Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden have completed a successful Australian tour to promote and strengthen relations between Australia and Sweden.
Their trip down under began on 13 February in the country’s capital of Canberra.
Prime Minister Johan Forssell joined the couple on the trip Down Under, and they began their visit to the Swedish embassy to meet staff members and learn about issues in the country.
Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel then met members of the indigenous population – the Ngunnawal – during a welcome ceremony featuring the traditional smoking ceremony outside the National Museum of Australia. While inside the museum, they viewed the Great Southern Land exhibition and held a meeting with representatives from the Ngunnawal.
Australia has been ravaged by fires in recent years, and the Crown Princess Couple took the opportunity to visit the Namadgi National Park, where they learned about the forest fires that destroyed 80% of the park in 2020. They also had a chance to see a rehabilitation centre for koalas. That evening, Governor-General General David Hurley gave a dinner for the royals and held a meeting with the Crown Princess and Prince Daniel.
On 14 February, the Crown Princess took part in a tree planting in the national arboretum before she spoke at a climate meeting at Australian National University. She said, in part, “Climate change affects the planet itself, as well as all of us who live here – humans and animals alike … Climate change is real, and it impacts us all. Here and now. So, here and now is a good place and time for a deliberation about things that can be done to mitigate the situation.”
A visit to Parliament concluded Valentine’s Day for the couple before they moved on to Sydney.
The royals and Prime Minister met New South Wales State Governor Margret Beazley at Government House. A reception was then hosted by the Governor for the Australian government and representatives of Australian and Swedish businesses.
The final day Down Under saw Their Royal Highnesses attend a seminar organised by Business Sweden; they also participated in the Sweden-Australia Sustainable Mining Summit.
They later got a tour of the famous Sydney Opera House before getting on board the HMAS Adelaide while visiting the naval base HMAS Kuttabul to learn more about maritime and regional security.
The royals and the Prime Minister also visited the Sydney Botanic Garden and Saint Vincent’s Hospital, the latter of which was to focus on cooperation between Australia and Sweden in the health sector.
Victoria and Daniel later met Australia’s national football team captain Tony Gustafsson and other players; Australia will host the FIFA World Cup later this year.
A visit Down Under wouldn’t be complete without meeting Swedes residing in Australia. The Crown Princess thanked the Swedes in Australia for promoting Sweden by saying: “Your commitment to business, to culture and to association life creates important impressions that make you proud to be a Swede.”
Their Royal Highnesses will now travel to New Zealand for part two of their international tour.
