Swedish crown princess in no hurry to marry

Jul 11, 2007, 15:00 GMT

File photo: Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden (R) shares a joke with speaker Per Westerberg at the opening of the Parliament in Stockholm, Sweden on Tuesday 03 October 2006. EPA/ANDERS WIKLUND

Stockholm - The thought of turning 30 apparently does not bother Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, but she is aware of the public interest in when she plans to announce her engagement.

'I am glad when my friends get married, but actually I don't feel any pressure,' she said in an interview with Swedish news agency TT ahead of her birthday celebrations Saturday.

Victoria has become very popular and her beau for the past five years, Daniel Westling, appears to be gradually winning acceptance among fans of the crown princess.

Regarding the possibility of the couple becoming engaged to be married, she has been quoted as saying 'I am in no hurry, but I hope it will be some time.'

In the meantime, she continues preparations for her likely role as future queen and head of state of the Nordic country, although her father King Carl Gustaf shows no signs of slowing down at 61.

The crown princess recently completed a one-year course for diplomats at the Swedish Foreign Ministry, studying subjects such as foreign and security policy, consular matters and foreign aid.

Always being in the limelight has taken its toll on Victoria, who 10 years ago publicly stated that she was being treated for anorexia and underwent treatment. Nowadays, she says, she has become more used to her public role.

Stockholm daily Expressen commissioned a poll that suggested that 38 per cent of Swedes felt that Westling, a 33-year-old commoner, was 'the right man for Victoria' while 8 per cent were against. The remaining 54 per cent were undecided.

Asked if Victoria should marry Westling, 41 per cent of the 1,001 people polled by research company Demoskop said yes. Nine per cent were against, while the remaining 50 per cent were undecided.

Westling hails from the small community of Ockelbo, some 200 kilometres north of Stockholm and runs a gym and fitness centre in the capital.

His background gives him an advantage since he is a 'man of the people,' political scientist and commentator Stig-Bjorn Ljunggren said, adding people could identify with Westling.

Victoria has said her mother, German-born Queen Silvia had first- hand experience of a commoner becoming a member of the royal family.

Birthday celebrations Saturday include a brief ceremony at the royal palace in Stockholm. Later the same day the crown princess, her parents and siblings, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine, were due to attend a birthday ceremony in Victoria's honour on the island of Oland.

The royals traditionally spend part of their summer holidays on the island at Solliden Palace where Victoria's pastimes include raising bees and making honey.