Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland

"Prince Daniel" redirects here. For other uses, see Prince Daniel (disambiguation).

Prince Daniel
Duke of Västergötland
Daniel after his wedding 19 June 2010
Spouse	Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
Full name
Olof Daniel Bernadotte Westling[1]
Father	Olle Gunnar Westling
Mother	Anna Eva Kristina Westling née Westring
Born	15 September 1973 (1973-09-15) (age 38) Örebro, Sweden

Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland (Swedish: Daniel, Prins av Sverige, Hertig av Västergötland, né Olof Daniel Westling; born 15 September 1973) is the husband of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. Prior to his marriage to the heiress apparent, Daniel was a personal trainer and gym owner and ran a company called Balance Training with three gyms in central Stockholm.^[2]

Early life

Daniel was born in Örebro (on the day his father-in-law became King of Sweden) while his parents lived in the Brickebacken area there, and grew up in Ockelbo. He is the son of Olle Gunnar and Anna Eva Kristina Westling (born Westring) and has a sister named Anna.^[3] After having completed school, he briefly served, as part of national conscription, in the Swedish Army at Hälsinge regemente in Gävle.^[3] In 2001 he met the Crown Princess as he became her personal trainer.

On 1 July 2008, he moved to a one-bedroom rental apartment in the Pagebyggnaden building in an area of Drottningholm Palace. The move was confirmed by the Royal Court.^[4]

Wedding

Royal Monogram

Main article: Wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling

On 24 February 2009, Westling and the Crown Princess received official permission to become engaged from King Carl XVI Gustaf and the Government of Sweden.^[5] Such permission is necessary according to the terms of the Swedish Act of Succession.

Westling suffered from a congenital (but not hereditary) ailment causing impaired renal function. Three months after his engagement, on 28 May 2009, Westling underwent a kidney transplant at Karolinska University Hospital. His father was the donor. The operation was a success. Victoria could not be present when the operation took place because she was performing royal duties in Greenland.

The wedding took place in Stockholm Cathedral on 19 June 2010, the 34th anniversary of her parents' wedding.

After their wedding on 19 June 2010, the Duke and Duchess of Västergötland moved in to Haga Palace.

On 17 August 2011 the Swedish royal court announced that Prince Daniel and Crown Princess Victoria were expecting their first child in March 2012.^[6]

Groundbreaking titles

Swedish Royal Family
HM The King HM The Queen HRH The Crown Princess HRH The Duke of Västergötland HRH The Duke of Värmland HRH The Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland HRH The Duchess of Halland HRH Princess Birgitta
v · d · e

Styles of Daniel, Prince of Sweden
Reference style	His Royal Highness
Spoken style	Your Royal Highness
Alternative style	Sir

Sweden has practised absolute primogeniture by law only since 1980 (SFS 1979:932, passing the law in 1979, which came into constitutional force in 1980). This means that Victoria is the first heiress apparent, and questions arose as to how Daniel Westling would be known after their marriage.

When Carl XVI Gustaf married Silvia Sommerlath in 1976, he discontinued the established norm that Swedish princes must marry royalty to be eligible to inherit the throne. But men, royal or not, had only twice before, in the 13th and 17th centuries, obtained new title or rank as the spouse of a Swedish princess, and even three queens regnant left no clear precedent. Margaret (reigned 1388–1412) was the widow of Haakon VI of Norway and Christina (reigned 1632–1654) was unmarried. The most recent Ulrika Eleonora (reigned 1718–1720) was already married during her tenure as queen regnant: her husband, Frederick, was given the title "Royal Highness" during his tenure as consort, a title granted to him by the estates.^[7] Ulrika Eleonora later abdicated so her consort Frederick—who was born a prince of Hesse-Kassel—could be king. In Daniel's case, the Swedes were treading on new ground.

The Swedish Royal Court announced that Westling would become "Prince Daniel" and "Duke of Västergötland",^[5] corresponding in form to the style used by previous Swedish princes, including Victoria's younger brother Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland, i.e. Prince + Given name + Duke of [Place]. Prince Daniel's getting his wife's ducal title jure uxoris was something new for a royal male consort in Sweden.

As further announced in May 2010, on his wedding day Westling was made a Prince of Sweden and was granted the style Royal Highness, making him an official member of the Swedish Royal Family and on a par with other senior members of the Royal Family, such as Prince Carl Philip, Princess Madeleine and Princess Lilian. At Stockholm Cathedral, he was also then made a knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim and already wore its badge and ribbon upon emerging after the ceremony.

Role while fiancé of the Crown Princess

After they got engaged, the prince (then still Daniel Westling) accompanied Victoria on a few official occasions:

• March 2009 Crown Princess Victoria's name day celebration
• March 2009 Official dinner at the Royal Palace of Stockholm
• April 2009 Reception for Crown Princess and Mr. Daniel Westling
• July 2009 Crown Princess's birthday celebration
• July 2009 Lunch at Solliden for the President of South Korea
• March 2010 Crown Princess Victoria's name day celebration
• April 2010 King Carl XVI Gustaf birthday celebrations

Businesses

In November 2009 it was reported^[8] that Daniel Westling was to step down as CEO and board director of the Balance company. He will still be an equity partner. It was expected that the same procedure would be followed with his involvements in other companies, before he became Prince.

Westling's business positions
Balance – CEO and Board Director (stepped down November 2009)
Master Training – CEO and Board Director
Brasil Development – Board Director

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Prince Daniel's coat of arms

Titles and styles

• 15 September 1973 – 19 June 2010: Mr Daniel Westling
• 19 June 2010 – present: His Royal Highness The Duke of Västergötland

Daniel's style and title in full: His Royal Highness Prince Daniel of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland

Honours

• 19 June 2010: Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim^[9]
• 12 January 2011: Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st class^[10]

Ancestry

In connection with his engagement to Victoria, the Swedish National Archives published an account of Westling's ancestors, most of whom were farmers in the province of Hälsingland. His paternal grandfather Anders Andersson (1900–1980) adopted the surname of Westling from his mother.^{[11][12][13][14]} In June 2010, genealogist Björn Engström published Westling's ancestors as far back as to the 14th century, and showed that Westling is descended from some medieval noble families in the region of Stora Kopparberget, among these Svinhufvud.^[15]

References

1. ^ Swedish Tax Agency continually updated public census records available to anyone by telephone (as per name change there after wedding, when he adopted his wife's dynasty name as a middle name and kept his own family name, though neither is used when referring to him as prince)
2. ^ interview (in Swedish] by Sveriges Television broadcast 19 June 2010
3. ^ ^{a b} Sponberg, Udo (22 September 2009). "Daniel Westling" (in Swedish). Göteborgs-Posten. http://www.gp.se.adp-visitor.sth.basefarm.net/nyheter/sverige/1.185720-daniel-westling. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
4. ^ Kerpner, Joachim; Sjölund, Jill (20 June 2008). "Här är bevisen: Nu flyttar Daniel in på Drottningholm" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article2730015.ab. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Engagement between Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling" (Press release). Royal Court of Sweden. 24 February 2009. http://www.royalcourt.se/pressrum/pressmeddelanden/2009pressmeddelanden/kronprinsessanvictoriaochdanielwestlingforlovade.5.6b0698e911fa8f9005880007496.html. Retrieved 19 June 2010. 
6. ^ "Kronprinsessparet väntar barn / The Crown Princess Couple is expecting a child". Royal Court of Sweden. 17 August 2011. Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. http://www.kungahuset.se/pressrum/pressmeddelanden/2011/kronprinsessparetvantarbarnthecrownprincesscoupleisexpectingachild.5.70e7de59130bc8da54e80002337.html. Retrieved 20 August 2011. 
7. ^ http://runeberg.org/nfbh/0682.html
8. ^ Claes, Petersson (14 November 2009). "Tvingas att sluta jobba" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article6123916.ab. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
9. ^ "Mr Daniel Westling will be knight of the order of the Seraphim after the wedding" (in Swedish) (Press release). Royal Court of Sweden. 19 June 2010. http://www.royalcourt.se/royalcourt/mediacentre/pressreleases/pressreleases/mrdanielwestlingwillbeknightoftheorderoftheseraphimafterthewedding.5.40e05eec12926f2630480003179.html. Retrieved 19 June 2010. 
10. ^ Bearers of decorations, President of the Republic of Estonia, Retrieved 19 January 2011.
11. ^ http://www.svar.ra.se/system/image.asp?uidImageGUID=68C10F13-3BD2-45AD-B7BA-37FADCC192EE
12. ^ http://www.svar.ra.se/system/image.asp?uidImageGUID=DF4ECDCA-D0C2-43C1-AF2D-12948405661F
13. ^ http://www.svar.ra.se/system/image.asp?uidImageGUID=8AEAD0B1-2DAD-4D83-89C6-B937A360C86C
14. ^ http://www.svar.ra.se/system/image.asp?uidImageGUID=E85D7978-14C8-4AE2-9E7A-0450FF3CCF8A
15. ^ "Commoner marrying Swedish crown princess 'has aristocratic roots'". The Daily Telegraph. 9 June 2010. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/sweden/7813698/Commoner-marrying-Swedish-crown-princess-has-aristocratic-roots.html. 

External links

• Video on YouTube, Announcement of Victoria and Daniel Westling's engagement, 24 February 2009.