Sweden’s Prince and Princess test positive for coronavirus

Couple in quarantine with their children as other members of royal family take test on Thursday

Princess Sofia (C) and Prince Carl Philip of Sweden (R) with their sons Prince Alexander (2-L) and Prince Gabriel (L) join a visit to the Gellerasen Motor stadium in Karlskoga, Sweden, in 2019 (EPA)

Sweden’s Prince Carl Philip and his wife Princess Sofia have tested positive for coronavirus, the Swedish royal court has confirmed.

The court said in a statement on Thursday that both royals are feeling well under the circumstances, adding that King Karl XIV Gustaf, Queen Silvia, the prince’s older sister Crown Princess Victoria and her husband Prince Daniel would be tested during the day.

“On Wednesday, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia went into quarantine after they showed symptoms of illness and were subsequently found to be infected with Covid-19,” said the statement.

“The prince and princess show milder flu symptoms but feel well under the circumstances. Immediately after the illness, the Prince and Princess were quarantined at home with their children.

“Infection tracing is initiated under the supervision of the King and the family life doctor,” added the court.

Philip is fourth in the line of succession to the Swedish throne.

According to local media, the royal family met last Friday during a funeral for the queen’s brother, Walther Sommerlath.

The funeral was small, with fewer than ten people attending, and each person was tested before the ceremony. The tests came back negative, but attendees were gathered in the same room in a church for the ceremony, reported Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.

Sweden, like much of Europe, has seen a major resurgence in coronavirus cases, recording 208,295 positive infections and 6,406 deaths as of Wednesday.

About a quarter of new cases - equivalent to more than 50,000 infections - have been reported in November alone, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

However, Sweden has been an outlier in its approach to dealing with the pandemic. It shunned national lockdowns and stringent anti-virus measures, allowing schools, restaurants and shops to remain open and only urged people over 70 to limit social contact.

The country’s chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell said on Wednesday that there were “no signs of immunity” in the population that would slow transmission of the virus at this time.

The number of patients need intensive care and treatment is rising, said Thomas Linden, the director of Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare.

He also urged people not to “take the fact there is a vaccine a few months away” as a reason to be “careless with measures”.