Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland

Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland (Madeleine Thérèse Amelie Josephine; born 10 June 1982) is the second daughter and youngest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. Upon her birth, she was third in line of succession to the Swedish throne, currently she is eighth. Princess Madeleine is married to British-American financier Christopher O'Neill. They have three children, Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas and Princess Adrienne.

Early life

Madeleine was born on 10 June 1982 at 19:05 CEST at Drottningholm Palace and is a member of the Swedish royal family from the House of Bernadotte. She was christened at The Royal Palace Church on 31 August 1982, her godparents being her father's maternal cousin the Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, her maternal uncle Walther L. Sommerlath, her father's paternal cousin Princess Benedikte of Denmark, and her paternal aunt Princess Christina, Mrs Magnuson. Madeleine was given the honorary title of Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland. It was the first time since the early 17th century (when such titles were still more than honorary) that a Swedish ducal title included more than one province. Both Hälsingland and Gästrikland are encompassed by Gävleborg County.

Education

From 1985 to 1989, Madeleine began her education at Västerled Parish Pre-School. In the autumn of 1989, she entered Smedslättsskolan in Bromma, attending at the junior level. For the intermediate level, she proceeded to Carlssons School in Stockholm, and then went on to Enskilda Gymnasiet in Stockholm, which she attended at the senior level. She also completed upper secondary school at Enskilda, from which she graduated in 2001. During the autumn of 2001, she lived in London, where she studied English. In the spring of 2002, she took a basic module in Introduction to Swedish Law and studied for the European Computer Driving Licence. In January 2003, she enrolled at the Stockholm University where she began studies in art history. She took 60 Swedish academic units in this subject (two semesters). In the autumn of 2004, she began a course in ethnology at the same university. She speaks English, German and Swedish fluently, and also intermediate-level French. She graduated 23 January 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts in art history, ethnology and modern history. During 2007, she studied child psychology at University of Stockholm.

Leisure pursuits

Madeleine is an enthusiastic equestrian. She has owned horses (which were stabled at the Royal Stables) and competed in showjumping under the name "Anna Svensson". She also enjoys skiing, and is interested in theatre, dance and art. In recognition of her age of majority in 2001, a scholarship fund was created in her name by the Gävleborg province, which comprises her duchies of Hälsingland and Gästrikland. It encourages and supports young people involved in horse riding. In 2001, Madeleine first distributed such awards as 'Pony Rider of the Year with trainer in Gävleborg' and 'Gold Rider'.

Activities

Madeleine undertakes various engagements on behalf of her father and the people of Sweden. She participates in the celebrations of Sweden's National Day, the Nobel festivities, dinners and state visits with other members of the royal family. She represented Sweden at the opening of the ''New Sweden Gallery'' on 5 June 2011, at the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which features an animated map of the New Sweden settlement by Sean Moir.

Charity work

Patronages and interests

Madeleine is the patron of the organisation ''Min Stora Dag'' (the Swedish equivalent of Make-A-Wish Foundation), more commonly known as ''My Big Day'' (its translation into English). She is also affiliated with Europa Nostra, Carl Johan-League and the Royal Motorboat Club.

Victims of child exploitation

In 2006, Princess Madeleine interned for UNICEF for six months in New York City and worked for the division of Child Protective Services. In 2012, she co-founded the ThankYou by Childhood campaign which works to raise awareness of the issues surrounding the sexual abuse of children and the work the World Childhood Foundation does to prevent it. Princess Madeleine became involved in the work of the World Childhood Foundation during her studies. She became one of the juries of the Childhood Prize. She serves on the board of Swedish branch and is an honorary member of the board of the American branch of the World Childhood Foundation since 2016. She became the vice honorary chair of the World Childhood Foundation in December 2021. Her first visit as a vice honorary chair was in July 2022 when the Princess visited Frankfurt, Germany. There, she visited the German branch of the World Childhood Foundation, construction of Child House and met a former child sexual abuse victim. She also visited Frankfurt University Hospital and toured the hospital's children department to meet with doctors to learn about their work.

In 2015, the Princess initiated the #EyesWideOpen campaign. It aims to increase the awareness about the sexual abuse of children. In conjunction with a high-level meeting in New York in the autumn of 2016, the Princess presented the continuation of the campaign – an app that makes it easier for adults to prevent, recognise and react to sexual abuse and exploitation of children. The app is a collaboration between the World Childhood Foundation, Darkness to Light and Ericsson. In February 2017, the Princess announced she was writing a children's book during a visit to London's Southbank Centre. On 28 January 2019, the Princess shared the book's title and cover via Instagram. She wrote: "I'm very excited to finally share with you a book which will hopefully show children how important it is to stand up for themselves and to tell someone when something doesn't feel right." The book titled ''Stella och hemligheten'' ( English: Stella and the Secret) was published in support of the World Childhood Foundation and was released on 4 June 2019.

Personal life

First engagement

On 11 August 2009, Madeleine announced her engagement to lawyer Jonas Bergström (b. 1979). Madeleine said in her engagement interview that they became engaged in Capri in early June 2009. An engagement dinner took place on the engagement day in Solliden Palace on Öland. The engagement could only take place after Bergström had been awarded the official approval of the Swedish Cabinet ''Regeringen'' and that had been communicated to her father, the King.

The wedding was originally due to take place in the second half of 2010 but was postponed due to "many things happening in an intense period of time", mainly her sister Victoria's wedding in June. Queen Silvia denied the rumoured relationship issues. However, media reporting of the relationship issues escalated, and on 24 April 2010 it was announced that the wedding would not go ahead, and the engagement was broken off.

After her relationship with Bergström ended, Madeleine moved to New York City, wher