Here are two more pictures from the Royal Family's attendance at the church service on Christmas Day (according to Svensk Dagbladet is was on the 25th). The pictures are also by Patrik Österberg, scanned from the current issue of Svensk Damtidning.
Princess Christina & husband Tord
Patrick Sommerlath and Prince Carl Philip
It's a tradition for the Royal Family to attend church during Christmas, but normally we don't get to see any pictures, so it's wonderful that we get a few pictures 2005 - I hope it continues in the future too!
Summary from Svensk Damtidning (the Royal Christmas & royals on holiday in Africa)
Svensk Damtidning writes that the Royal Family celebrated their normal traditional Christmas at Drottningholms Palace, joined by Princess Lilian, Princess Christina and her family as well as the Queen’s newphew Patrick Sommerlath.
On Christmas Eve they celebrated in the palace with a lot of good food, and on the morning of Christmas Day they attended the mass in the Drottningholms Palace Chapel, where Prince Carl Philip jokingly pretended to conduct the choir that was performing during the service. On Boxing Day the Royal Family gathered at Princess Christina and her husband’s home Villa Beylon on the Ulriksdal Palace Estate, and on the same day the Royal Couple and the Crown Princess also attended the tsunami memorial at the Skansen Open Air Museum in Stockholm.
After Christmas, the Queen travelled to Germany to visit her brother Jörg Sommerlath who has been suffering from cancer.
After the Christmas days, the King and Queen together with Prince Carl Philip and his girlfriend Emma and Princess Madeleine and her boyfriend Jonas Bergström travelled to Kenya, joining a large group of friend who were already there (something that has become a tradition for the Royal Family, a far away trip with friends, like the cruise in 2003). The Queen flew directly from Germany. Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling did not come with them, they had other plans.
According to the magazine the trip goes to Kinondo Kwetu, an exclusive “hide away” south of Mombasa. It’s an East African paradise with white sand beaches and water warm from the sun. The place where they are staying is situated not too far away from places like the Shimba Hill National Park and the Kilimanjaro mountains. According to the magazine the royals will also visit Lamu, a city north of Mombasa bordering to Somalia.