On March 12, 2025, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden celebrated her name day at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. For the first time, she attended the Armed Forces' name day ceremony in uniform. She has recently been promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. Since the early 1990s, the Swedish Armed Forces have celebrated the Crown Princess’s name day with a ceremony in the Inner Courtyard of the Royal Palace in Stockholm.
The ceremony included an honor guard from the Life Guards, the main guard from the Life Regiment Hussars (K 3), and the Army Music Corps. After receiving well-wishes in the courtyard, the Crown Princess met with Lieutenant Colonel Marcus Appelgren from the Victoria Battalion of the Stockholm Amphibious Regiment to receive a photo album with pictures from the battalion’s past year.
Grattis Viktoria pĂĄ din namnsdag! Din namne i Borgholm.
ReplyDeleteEtt mycket klokt och viktigt beslut att presentera dig i militäruniform!!!
ReplyDeleteGratulerar,
Astrid
I think it´s wrong. This wasn´t a military event, in fact this a very inofficial and rather personal celebration.
DeleteI am looking at the increased focus on the military with concern. They are trying to get people to get used to militarisation. Europe is on a very dangerous path.
@Anonymous 20:48: how is “the Armed Forces’ name day ceremony” not a military event??
DeleteI agree with you Anonymous 20:48, a very dangerous part indeed. I hope Europe doesn’t head that way though, because if it does then there is no hope of stopping WW3.
DeleteT
@Anonymous 20:48 and @Anonymous 03:03 Please educate yourselves before making such comments!
DeleteAnon 20.48 How can the Armed Forces' name day ceremony she attended not be considered a military event?
Delete@Anonymous12/3/25 20:48 >I am looking at the increased focus on the military with concern.< Me too. Also the increase in war terminology. We are in stage one of war propaganda. I know that is hard stuff on a fashion blog and I normally keep politics out of my comments. But we Europeans live in a dangerous time. For those who are interested, google 'Propaganda - Goebbels' Principles'. FĂĽr die deutschsprechenden auch Deutschlandfunk, Anne Morelli: Die Prinzipien der Kriegspropaganda. The parallels are frightening.
DeleteBeth, I completely understand your concern. The rise in militaristic rhetoric and war-related terminology is indeed unsettling. It's a tricky balance when discussing such serious matters, especially in spaces where people usually escape from the weight of politics. But as you pointed out, these are times where it's hard to ignore what's happening globally. The reference to Goebbels' principles of propaganda is insightful—it's a reminder of how powerful language and imagery can be in shaping public perception, often leading to dangerous consequences.
DeleteBeth, thanks for the information, I'll read this article. I'm concerned too, it's too much focus on militarisation and way too many focus on ending the war and reach peace.
DeleteFor me it's wonderful that on this blog beside of fashion we sometimes speak about life too.
To those wondering what kind of event this is:
DeleteSwedes have "name days", meaning that every day of the calendar year is associated with a number of given names, and the name Victoria happens to be celebrated on March 12th (along with the name Regina). The other Nordic and the Baltic nations have something similar, though the names in the various countries aren´t the same for the respective days, so this whole thing is rather arbitrary. To me, it has always felt a bit like a horoscope thing. Many people don´t really care about their name day.
More importantly though, the name day has little to do with Victoria personally, but with her name, and it is just as much about every other Victoria in the country (plus all Reginas). The idea to actually celebrate this (namnsdagsfirandet) for the Crown Princess likely came from the Queen, who also established all the festivities around Victoria´s birthday (traditionally held on the Ă–land island at the royal family´s summer residence). One can assume that Victoria views this as an annoying duty rather than an enjoyable festivity, at least she has mentioned before that it is hard to stop these things once they have become an established tradition.
Now, about the military. This name day celebration is NOT a military event, even though the military is officially represented amongst the well-wishers. The celebration is open to the public, and of PR nature. For the 40+ years Victoria has been celebrated this way, she never showed up in uniform, although she completed military training already years ago and definitely holds a military rank and the uniform that goes with it. In fact, this event is so family-oriented, Victoria often brought her children along, as many of you will already know.
Name days play no role whatsoever in the military.
There is no rational reason for Victoria to attend in uniform now. I too view this change as one of the many signs of militarisation, and it is highly concerning. This is not a subtle change, in fact it made quite a few headlines.
Namedays are celebrated in several countries, and some of the days originate from the birthdays etc. of various saints with the same name. But there are of course also many other names, and they have been assigned their own days as well. And you don't have to be a religious Johannes to celebrate your name day on June 24th (for instance). Many of these countries are quite secularized, thus the nameday system has nothing to do with religion per se. Comparing it to a horoscope is also quite beside the point. And if you live in a country with the nameday tradition (as I do), you know that 99,9% of the population know their own special namedays and that they are often celebrated too.
DeleteAs to the military dress Victoria is wearing, I guess it has something to do with the fact that she is attending some special military courses at the moment and that the celebration is arranged by the Armed Forces. Her father has always attended the celebrations of his birthday dressed in a uniform and no-one has complained about that.
And, believe me, I would also love a world where you wouldn't have to be worried about the threat of war, but that would require that we have peaceloving and sensible leaders in all the countries, and, sadly, that's not the case at the moment. When you live in a country with an almost 1500 km border with Russia (as I do), you learn to respect the armed forces of your own country. Without them, and the sacrifices of our ancestors fighting on the front line, we would have lost our independence during WW2. But let's hope that reason and empathy will eventually win and WW3 will never come.
-Paula
@Anon 20:48 "Europe is on a very dangerous path" - d'accord, but the danger is not militarisation but the lack of being prepared against militarisation against us. Part of Europe is in danger to fall back behind a new iron curtain - if not tomorrow, than after tomorrow - so it is not nice, if the seemingly not involved other half fogets this.
DeleteWhy is she in uniform ?? This was not so the earlier years !
ReplyDeleteI think it might be as she is going to some military school. Think it suits her! A
DeleteLol ”some” military school
DeleteRead the text.
DeleteVictory looks very smart in the uniform!
ReplyDeleteWow, looks fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI´d prefer a non-military outfit for this event.
ReplyDeleteAgree !!
DeleteLooks nice in her uniform. She has completed her military training, has been promoted so why not wear her dress uniform for this occasion.
ReplyDeleteIt is unfortunate, imo, that apparently there is not a Swedish military uniform that has a skirt, which I as far as I know is a choice that many countries offer female personnel. This outfit is extremely masculine-looking and unflattering to Victoria.
ReplyDeleteI for one think she looks good in the uniform. I find this skirt-thing in this case (military background) quite outdated.
DeleteA military uniform is not a fashion asset.
DeleteC'est too much je trouve ! Mais bon, si ça lui plait
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 20:48
ReplyDeleteYou’re absolutely rightđź‘Ź
She's going to be a queen. She has military rank. Her uniform is appropriate. Fashion is great, but reality is reality.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 13:42
DeleteThank you!
Has anyone complained before when men wore uniforms?
Rien à redire sur cet uniforme qui lui va parfaitement ; en cette journée particulière, tous mes voeux à l'occasion de sa fête !
ReplyDeleteVictoria looks fantastic in uniform. Hope we see her wearing it more time in the future, Happy Names Day to CP Victoria of Sweden.
ReplyDeletecss
Post a Comment
(We will not publish anonymous comments that were posted without stating a name or nickname)