,type=downsize)
Season’s greetings from Prince Gabriel and Prince Alexander ! Princess Sofia and Prince Carl Philip of Sweden shared a new photo of their sons enjoying the outdoors on Friday. “We wish you a nice summer! ☀️,” the caption read. The Prince Couple, who reside at Villa Solbacken in Stockholm, plan on sharing photos of their summer activities to encourage others to travel domestically. “Since many people stay home this year and discover Sweden up close, we here on Instagram will share some of our [favorite] spots where we are this summer,” the royals said (loosely translated from Swedish). “This is to show that our beautiful country has fantastic opportunities for fun, wonderful and activity-filled #staycation.”
The first stop of the royals’ summer travels was in Södermanland County, Prince Alexander’s duchy. The royal brothers were adorably pictured sitting next to each other on a basket in a field. Sofia and Carl Philip’s sons coordinated in shorts and matching navy slip-ons for the sunny outing. Alexander, four, looked summer-ready wearing an orange bucket hat and white long-sleeve t-shirt, while his younger sibling wore a button-down mandarin shirt. Gabriel, who looks all grown up in the new image, appears to be catching up to his older brother in height. The two-year-old Prince was last seen in April sitting on his father’s lap as the family celebrated Easter via a video call with their royal relatives.
Last year, Prince Carl Philip’s sons were removed from Sweden’s Royal House. Although the young Princes, as well as Princess Madeleine ’s children, lost their style of Royal Highness, they retained their titles of Duke and are still members of the royal family, but won’t be expected to perform official royal duties when they are older.
Following their sons’ removal, Carl and Sofia released a statement saying, “We see this as positive as Alexander and Gabriel will have freer choices in life. They will retain their prince titles and their duchies, Södermanland and Dalarna, which we value and are proud of. Our family has strong connections to both landscapes and we maintain our commitment there.”
“We will continue to focus on our heart issues and commitment,” the royal couple added. “We will also continue to support the King and the Crown Princess - our future head of state - and participate in the King‘s activities in the way we wish.”