Princess Victoria has traveled to Svalbard to visit a Swedish-led research expedition returning after six weeks in the Arctic. In this context, the Crown Princess also gives an alarming interview.
Princess Victoria, 45, has been committed to protecting the oceans, which are becoming increasingly stressed by climate change, for many years. On Wednesday 14 June 2023 and Thursday 15 June, the Crown Princess traveled with Education Minister Mats Persson and Minister for Climate and Environment Romina Pourmokhtari to the North Atlantic archipelago of Spitsbergen to tour the icebreaker Oden, the ARTofMELT research expedition and to visit the Bjørndalen area. Here, the mother of two got an up-to-date picture of the effects of climate change – and gave an important interview.
“It’s worrying and sad”
“You see and, above all, hear a difference from when I was last here,” says Victoria of Isfjord, the second longest fjord in Svalbard, which, despite its name, has not frozen in over 12 years, in an interview with the Swedish news agency “Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå” (TT). “That was 2008 and today it’s 2023. It’s worrying and sad when you consider the consequences for animals and nature.” But the Crown Princess is also concerned about the future of her children and is unusually open:
I’m really worried about our whole planet. We are changing the conditions for plants, animals, and ourselves at a pace we may not fully understand. Above all, we don’t understand how we are destroying the ecosystems that are so vitally important.
Crown Princess Victoria arrives on a sea trip near Longyearbyen as part of her visit to the icebreaker Oden and research expedition ARTofMELT on Svalbard, Norway, June 14, 2023.
© Dana Press
According to the heir to the throne, the discussion is too little about ecosystems, “there is too much focus on targets for carbon emissions”, which is of course also very important. She herself tries to contribute her part of the enlightenment. “Primarily by talking about it and trying to show the ongoing research,” Victoria told TT. “It’s easy to think that the Arctic doesn’t matter that much, that it’s high up and only affects what’s up here. That’s not the case; usually the signals are seen here first. It’s important, the big picture to understand – everything is connected.”
Princess Victoria talks to her children about climate change
In her professional and personal life, Victoria tries to be a “conscious consumer, both in the choices I make and the choices we make at home.”
It’s not easy being a consumer, and it’s not always easy living the way you want to. But you can do what you can on a small scale and maybe also on a large scale.
Crown Princess Victoria during a hike through Bjorndalen on the sidelines of the visit on the icebreaker Oden and the research expedition ARTofMELT on Svalbard, Norway, June 15, 2023.
© Dana Press
With her children Princess Estelle, 11, and Prince Oscar, 7, the Crown Princess apparently speaks regularly about the consequences of climate change. “We should not underestimate their interest and the opportunities they have to make a contribution,” Victoria is quoted as saying. She also emphasizes: “Because this is also a way of dealing with the climate fear or climate concern that there may and which you hear snippets of on the news. It’s important to be given tools to deal with this. And I think it’s good to talk about it and see what I can do, from separating waste to planting plants, pollinators need.”
Sources used: teda.dk, Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå