Royal Baby Sweden is a boy. The announcement was made by proud dad, Prince Carl Philip, at a press conference at Danderyd Hospital where his son was born earlier today. The baby, a second child for the prince and his wife Princess Sofia, weighed 3.4kg (7lbs 7oz) and measured 49cm.
The baby was born at 11.24 on August 31st 2017 and is the second son for the couple who married on June 13th 2015 in Stockholm. Their first child, Prince Alexander, is now 16 months old, arriving on April 19th 2016 at the same hospital. Carl Philip announced the arrival by referring to a little brother for Alexander and described his new son as ''charming'' and ''pure joy'' as well as ''perfect''.
The baby prince is sixth in line to the throne of Sweden and the sixth grandchild and fourth grandson for King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. His names and title will be announced at a special cabinet meeting on Monday.
Sweden has a new royal baby. Princess Sofia has given birth to her second child. The new sixth in line to the throne was born on August 31st 2017 at 11.24am local time at the Danderyd Hospital. Mother and baby are well. A happy beginning to a new royal chapter.
The announcement came in a brief communique from the Marshall of the Realm. We don't yet know whether the baby is a boy or a girl - that will come in a press conference with proud papa, Prince Carl Philip, a little later on today. The new baby is a little brother or sister for Prince Alexander who was born on April 19th 2016 and a sixth grandchild for King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia.
The new second time mummy was last seen in public at a friend's wedding. Her last public engagement was at the start of August when she attended a conference on Sustainability in the Future. It's not yet known when she will leave hospital with her second child. But we do know that Sweden's latest royal baby provides a happy end to the regal summer. Well done, that princess.
Diana, Princess of Wales died twenty years ago today. Fatally injured in a car accident in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris just after 12.20am on August 31st 1997, she died in Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital around 4am. Twenty years on, many tributes have been paid and many memories shared. The princess continues to fascinate and will for many years to come. An integral part of the House of Windsor, her life and her death changed it forever. Twenty years on, the world still remembers Diana, Princess of Wales.
There are several articles on the blog about Diana and the events marking her anniversary this year. Among them are the tributes paid to her by her sons, William and Harry, who visited the White Garden planted in her honour on August 30th 2017.
Twenty years ago this week, two young princes stood and contemplated the flowers left in memory of the mother they had lost. Two decades on, they did the same. The sight of William and Harry looking at tributes left in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales as the twentieth anniversary of her death approaches is perhaps the moment we will all take away from the sea of remembrances that have marked this summer. Twenty years on, they remain forever her boys.
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William and Harry in front of those gates immediately brings back memories of them as youngsters, bravely looking at tributes in the days after their mother's passing on August 31st 2017. Then they were handed flowers and cards from wellwishers and twenty years on history repeated itself. The two princes were passing the afternoon at Kensington Palace where several events had been scheduled. But an impromptu walkabout ended with William and Harry accepting floral tributes which they then placed at the gates along with others already left. Two boys, two decades, too poignant.
There was something instantly moving about seeing William and Harry in front of the tributes to Diana. Face to face with their mother, with banners declaring how great she was, with words written large that her legacy lives on in them, it felt almost overwhelming. And maybe that's why it struck such a chord. It made us remember those days after Diana's death when that huge sea of public grief came rushing at them and they handled it all with such dignity. Twenty years on, they took the tributes and accepted them with grace and the imagery was lost on no one.
The moment at the gates came during what will be William and Harrry's only public appearance during the time of the actual anniversary itself. The princes, along with the Duchess of Cambridge, toured the White Garden at Kensington Palace planted in memory of Diana and met gardener Sean Harkin who worked on the tribute as well as Graham Dillamore who tended the grounds during Diana's time at the palace.
TRH's meet with the founders, former & current patients of the Osteopathic Centre for Children. pic.twitter.com/79vWPT1yx4
There was also a chance for the trio to meet representatives of some of the charities of which Diana was patron. Among the people they chatted to were members of the Osteopathic Centre for Children - the organisation had been in contact with the princess about their Sweet Pea appeal in the months before her death. One of the meetings already in her diary for September 1997 was with them. That summed up this afternoon. Memories of a princess and many reminders that her life was cut tragically short and her work, which helped many people, ended far too soon.
But it was the walkabout with the small crowds gathered in heavy rain that proved the moment that will endure. Beneath umbrellas, with the weather getting worse as the minutes passed by, William and Harry stopped to chat, to listen and to accept more tributes to Diana. They then walked over to the gates and carefully arranged the flowers among the bouquets already left there.
A tweet from Kensington Palace said that they were ''grateful for the many flowers, letters and messages they had received about their mother'' while a later one added '' they wanted to say thank you to those who made the journey to Kensington Palace''. Diana's legacy is a big one. She is the royal who changed royalty, the princess who embraced celebrity, the woman who wanted to help and who altered far more for the good than she probably ever knew. Those who came to pay tribute brought all that with them. The princes took it all in their stride while making sure their mother was centre stage. Whatever happens on personal, public or constitutional levels one thing stands out in the tale of William, Harry, Diana and will always remain. They are forever her boys.
Diana has dominated the royal summer and with just a day to go until the 20th anniversary of her death, flowers and tributes are already being laid at Kensington Palace. The gates of her London home were the focal point for national grief in 1997. Today, they are filled again with fond memories of a princess gone but not forgotten.
The posters and banners have been hanging there for several days now with a steady stream of flowers joining them as people start to make their way to Kensington.
Kensington Palace has again been the focal point for remembering Diana. The exhibition of her dresses that tells her story through her love of fashion has been running since early this year while the White Garden planted in her memory is in full bloom.
Later today, Prince William and Prince Harry will visit the garden in a public tribute to their mother. It's the only time we will see them during the actual 20th anniversary - understandably, the day itself will be spent privately. But the flowers will keep on coming as Kensington Palace, which was carpeted in flowers in the days after Diana's death, once again becomes a place to remember. Twenty years on, Diana remains a beloved royal.
Here's to a new school year. As they prepare to send their first born off to classes for the first time, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are also renewing their diaries as Kensington Palace announces the first engagements after the summer. And perhaps with good cause. The latest royal work stats, compiled by the Press Association show that William and Kate are really playing catch up when it comes to work in 2017.
September is almost as much a time of reflection as New Year's Eve. The start of the academic calendar sees many people taking stock and starting again. Kensington Palace said, in a press release on August 29th, that means William and Kate mostly basing their family in London rather than Norfolk from now onwards. But others were more struck by the numbers of days worked by the Royal Family this year which makes stark reading for the younger faces of the House of Windsor.
Kate is bringing the rear in this list. She might top the most liked royal Instagram posts on a regular basis but with 39 days worked so far in 2017 she's a long way off the title of busiest royal of the year. William and Harry both have 46 days under their regal belts this year, a week more of work than the duchess. But all are a long way behind the busiest royal of 2017. There are absolutely no prizes for guessing that the Princess Royal has taken first place - so far this year, Anne has clocked up 114 days on royal engagements.
Which means this back to school time is a real landmark for William and Kate. Even before they drop George off at St Thomas' School, Battersea on September 7th for his first day, we have a renewed agenda with Kensington Palace announcing engagements for both of them as well as Harry in the next few days. But the challenge seems to be heavier for the Cambridges - Harry has the Invictus Games coming up in September which will mean a couple of high profile weeks for the prince. William has now given up his job as an air ambulance pilot and there has long been a general expectation that when that happened, the couple would take on more royal duties. The calendar will need to fill soon to avoid awkward questions.
The announcement from Kensington Palace seems to point that way although actual engagements were limited to the start of September with some talk of European tours later in the autumn. There's little chance of reeling in Anne on the days worked list but a good autumn will provide strong foundations for the Cambridges as they enter a new phase of their royal lives with children growing up and more responsibilities beckoning in the not so distant future. New school year, new challenges, new beginnings. Time for William and Kate to catch royal life with both hands and keep on going.
