Tuesday, did not live to see the statue of her father unveiled, but her 92-year-old widower, Erling S. Lorentzen, had come from Brazil. Their son Haakon Lorentzen and his wife Martha were absent, but Haakon's and Martha's eldest son, Olav, and their daughter Sophia Anne were present, while their younger son Christian was absent. Princess Ragnhild's eldest daughter, Ingeborg Lorentzen Ribeiro, was accompanied by her husband Paulo Ribeiro, their only child Victoria Ribeiro Falcão and her husband Felipe Falcão. The late Princess's youngest daughter, Ragnhild Lorentzen Long, did not bring her husband and their two daughters.
The unveiling took place on a symbolically important date: The union of crowns with Sweden was dissolved 110 years ago today, paving the way for the election of the new dynasty in the autumn, King Haakon VII and Crown Prince Olav were forced to leave Norway for exile in Britain 75 years ago today, and King Haakon, Crown Princess Märtha, Prince Harald, Princess Ragnhild and Princess Astrid returned to Norway in triumph 70 years ago today (Crown Prince Olav had returned already on 13 May).

Princess Charlotte to be christened at Sandringham

It was announced today that the christening of Princess Charlotte of Britain will take place in St Mary Magdalene Church at Sandringham on 5 July. Her brother, Prince George, was christened in the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace, London, but the parents are now living primarily at their country home Anmer Hall on the Sandringham estate, which makes the local church seem a natural choice of venue.
Among other royals baptised in St Mary Magdalene Church are the baby's late grandmother Diana, Princess of Wales, who was born in Park House on the Sandringham estate and christened in the local church on 30 August 1961, Princess Eugenie, who was christened there on 23 December 1990, and the future King Olav V of Norway, who was born at Appleton House, also on the Sandringham estate, and baptised on 11 August 1903.
Like her brother, Princess Charlotte will be christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury.