Happy birthday, Prince Gabriel ! Princess Sofia and Prince Carl Philip ’s youngest child turned three-years-old on Monday, Aug. 31. The Swedish royal couple commemorated their son’s special day by sharing a new photo of Gabriel. The little Prince was pictured flashing a big smile with a huge birthday cake, which appeared to be shaped like a dinosaur. “Congratulations to our beloved Gabriel on his 3rd birthday❤,” Sofia and Carl Philip captioned the black and white image on their personal social media account.
Royal fans were quick to point out the similarities between Gabriel and his mother Sofia. “So similar to his mother ..... Congratulations!,” one commented, while another wrote: “Looks exactly like his Mommy😊 happy Birthday Little Prince ❤️.”
Sofia and Carl Philip, who are also parents to four-year-old Prince Alexander , welcomed their second child in 2017. Ahead of his birthday, Gabriel, Duke of Dalarna, inaugurated a gift—an accessibility-adapted resting place in Säterdalen’s nature reserve—which he received from Dalarna County in connection with his baptism. Sharing photos from the outing on Aug. 28, the royal’s Instagram account wrote, “We hope that the rest area will be an appreciated feature for the nature reserve’s many visitors.”
While Gabriel is a member of the Swedish royal family, he was removed from the Swedish Royal House last year, along with his big brother and Princess Madeleine ’s children. With his removal, the Prince won’t be expected to perform official royal duties when he is older.
At the time, Sofia and Carl viewed the change as a “positive” for their children. In a statement, they said: “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.”