by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

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Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland was born at the Royal Palace of Stockholm on May 13, 1979. He is the only son and the second of the three children of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and his wife Queen Silvia (née Silvia Sommerlath).

Carl Philip has an older and a younger sister:

• Crown Princess Victoria, Duchess of Västergötland (born 1977), married Daniel Westling, had one daughter and one son
• Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland (born 1982), married Christopher O’Neill, had two daughters and one son

In 1979, the Riksdag, the Swedish legislature, introduced an Act of Succession that changed the succession to absolute primogeniture, meaning that the eldest child of the monarch, regardless of gender, is first in the line of succession. This Act of Succession became law on January 1, 1980, making Sweden the first country to adopt absolute primogeniture. The previous 1810 Act of Succession allowed for only males to inherit the throne. Carl Philip had been born Crown Prince and retained his title and first place in the succession for seven months until January 1, 1980, when his elder sister Victoria became Crown Princess and heir apparent.

Prince Carl Philip was christened at the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on August 31, 1979. He was given the names Carl Philip Edmund Bertil and his godparents were:

• Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland, his paternal great uncle
• Prince Leopold of Bavaria, a friend of his father
• Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, his first cousin once removed
• Princess Birgitta of Sweden, his paternal aunt

Prince Carl Philip attended Västerled Parish Preschool in Stockholm, Sweden from 1984-86. He then attended Smedslättsskolan in Bromma a municipal elementary school in the district Smedslätten in Bromma, Stockholm, where he completed his junior level. Next, Carl Philip attended Ålstenskolan, a municipal elementary school in the district Ålsten in Bromma, Stockholm, and completed the intermediate level.

The prince then attended Enskilda Gymnasiet, a prestigious independent secondary school in Tegnérlunden, in central Stockholm.  In 1994, Carl Philip moved to the United States for two years to attend Kent School in Kent, Connecticut, USA. Upon returning to Sweden, he followed a science program at Lundbergs Upper Secondary School in Värmland, Sweden, graduating in 1999.

Prince Carl Philip completed a two-year course in Graphic Design at Forsbergs School of Graphic Design in Stockholm in May 2006. He continued his studies with an internship at the National Geographic Society in Washington D.C., USA, during the autumn of 2006. Carl Philip then studied at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, USA where he participated in a competition to create the best logo for Martha’s Vineyard Museum in Massachusetts. He won the competition in the spring of 2008 with a proposal that he submitted under a pseudonym.

In 2009, Carl Philip began his studies at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Alnarp, Sweden, and graduated in 2012 with a diploma in Agricultural and Rural Management.

Prince Carl Philip completed his military service in the Swedish Navy with the Amphibious Battalion of Vaxholm’s Coast Artillery Regiment and is trained as a combat boat commander. In 2001-2002, he completed a naval officer training course. He was promoted to midshipman and then was promoted to the rank of sub-lieutenant in 2004. In 2007 and 2008 he went to the Swedish National Defense College and was promoted the rank of captain in the Swedish Navy.

In April 2010, Prince Carl Philip was linked in the press with model Sofia Hellqvist, and in August 2010, the Swedish Royal Court confirmed the relationship.

On June 27, 2014, the couple’s engagement was announced and the wedding took place on June 13, 2015, at the Royal Chapel in the Royal Palace of Stockholm.

• Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist

On October 15, 2015, the Swedish Royal Court announced that Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia were expecting their first child.  In early April 2016, Carl Philip and Sofia moved from their apartment on Djurgården to Sjoflygeln (Lake Wing) on the grounds of Drottningholm Palace.

Carl Philip and Sofia have three sons:

• Prince Alexander, Duke of Södermanland (born 2016)
• Prince Gabriel, Duke of Dalarna (born 2017)
• Prince Julian, Duke of Halland (born 2021)

On October 7, 2019, the Swedish Royal Court announced that King Carl XVI Gustaf had decided to make changes regarding the children of his son Prince Carl Philip and his daughter Princess Madeleine. At birth, the children of Carl Philip and Madeleine were styled as Royal Highness and were members of The Royal House. As of October 7, 2019, their children would no longer be members of The Royal House but would continue to be members of The Royal Family. Prince Alexander, Prince Gabriel, Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas, and Princess Adrienne would no longer enjoy the style of Royal Highness but they would retain their titles of Duke and Duchess previously granted by King Carl XVI Gustaf. They will remain in the line of succession to the Swedish throne. In the future, they will not be expected to perform any royal duties. They will be styled Prince/Princess <Name>, Duke/Duchess of <Geographical Area>.

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