In a little over a month, Princess Adrienne of Sweden will become a member of the Swedish Lutheran Church when she is christened. Now the Swedish Royal Court has already released some details of the ceremony. Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming christening.
The Ceremony
Princess Adrienne Josephine Alice, the third child of Princess Madeleine and Chris O’Neill, will be baptised on the 8 June. This is a special date for Princess Madeleine and her husband as they got married on that day in 2013 and their first child Princess Leonore was christened on the day in 2014.
Just like her older sister Princess Leonore and older brother Prince Nicolas and cousins Prince Alexander and Prince Gabriel, Princess Madeleine and Christopher have chosen the Chapel of Drottningholm Palace, just outside Stockholm, as the location. King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia, Adrienne’s grandparents, live in the Palace and it is where their children grew up.
Between 11.00 and 11.40 am the guests are expected to arrive. Then the Royal family will make their entrance. The ceremony will start at noon and last approximately 45 minutes.
Princess Adrienne will be dressed in the traditional baptism gown also worn by her grandfather the King, her mother Madeleine, Aunt Victoria, and Uncle Carl Philip, as well as her cousins. Her name will also be embroidered on the dress just like those before Adrienne. The gown was first worn by Prince Gustaf Adolf when he was christened in 1906. The water with which the Princess will be christened comes from a source on Öland, a Swedish island on which the Royal Family spends their summer holidays. The King and Queen started this tradition with the christening of their firstborn, Crown Princess Victoria.
The officiants of the christening are Archbishop Antje Jackelén, Bishop Johan Dalman and the Pastor of the Royal Family, Michael Bjerkhagen. Princess Adrienne will receive the Order of the Seraphim from her grandfather the King during the ceremony.
After the baptism, there will be a salute of 21 shots from Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm. The guests will leave the church and then go on a small walkabout around the palace so that the people and press can see a glimpse of the new addition to the family.
The Guests
It has been officially confirmed that King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia will attend the baptism. The Swedish Royal Family always brings along all the children as well so it is very probable that Adrienne’s older siblings Leonore and Nicolas, as well as cousins Princess Estelle, Prince Oscar, Prince Alexander and Prince Gabriel, will steal the show at the baptism. Chris O’Neill’s mother, Eva O’Neill, as well as his siblings Tatjana and Natascha and their spouses and children are also expected to attend.
Of course, Princess Adrienne’s godparents will be invited. The godparents of Princess Adrienne will be announced the evening before the baptism on 7 June. Other guests include government officials including Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and his wife, close friends, close family, the staff of the Royal Household and the former and current nannies of the Royal children.
The Reception
At 1 pm the King and Queen will host a reception for the guests. At the reception, gifts will be handed out for the little Princess. There will also follow a lunch with the most important guests. In the late afternoon, the guests will return home.
During the reception, Princess Adrienne will traditionally lay in Karl XV’s cradle.
The gifts
Princess Adrienne Josephine Alice received the title Princess of Sweden and Duchess of Blekinge upon her birth. During the christening, Princess Adrienne will receive Sweden’s highest Royal order, the Order of the Seraphim. The Princess will only wear the Order on the day of her baptism, and then from the moment, she turns 18 at special occasions.
Princess Adrienne is also expected to receive her own monogram and coat of arms. The Swedish Royal Court usually releases the monogram and coat of arms 1 to 2 weeks before the christening.
In addition to private gifts, the princess will also receive gifts from the Swedish government and her duchy.
Princess Madeleine and Chris O’Neill have asked the people who want to send a gift in honour of the baptism of their youngest daughter, to donate some money to the World Childhood Foundation or Min Stora Dag. The World Childhood Foundation was founded by Madeleine’s mother Queen Silvia, and Princess Madeleine has been working for the organisation for several years now. Princess Madeleine is patron of Min Stora Dag.
Trivia
Here are some more random facts about the christening:
- Princess Adrienne’s monogram will be featured in a flower bed behind Drottningholm Palace for the special day.
- The official christening pictures will be released approx. 3-5 days after the baptism.
- After the christening, Princess Adrienne will get her own page on the website of the Swedish Royal Court, just like her siblings.
- The Livgardets of the Life Battalion will be the guards standing alongside the chapel in honour of the christening.
- The whole christening will be live broadcasted on the Swedish channel SVT and can be watched online on SVT Play.
