In a Council of State at the Royal Palace in Stockholm at 11.15 a.m., King Carl XVI Gustaf officially informed the cabinet of the birth of Prince Carl Philip's and Princess Sofia's second child, a son who saw the light of day at Danderyd Hospital on Thursday 31 August at 11.24 a.m. The newborn has received the name Gabriel Carl Walther and the titles Prince of Sweden and Duke of Dalecarlia (Dalarna in Swedish).
From what Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said, it seems the parents have chosen the name Gabriel, which has no royal traditions in Sweden, because they believe it fits their newborn baby. The name Carl, on the other hand, is perhaps the most frequently used male name in Swedish royal history, borne by, among many others, the child's father and paternal grandfather, as well as nine Swedish kings before him (although he is called Carl XVI Gustaf, the first six Carls never existed). Walther is clearly in memory of Queen Silvia's father, the German businessman Walther Sommerlath, and the name is also borne by one of her brothers.
Many had guessed that the newborn baby would receive the dukedom of Dalecarlia, as that is the province from which Princess Sofia hails, but it is actually the first time that such personal connections are taken into consideration for the choice of dukedom. The dukedom of Dalecarlia was last held by King Carl Gustaf's youngest uncle, Prince Carl Johan, who received it at the time of his birth in 1916, but forfeited it when he married a commoner in 1946. Before that it was held by King Oscar I's youngest son, Prince August (1831-1873), whose widow Teresia, the Dowager Duchess of Dalecarlia, died only two years before the dukedom was created anew for Prince Carl Johan.
Prince Gabriel is King Carl Gustaf's and Queen Silvia's sixth grandchild and also sixth in line to the Swedish throne, following Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Estelle, Prince Oscar, Prince Carl Philip and Prince Alexander. However, the family will continue to grow in the near future, as it was announced only four days before Prince Gabriel's birth that Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill are expecting their third child in March.
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