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European RoyalsSweden

Swedish Crown Princess Couple visit Norrbotten

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel visited Norrbotten, the country’s northernmost county, this week to meet with local people and see “the challenges but also the opportunities that exist and the importance of cooperation across the border with Finland.”

Their two-day trip started Monday night with a dinner hosted by Norrbotten County Governor Björn O. Nilsson and his wife, Helena at the residence in Luleå. The Crown Princess Couple met with municipal representatives and entrepreneurs, and Prince Daniel was able to share his passion for entrepreneurship with high school students who run companies within the framework of Ung Företagsamhet.

The Crown Princess Couple started the day Tuesday by visiting Isolamin, a company that manufactures sandwich panels for marine and industrial purposes. They were given special gifts to mark their visit, with Victoria receiving a necklace carved in reindeer horn and Daniel a hand-carved reindeer horn knife.

Dressed in a 1970s-style trouser suit, the Crown Princess shared laughs as she chatted with employees and toured the Överkalix-based facility. The municipal council’s chairman in Överkalix, Anne Jakobsson, accompanied the couple on their tour, as well as Isolamin’s CEO Anton Lundholm and site manager Magnus Hansson.

Next, they headed to Övertorneå where they were welcomed by a flag-waving crowd of well-wishers. The couple visited Education North, a co-Nordic education coordinator that organises vocational training for the Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish labour markets.

During the visit, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel met with Övertorneås municipality management and took part in making their own ice sieve.

Moving on, the Crown Princess Couple travelled further north near the Finnish border to the village of Pello. Children from the local preschool welcomed Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel before their visit to Älvstranden, a building that houses the elderly, a preschool, a digital health centre, and a restaurant under the same roof.

The Crown Princess Couple also learned more about life in the small villages in Norrbotten. “With long distances and declining demographics, the small country stores have a central role for the villages,” the Royal Court said.

“The Crown Princess couple, therefore, visited Anna Jaako and Anna-Maria Modig, who run Rautila’s life in Juoksengi. In addition to direct sales of goods, among other things, the country trade provides agent services for pharmacies and Systembolag.”

Wrapping up their day, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel visited the Arthotel in Risudden. There, they learned about the hotel as well as the plans for Konsthall Tornedalen, a unique meeting place in the border area that will create “a high-quality hub for networking and interaction social, cultural and economic between individuals, companies and the public sector.”

The trip marks the first joint appearance by the couple since coronavirus concerns have caused other Swedish royal events to be cancelled. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia recently called off an official government dinner due to fears about the virus.

About author

Kristin was Chief Reporter for Royal Central until 2022 and has been following the British royal family for more than 30 years. Kristin has appeared in UK and U.S. media outlets discussing the British royals including BBC Breakfast, BBC World News, Sky News, the Associated Press, TIME, The Washington Post, and many others.