Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia of Sweden privately visited the fire-stricken areas of Dalarna on Wednesday. The Prince Couple met with emergency services, county administrative board, the municipality, Armed Forces and the Fortifications Office in Trängslet to hear about their work battling fires in Älvdalen and Lima and to thank them for their work.
The Prince and Princess posted on their official Instagram account about their visit, “Today we visited Trängslet to get information about the work in connection with the fires in Älvdalen and Lima. We were also given the opportunity to participate in the daily routine inspection of the fire area made by helicopter due to the difficult terrain. We are very impressed by all involved!”
Rescue chiefs Per Hampus and Johan Szymanski spoke to Their Royal Highnesses about the fire battles. Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia also attended a presentation regarding “the work in the crisis staff and the county administrative board’s recently launched coordination staff to manage the work,” according to the Royal Court.
They also were shown the hard-hit areas from the air via a helicopter.
The visit was especially important to Carl Philip and, particularly, Sofia who was raised in one of the badly fire-stricken areas in Dalarna – Älvdalen. Additionally, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia’s younger son, Prince Gabriel is the Duke of Dalarna.
The Information Officer at the Royal Court, Ulrika Näsholm, explained to Svenskdam on Wednesday, “The royal couple are in Dalarna private and wanted to take the opportunity to visit the area to get information about the situation.”
The Communications Manager at the County Administrative Board of Dalarna, Lotta Larsson, added about Their Royal Highnesses’ trip, “The visit takes place on the initiative of the royal couple, we have received a request that they wanted to make this visit.”
The couple is not the only members of the Swedish Royal Family to visit areas that have been devastated by fires this summer. At the end of July, King Carl XVI Gustaf, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel travelled to areas that have been affected by severe forest fires. Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel visited Färila in the Ljusdal municipality in Hälsingland, and King Carl XVI Gustaf paid a visit to Pålgård in the Ragunda municipality in Jämtland.
