Swedish royals in isolation after Covid-19 spread at funeral

Prince Carl Philip and his wife Princess Sofia tested positive 

Credit: AFP

Sweden’s Royal Family has been forced into self-isolation after Prince Carl Philip and his wife Princess Sofia tested positive for coronavirus following a private family funeral.  

"Carl Philip and Sofia tested positive on Wednesday. They have mild symptoms and they are in isolation now together with their children," Johan Tegel, press secretary to the Royal Court, told the Daily Telegraph.  

The couple appears to have contracted the virus when attending the funeral of Queen Silvia’s brother, Walther Sommerlath, who died last month, aged 86, at Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm, where he had moved recently to be close to his sister.

"Just before the funeral they all tested negative and so they could all participate in the ceremony, there were a lot of precautions in place," Mr Tegel said.

According to the court, "fewer than ten" of Mr Sommerlath’s closest family had attended the church service in person, with most participating in the ceremony via a video link. 

It was not until Wednesday evening that the couple first experienced flu-like symptoms. 

The Swedish royal family are now all in isolation

Credit: royalcourt.se

King Carl XVI Gustaf, 74, and Queen Silvia, 76, have largely kept themselves isolated during the pandemic, as have Crown Princess Victoria, 43, and her husband Prince Daniel, 47.

"The King and Queen and the Crown Princess couple are working from home and they will all be tested today," Mr Tegel said. "They are both feeling well." 

Carl Philip, 41, and Sofia, 35, however, have both been engaged in voluntary work, with Sofia helping cook food and wash sheets at a hospital in Stockholm, and Carl Philip helping coordinate the Swedish Armed Forces work on coronavirus.

So far, none of the other royal family members who attended the funeral have experienced any symptoms.

Contact tracing is currently being carried out to determine who Carl Philip and Sofia might have met since Friday, whether they were infected at the funeral, and if so by whom.

According to the court, Sofia was tested regularly during her work at Stockholm’s Sophiahemmet hospital. Other royal family members are also frequently tested.

Walther Sommerlath, like Queen Silvia, was born in Brazil to a German businessman father. He spent most of his adult life in Paris, before retiring in Italy together with his wife Ingrid. 

He only moved to Sweden in October, staying at a house in the grounds of the royal residence, Drottningholm Palace.