The Swedish people have reason to celebrate: Princess Madeleine and Chris O’Neill are finally returning home with their children. There will be some changes in the family. But what does the move mean for businessman Chris?
It should be as early as August: Princess Madeleine, 40, is coming back to Sweden with her husband Chris O’Neill, 48, and their children Princess Leonore, 9, Prince Nicolas, 7, and Princess Adrienne, 5. The joy of the royal family and the people is great, after all, you will soon see the five more often. But what does the future of the family in Sweden look like?
Princess Madeleine and her family are expecting big changes
Back home, big changes will come your way. They are far better known here than in their previous adopted home of Florida. “They had a very different private life in the US than they will have in Sweden,” court expert Sara Ericsson told Aftonbladet. It was clear to her that Chris and Madeleine had “chosen to live far away from Sweden, where they can be more anonymous,” she says, admitting: “Everyone here recognizes them and people will turn around on the street , when you arrive.”
In addition, the children have to change schools. It is not yet known which institutions Leonore, Nicolas and Adrienne will visit in Sweden. But no matter which one the family chooses, the children will be less anonymous here than in their previous homeland.
Madeleine ‘longed for home’
The exact reasons for the move were not listed in the palace’s press release. The children should enjoy a Swedish upbringing and education, it said only. However, this was only “part of the decision,” explained Margareta Thorgren, head of information at the farm, to “Expressen”.
Ericsson believes that being close to the royal family was a key factor in Madeleine’s decision. “She longed for home and she wants her children to grow up in Sweden, a bit back to their roots,” the expert speculates.
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Another bonus: the 40-year-old can help her parents King Carl Gustaf, 76, and Queen Silvia, 79, and take on a more active role in the royal family. “We haven’t heard anything about what she will be working on or what she will be focusing on, but she will likely continue to work with the Childhood Foundation,” explains Ericsson. In addition, Madeleine will probably make more face-to-face appointments again.
Chris O’Neill remains employed
For her husband, on the other hand, there are likely to be fewer professional changes. “He turned down the title in connection with the 2013 wedding, so I guess we won’t see him as a royalty,” Ericsson says. A statement by the court’s spokeswoman also gives little hope that Chris O’Neill will regularly accompany his sweetheart to public appearances from now on. She made it clear that the move will not affect Chris’s job: “No, it won’t. He has continued his work in both Europe and the US.”
It is also doubtful that the family will remain in Sweden permanently. After all, the royal family had announced that they would live in Sweden “for the time being” – not a randomly chosen formulation. “Whether they will stay forever or whether they have other plans for the future remains to be seen,” explains Ericsson. “But you can see from people’s reactions that a lot of people think it’s great that she’s back. She brings a little more glamor to the Swedish royal family. Great comeback.”
Source used: aftonbladet.se, Dana Press