Princess Leonore, Duchess of Gotland

Princess Leonore of Sweden, Duchess of Gotland (Leonore Lilian Maria Bernadotte; born 20 February 2014), is the eldest child and elder daughter of Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill. She is eighth in the line of succession to the Swedish throne. At the time of her birth she was fifth in line.

Birth

Leonore was born on 20 February 2014 at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. A 21-gun salute was fired in Stockholm to celebrate her birth. Prior to her birth it was announced that any prospective children of Princess Madeleine would be styled Royal Highness and enter the line of succession. However, in order to be eligible to ascend, Leonore must be brought up as a member of the Church of Sweden and reside in Sweden during her upbringing. Apart from Swedish citizenship, Princess Leonore also holds American citizenship through her birth in the United States.

Her name and titles were revealed when her grandfather, King Carl XVI Gustaf, met with the cabinet on 26 February 2014. Her first name was chosen by her parents as one that they both liked very much after considering a very large number of other names. It has been used previously by four Swedish queens, but then only in full as Eleonora. Her middle names honour her great-grandaunt Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland, and her paternal grandmother. Leonore was registered with the surname Bernadotte in the Swedish registry. A Te Deum thanksgiving service was held in the Royal Chapel at Stockholm Palace on 2 March 2014 to celebrate her birth.

Christening

On 8 June 2014 (the first anniversary of her parents' wedding), Leonore was christened in the Royal Chapel of Drottningholm Palace into the Lutheran faith by Anders Wejryd, the Archbishop of Sweden. Her godparents were her aunts Crown Princess Victoria and Tatjana d'Abo, uncle Count Ernst Abensperg und Traun, relative Patrick Sommerlath, and friends of her parents, Alice Bamford and Louise Gottlieb. She was christened in the family's antique christening gown which was first worn by Prince Gustaf Adolf when he was christened in 1906. Her name and date of christening was added in embroidery to the gown.

Titles, styles, and honours

Titles and styles

On 7 October 2019 the king issued a statement rescinding Leonore's royal status in an effort to more strictly associate Swedish royalty to the office of the head of state; she is still to be styled as a princess and duchess and remains in the line of succession to the throne.

• 26 February 2014 - 6 October 2019: Her Royal Highness Princess Leonore Lilian Maria, Duchess of Gotland.
• 7 October 2019 - present : Princess Leonore Lilian Maria, Duchess of Gotland

Swedish appointments and honours

• Sweden :
  • Member of the Royal Order of the Seraphim (LoK av KMO)(20 February 2014, presented 8 June 2014).

Arms

Princess Leonore's coat of arms is based on the greater coat of arms of Sweden. It features in the first and fourth quarters, the Three Crowns; in the second, the lion of the House of Bjelbo; and in the third, the ram of the arms of Gotland, representing the titular designation of her dukedom. In the centre, on an inescutcheon, is the dynastic arms of the House of Bernadotte. Surrounding the shield is the ribbon of the Order of the Seraphim.