Royal Profile: Princess Leonore, The Duchess of Gotland

Princess Leonore Lilian Maria, The Duchess of Gotland was born 20 February 2014 as the first child of Princess Madeleine of Sweden & Mr. Christopher O'Neil {Source}. She has a younger brother and sister{Source}:

• Prince Nicolas Paul Gustaf, The Duke of Ångermanland (2015)
• Princess Adrienne Josephine Alice, The Duchess of Blekinge (2018)

She was born in the United States, but they celebrated her birth in Sweden anyway! Her birth was celebrated with a 21-gun salute, and a Te Deum Thanksgiving service attended by her maternal grandparents, The Crown Princess Couple, and Prince Carl Philip{Source}. From her birth she was eligible to be part of the Swedish succession, however, to remain in line, she must:

• Be commune with the Church of Sweden (Lutheran)
• Reside in Sweden at some point during her upbringing
• Not marry without the consent of the Government (Article 5)
• Ascend the throne of another state by election, inheritance or marriage without the consent of the monarch and the Riksdag.

It has been claimed that she is named:

• Leonore: a name her parents liked after weighing several options. It could also be a nod to previous Swedish Queens (who were named Elenora,and reigned or was consort from 1718-1720,1620-1632,1654-1660,1720-1741).
• Lilian: for her maternal great aunt, Princess Lilian, The Duchess of Halland who died almost a year to the day before her birth.
• Maria: for her paternal grandmother, Eva Maria O'Neill.

By technicality, she has no "official" surname, but on her Swedish passport and likely her US birth certificate, her surname is considered Bernadotte O'Neill {Source}. Currently, the little princess is 8th in succession for the Swedish throne after her aunt, uncle, mother, and four cousins. She is also distantly in succession for the British throne.


Her christening took place on her parents' first wedding anniversary, and the following were her godparents {Source}:

• Crown Princess Victoria (maternal aunt)
• Tatjana d'Abo (her paternal half-aunt)
• Count Ernst Abensperg und Traun (her paternal half-uncle by marriage)
• Mr. Patrick Sommerlath (her maternal first cousin once removed)
• Mrs. Alice Bamford (childhood friend of her father)
• Ms. Louise Gottlieb(best childhood friend of her mother)

Although just celebrating her sixth year of life, she has already undertaken several royal events and holds several honors. At her christening, her grandfather made her a member of the Royal Order of the Seraphim {Source}. She attended Sweden's National Day Open Palace event with her parents in 2014 {Source}. In December 2014, it was announced that her parents were expecting to make her a big sister in 2015 {Source}. In early 2015, she and her parents moved from the United States to Sweden, and she and her mother were registered as Swedish nationals {Source}. In early 2016, the family of four, now including Prince Nicolas, moved their home base to London. In April 2015, she tagged along with her parents and maternal grandmother when they met The Pope in Vatican City{Photo}. Shortly before becoming a big sister, Little Princess Leonore attended the wedding of her maternal uncle with her parents {Photos}. In October 2015, she attended her brother's christening with her parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousin {Photos}. In November 2015, she joined her mother for the opening of the Swedish Christmas Market in London {Photos}. In May 2016, she attended the christening of her cousin, Prince Oscar of Sweden {Photos}. In June 2016, she undertook a visit to her duchy, Gotland for the first time {Photos}. In September 2016, she attended the christening of her cousin Prince Alexander of Sweden {Photos}. In July 2017, she was in attendance of her maternal aunt and godmother's 40th birthday celebrations {Photos}. In August 2018, after several years going back and forth from London to Stockholm, it was announced her family would be settling in Florida in the United States-while continuing to maintain residences in London and Stockholm {Source}. In 2019, she maintained a private lifestyle, which was further privatized by her maternal grandfather in October, when he announced that she, her younger siblings, and cousins Prince Gabriel and Prince Alexander would loose their status as members of Sweden's Royal House, thus loosing their HRH and "Of Sweden" designation. This decision was made in order to privatize their lives, and designate who would or wouldn't be expected to perform royal duties in the future as 8th in succession for the throne, Leonore is unexpected to take on any future role within the monarchy {Source}. This decision did not effect her cousins Estelle and Oscar as they are children of the Crown Princess Couple, and thus will likely be expected to perform duties in the future-with Estelle acting as Sweden's Queen someday.



Princess Leonore resides in Miami, Florida, USA with her family, but the family frequents Sweden.

In August 2017, it was announced that Princess Leonore would attend pre-school in Sweden {Source}. It is likely since the move, that she attends school in Miami now.