Crown Slips

They could have been the Crown Prince and Princess of their respected Kingdoms, but due to the changes of the Constitution and the Law of Succession, their destiny followed a different map away from the prestige of the crown.

A.) Prince Carl Philip of Sweden

His Royal Highness, Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Varmland

Born on May 13, 1979, His Royal Highness, Prince Carl Philip, the Duke of Varmland, is the only son of the reigning monarch of Sweden, King Carl XVI. He has two sisters, Princess Victoria and Princess Madelaine. For seven months since his birth, he was the crown prince of Sweden and someday would inherit the throne, but this was altered in January 1980 when the Swedish constitution changed from male-preference primogeniture to full cognatic primogeniture, making his older sister, Princess Victoria, the heir-apparent. However, in Great Britain, where his family is listed in the line of succession as direct descendants of Queen Victoria through her granddaughter, Princess Margaret, Carl Philip is placed ahead of his sister.

The Swedish Royal Family. Front row: Queen Silvia, King Carl XVI Gustav and Crown Princess Victoria. Back row: Princess Madelaine and Prince Carl

Prince Carl and his two sisters, Princess Victoria and Princess Madelaine

Prince Carl and his sister Princess Madelaine at the wedding of their sister, Princess Victoria last June 19, 2010

The Prince is a sports enthusiast and has keen interest in football, swimming, skiing and car racing, he often take part in the racing series and skiing competitions in Europe. He studied graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design and has a great passion in drawing and designing. Just like all European male royals, the prince trained in the military service first as a combat boat commander in the Coast Artillery Regiment then at the Swedish Royal Navy where he rose to the rank of a lieutenant. He occasionally takes royal duties on behalf of his father. The Prince is currently single but early this year he created controversies following his affair with glamour model, Sofia Hellqvist. In 2008, Forbes Magazine named him as one of the Hottest Young Royals in the World.

B.) Princess Martha Louise of Norway

Her Highness, Princess Martha Louise of Norway

She is the only daughter of King Harald V of Norway. Born on September 22, 1971, the Princess was not in line of succession to the Norwegian throne until 1990 when the Salic Law was abolished and changed it to full cognatic primogeniture succession which means that an eldest child regardless of gender will be the heir apparent to the throne. Unfortunately, the law will only take its effect to children born from 1990 and onwards making her younger brother, Prince Haakon the heir apparent. Haakon’s eldest child, Princess Ingrid Alexandra will be the one to benefit this change, she is currently ahead of her younger brother, Prince Magnus, in the line of succession. But in Great Britain where the Norwegian royals are listed in the line of succession as direct descendants of King Edward VII, Prince Magnus is ahead of his sister as the United Kingdom maintained their law of succession to male-preference primogeniture.

The Norwegian Royal Family. Back row: Crown Princess Mette-Merit, wife of Prince Haakon, Princess Martha Louise and King Harald V. Seated from left Prince Haakon and Queen Sonja

Princess Martha Louise and her husband, Ari Behn at the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden last June 19, 2010

Princess Martha Louise married Ari Behn, a Norwegian writer, on May 24, 2002. The couple has three daughters. After the marriage, his father removed the “royal” in her status addressing her only as Her Highness, this means that the Princess, though retained her place in the line of succession, would no longer participated in any activities concerning the royal family. She studied physiotherapy and owned an alternative medical school, she is also a writer and had published many books. She and her husband with their children currently lived in New York City.

Latest Royalty Buzz

Denmark

Princess Mary and Prince Frederick of Denmark, during their recent official visit to Germany

Princess Mary (former Mary Donaldson of Hobart, Tasmania--part of Australia), the wife of Denmark's future King, Prince Frederick, is pregnant with twins! The couple already have two children, Prince Christian, four, and Princess Isabella, three. Princess Mary, according to an article in Hello!Magazine, will give birth on January 2011.

Great Britain

Very close than ever. Prince Charles with his two sons, Prince Harry and Prince William, spending a relaxing skiing holiday in Klosters, Switzerland. 

After 20 months of training and hard work, finally, Prince William, 28, earned his wings as search-and-rescue pilot at the Royal Armed Forces. He will be known as Flight Lieutenant Wales. He will be joining an elite group of search and rescue pilots prepared to respond to the missions of carrying out aids both to the military and civilians in the United Kingdom. Prince William was trained to the very high standard expected for search-and-rescue pilots, he learned to fully operate the Sea King helicopter, traditionally used for critical life-saving situations. As Flight Lieutenant Wales, the 28-year-old future British King, is expected to respond to missions and operate a rescue helicopter despite bad weather conditions.

Monaco

Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock during the royal wedding of Princess Victoria of Sweden 

The Grimaldi Royal House of Monaco announced Prince Albert II will wed his fiancee, Charlene Wittstock, a South African Olympian, on July 9, 2011. Wittstock had moved to the Principality of Monaco in the late part of 2006 to be with Albert. Prince Albert has been Monaco's ruler since the death of his father, Prince Rainier III, in April 2005. He has two siblings: Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie, until he sired legitimate children, Albert's successor is his older sister, Princess Caroline. Since April 2005, she is carrying the title Her Royal Highness, Princess Caroline of Hanover, the Hereditary Princess of Monaco. She is married to the Prince of Hanover, Ernst August, a direct descendant of Queen Victoria of Great Britain.

Spain

His Majesty, King Juan Carlos of Spain and Her Majesty, Queen Sofia.

Just recently, the Spanish Royal Family cut budget up to 9 % from their annual allotment from the parliament. The "belt tightening" is part of the austerity measures of Spain to  reduce budget deficit. Under the rule of a constitutional monarchy form of government, the head of the state or the ruling sovereign, is entitled to parliament's budget for his or her household and family expenditures. This budget reduction of Spain will make King Juan Carlos the least expensive crown head of Europe. 

In Great Britain, Queen Elizabeth II had been receiving criticisms from the public for her household expenditure, with the exception of the Prince of Wales (Prince Charles is not included in the parliament budget because his income is fully generated from the Duchy of Cornwall), all direct members of the British Royal Family, including the maintenance of the crown properties, are supported by the public funds.

Sweden

Another tragic match haunt the European royalty. After the mismatch pair of Sweden's Crown Princess, Victoria with a gym trainer, Daniel Westling, now comes another mess, her younger brother, Prince Carl Philip is in love with model and reality show star, Sofia Hellqvist, she is not only a commoner, but suggest an unwelcome image, she once posed naked with a Swed magazine, the potential scandal of spreading her nude photos in the internet however was blocked by the Department of Communication of the Swedish Royal Family. (below photo: HRH Prince Carl Philip of Sweden)