When the first wave of the pandemic was raging through Europe, Sweden’s Princess Sofia did something no other European royal did: she decided to volunteer for menial work at a hospital. Her work involved a simple training program, then long shifts where her tasks would have included kitchen work and janitorial work. Can you even imagine if one of the Windsors had done that? Anyway, Sofia worked in a hospital for much of the spring and into the summer. She wanted to go back, and she ended up volunteering for the same hospital work throughout the fall. Then, in November, she and her husband Prince Carl-Philip tested positive for Covid. We haven’t heard any updates on how they’re doing, but on Friday, the Swedish royal family gave a different kind of update: Carl-Philip and Sofia are expecting their third!
The royal baby news keeps on coming! Princess Sofia and Prince Carl Philip of Sweden are expecting their third child. The Swedish royals made the announcement early Friday with a stunning black and white photo posted on the royal family’s official Instagram page. “We are happy and excited and look forward to welcoming our third child,” they said. “A new little member of our family.”
Princess Sofia, 36, is said in the official announcement to be “doing well.”
The baby, which the couple says is set to arrive in late March, early April 2021, will be a sibling for Prince Alexander, 4, and Prince Gabriel, 3.
Their happy news comes just weeks after the royal couple announced that they tested positive for COVID-19 after they began to experience flu-like symptoms in late November.
“They feel relatively well under the circumstances,” Margareta Thorgren, the Royal Court’s Director of the Information and Press Department, said at the time.
Oof, I feel so bad for the pregnant ladies during the pandemic. And there really will be a baby boom after all of this – we’ve already gotten so many pregnancy announcements, and I feel like we’ll probably be getting even more. Anyway, I hope Sofia and Carl Philip are doing well on every front and I’m happy for them. I wonder if they’re hoping for a girl after two boys?
Also, their pregnancy-announcement photo is freaking me out with that mirror! Mirror Sofia looks like a damn ghost.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.
Congrats to them!
I think Covid19 was a good period for women to have their kids. A lot of women at work did have their baby as we mostly WFH anyway and most came back early December with some in January…perfect timing really
No, actually, the opposite of a baby boom is happening. They’re calling it the Covid baby bust.
https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2020/11/covid-19-pandemic-births-baby-bust/617149/
That is correct. Women are postponing pregnancy and are worrying about their future fertility. I’ve read several articles about single women in their thirties who have lost a year of fertility. Anecdotally, my admin who is recently single and in her early thirties, took out a loan against her 401k loan to freeze her eggs because she is so worried about not being able to find a partner while her biological clock is ticking.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/dec/08/it-feels-like-a-lost-year-the-women-who-fear-2020-has-stolen-their-chance-of-motherhood
That’s my position exactly – I’m 37 and I want to start a family but I don’t feel like now is a good time at all. Even without the pandemic, I have serious concerns about the kind of world any child of mine would be growing up in.
The mental gymnastics I perform between “women throughout history have had to give birth and start families in way worse times, right???” to “…true but do I have to be one of them???” are exhausting and never end. And now they’re saying that there’s no data on impacts of the vaccine on pregnant women, so the cycle of thoughts becomes “is it better to get pregnant and give birth before you get vaccinated, or get vaccinated first (whenever that actually happens)??”
And then I realize that thinking about all this stuff constantly is really stressful (aka not conducive to pregnancy) which makes it even more stressful and …yea this whole thing sucks.
That’s where I am too! I’m 37 and really want a second but having a toddler while my husband and I both juggle work and no childcare has been A LOT. Then on top of it the vaccine is coming so soon but it’s not approved for pregnant women. So now the quandary is is it better to wait and get vaccinated (whenever that may be) or just get pregnant and run the risks associated with covid and pregnancy? As if juggling work and family planning wasn’t hard enough already….
Yeah I was planning on trying to get pregnant but there is so much uncertainty in the world that I gave up on it. Let’s hope for 2022.
This is fascinating, thanks for sharing! I hadn’t thought much about it aside from thinking its a good time for celebrities and actors to have babies, but they’re rich. Anecdotally, my middle class friends considering kids prior to the pandemic have put that off indefinitely (who wants to be in a hospital?) and the singles aren’t really dating – on top of already declining birthrates, this is definitely going to be a bust
I have one child and the chances of me having another one plummeted during COVID-19. I was already on the fence before the virus, but working from home with one toddler was bad enough!! One seems like plenty now.
I’m in the same boat. I was planning on trying another cycle or two of IVF, but honestly I’m a big baby and can’t give myself the required shots, so probably no second baby.
Congrats – its royal baby bonanza at the moment, all the time in lockdown LOL.
These 2 have been together a long time though not sure how long – they lived together for several years before eventually marrying,
These two seemed like an odd pairing at first and maybe that works for them? Did not know they lived together before marrying. Congrats to them and a safe and healthy pregnancy for mommy and baby.
@Seraphina I may be in the minority but I say good on her for rocking a big ass tattoo at the top of her back and not giving a toot about covering it because ‘protocol’, for ‘living in sin’ and for being an exotic dancer prior to marriage (bit fuzzy on this, I may be incorrect) sure makes for much more interesting royal watching
@Hannah, Oh I too find it for more interesting royal watching and I have to confess her background made me raise my eye brow for a second. BUT what matters is how she does in her role and with the platform she has been given. I think she has done a great job thus far and kudos. Who cares what she did before. There are others (Kate) who check all the boxes and don’t do squat with what they have to make this world a better place.
She did some glamour photography (bikini) in her early twenties but was definitely not an exotic dancer.
Congrats to these two! Some people on certain forums really really dislike her due to her past but she seems nice enough to me. I’m also not Swedish so *shurgs* what do I know?
I absolutely love these two. Congrats to them!
Congrats to them! I have a soft spot for Sophia, her and Carl Philip make a beautiful couple.
Happy for them! Really nice couple, but I am Swedish so… 🙂 Prince Carl Philip and princess Sofia also put up a nice, very sweet video with the whole family as yo can see at Kungahusets Instagram, that is the one above.
Are they supported by the Swedish people? It seems a bit much to have so many kids if that is the case.
I have to admit I had no idea about her past, so I Googled “sexy” and her name. Wow, she is utterly stunning! Good for Sofia using her platform to help, unlike a certain Windsor we know.
Having covid while being pregnant must be a tough one. There’s a lot going on normally to just put on top of that the pandemic.
For what I’ve heard, there’s so far no risk for the product of you get infected of covid while pregnant. Also I recently read about a baby being born with covid antibodies making him the first human being born with natural immunity, which is wonderful.
I watched a news story yesterday that said pregnant women are at a much higher risk of developing severe Covid-19. Yes, research is showing (so far) the baby will be ok, but what about the mother? Her life matters just as much. I personally don’t think a pandemic is a good time to be getting pregnant. The risks are high. You’ll have to go to many doctor’s appointments, you’ll use up hospital resources during a time when nurses/docs are burnt out. You’ll have to deliver your baby wearing a mask and without your partner in the room. Your family may not be able to even see your new born for months after they are born. Doesn’t seem so great. But that’s just my opinion and a person should do what they feel is best for them.
Pregnant women with covid have a much higher mortality rate. Per the CDC a 70% increased risk of mortality!
I know this is just anecdotal, but my friend just lost her baby at 16 weeks and the only explanation they could give her was that she had severe covid symptoms. We just don’t have enough evidence to say one way or the other (whether or not covid can harm a baby in utero) yet.
In my home country mortality rates for pregnant women have been among the highest. I was planning to try for my second but I will wait and to be vaccinated to reconsider it.
I’ll be a nana in April.
Congratulations. I miss holding babies and playing with small children. I was out grocery shopping the other day and a toddler was singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on VERY loudly. The poop mom was beside herself……I looked at him and started signing joined in. For some reason he stopped. I miss seeing my little nieces and nephews.
LOL I’m sorry but your auto-correct has me laughing “poop mom”…
Congrats! I think now is as good a time as any to have a baby. I love hearing positive news these days.
They are both incredibly hot. Good for them! I want a covid baby, but at 45 it’s not likely!
Congrats to them and it does seem like the wealthy are having a baby boom while the working classes are delaying. Part of me thought that if they are supported by Swedish taxpayers (I don’t know how their royalty works) that it may seem weird to announce another pregnancy while others are struggling to feed their kids and families but I remember that Sweden really seems to have their shit together and can take care of their citizens as well unlike the shit show America is going through. I long to live in a developed country that actually is taking care of its citizens (healthcare, maternity leave, pandemic payments). It’s will be another gorgeous Swede baby!
Husband and I made the choice not to try during the pandemic. I don’t feel it’s safe, as we don’t know the long term repercussions on babies if their mothers have it while they’re in the womb. Not shaming anyone for making a different choice, but I definitely disagree that now is an especially “good” time to be pregnant.
Anecdotally, at work I’ve seen what seems like more than usual late miscarriages/stillbirths to covid positive moms.
I had a baby in May and it’s horrible having a new baby during all this. People kept saying it’s a great time but no it’s not. We have a 3 year old too and are basically trapped and can’t responsibly have a babysitter or childcare since March. We haven’t left the house in almost a year except for dr appts and grocery shopping. My 6 month old has never seen anyone else or gone anywhere. My 3 year old is emotionally damaged. Working from home with two babies is almost
Impossible. People intentionally getting knocked up with a quarantine baby when there was no real end in sight are frankly insane.
It’s a great time for women with $$$, basically, like for actresses who would have to put off or even abort pregnancies for jobs once the contract is signed. For the average woman who would have to be in contact with possible Covid positive people (e.g. Doing their own groceries)/no access to proper testing etc, it’s really tough.
All that aside, he’s really the hottest royal damn