Princess Sofia won’t be at the Nobel Prize ceremony next week, but she did turn up unexpectedly at Rosendal Palace in Stockholm for a special reason.
The Swedish princess attended the 200th anniversary commemoration of the Rosendal Vase, which is stored in the royal garden at Rosendal Palace. The vase was built in Princess Sofia’s hometown, Älvdalen, in Dalarna county.
In a speech, Princess Sofia spoke about the history of the moment, talking about the uniqueness of the porphyry rocks used to create the vase: “unusual rocks which could be quarried and polished to perfection by skilled and patient craftsmen.”
She added that the Porfyrverket, the market that worked on the vase, “created employment, pride, and community among the residents,” and the community of Älvdalen was a promise “of work, of faith in the future, and of an opportunity for the region to grow.”
The Rosendal Vase was commissioned by King Carl XIV Johan for his garden at the palace, where porphyry rocks had already been on display. The Rosendal Vase was completed in 1825 and sent to Stockholm where it has remained ever since. At the time, it took five weeks to transport the vase to Stockholm, which Princess Sofia joked, “A journey that today would have taken a few hours by truck.”
Princess Sofia has been on maternity leave since giving birth to her fourth child, Princess Ines, earlier this year; and it’s for this reason that she will miss the Nobel Prize celebrations next week.
The Swedish Royal Court previously announced that King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Princess Madeleine and Christopher O’Neill will attend the ceremony in Stockholm.
When asked about Princess Sofia’s absence a few weeks ago, Johan Tegel, a member of the press team at the Swedish Royal Court, told reporters with Svensk Damtidning that she will be taking “care of Princess Ines, who is still small.”
The Swedish Royal Court has also been forced to announce that Queen Silvia and Princess Madeleine have both fallen ill with colds and have curtailed their engagements as a result, though their attendance at the Nobel Prize ceremony is still in the calendar.
