Swedish royal family mark special celebration ahead of Christmas – details

Christmas might just be around the corner, but the Swedish royal family celebrated ahead of the big day for another reason, as Queen Silvia marked her 80th birthday, and in a cute snap she was surrounded by all of her grandchildren.

In photos shared by Princess Madeleine on her Instagram, Silvia was presented with an elegant ornament that featured 80 candles, and the royal blew them out with her grandchildren, Princess Estelle, 11, Prince Oscar, seven, Princess Leonore, nine, Prince Nicolas, eight, Princess Adrienne, five, Prince Alexander, seven, Prince Gabriel, five, and Prince Julian, two.

All the royals wore party hats for the occasion, with Silvia looking exceptionally elegant in a red dress, which she wore a black jacket over, which featured a Christmas tree brooch. The ornament looked grand for the occasion and even featured a crown in the centre.

In a caption, Madeleine shared: “Wishing Mamma and ‘Mormor’ a happy happy birthday!” and fans were quick to coo over the cute scene.

One mused: “I love that Princess Leonore always takes care of Prince Julian,” while a second said: “Wonderful to see. Congratulations [to] our fine queen on 80 years birthday,” and a third added: “Cutest picture ever.”

Meanwhile, a fourth penned: “Congratulations to our beloved queen Silvia long live she! What a wonderful picture with all the grandkids. More like that so beautiful I am so touched. Thank you for making a difference for other children. All children deserve a nice, safe and loving upbringing. Sweden has a nice royal house, long live also the monarchy.”

The birthday part itself was held on Monday, five days before Silvia’s big day, and came after the royals received a selection of Christmas trees for the royal palaces.

The Queen’s eldest grandchild has recently been on a bit of a growth spurt, and appeared to be taller than her grandmother in the new photo. Her height was on full show in a recent post from the Swedish royal family’s Instagram account that saw her standing with younger brother, Oscar.

© Getty

Estelle could be seen wearing a golden crown adorned with faux candles, whilst Oscar looked so sweet as a ‘star boy’ in a white conical hat emblazoned with gold stars.

For the festive occasion, Estelle also carried a basket of freshly baked cookies and Christmas-tree shaped gingerbread biscuits. And we couldn’t help but notice how tall she looked in the snap as she towered over her younger brother!

© Jonas Ekströmer/TT/Shutterstock

Captioning the photo, Crown Princess Victoria penned: “Glad luciamorgon! [camera emoji] Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar photographed by the Crown Princess at The Hague.”

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