Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar have marked Nordic Coastal Cleanup Day by picking up rubbish on the beach of Djurgården Island.
On Saturday, 7 May, more than 50,000 Swedish citizens accepted the invitation of the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation and descended on one of the many beaches of the country to pick up rubbish.
The royals immediately went to work, with pictures shared by the Royal Court showing all of them trying to reach rubbish in the water with nets. Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar had more luck with clearing the rocks that were on the beach.
The results were impressive, and another image shows the fruits of their work: a decently sized pile of all kinds of refuse, including single-use cups and plastic bags.
The event was organised, the Royal Court says, to bring awareness to Coast Guard Day, an initiative that in 2022 has seen its sixth consecutive year of action.
It is brought together by Nordic Coastal Cleanup, a non-profit whose aim is “to mobilise volunteers and pick litter from our beaches” and “to fill the knowledge gap about the sources of marine litter in the Nordic countries by conducting beach monitoring and data collection.”
Sweden and, more in general northern European countries, are often stereotyped as the perfect heaven for green technologies and recycling; this initiative shows that while many people are aware of the dangers and long term consequences of water refuse and pollution, some people still seem reluctant to make the changes necessary.
Crown Princess Victoria has made it a mission of her role as a mother to make her two children connected with their land and respectful of its resources. She has often taken Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar on walks to discover national parks and natural reserves and initiatives to preserve biodiversity or support other environmental causes.
