
The Swedish crown-princess Victoria is expecting her first child any day now. This, of course, has become a hot topic in the magazines and around the coffe machine.
Evidently, the birth of the future Swedish King or Queen is accompanied by a bunch of ceremonies and rules. In a press release from the Royal Court we can read the following:
“On the occasion of a royal birth, the Marshal of the Realm notifies the nation’s leaders of the birth. A press release from the Marshal of the Realm will then be published at www.kungahuset.se
and at www.facebook.com/kungahuset
.”
The royal family has thus entered the 21th century by having an announcement made on Facebook. I wonder if Mark Zuckerberg ever thought his university project would influence century old royal traditions?
Sticking with the more old-school routines there will also be held a cabinet meeting with the government, a salute fired on several places around the country, a special mass in church (Te Deum) etc etc.
I can’t help but think that they should all leave the mother and father to be alone. The birth of a child is stressful as it is without having the attention of millions of people eagerly waiting for news the closer we come to the due-date. I mean, what if (I pray it won’t) something goes wrong? Even with the advanced medical knowledge we have today the unexpected can still occur.
What princess Victoria and her husband Daniel really need is to prepare for this life-changing event without the additional stress knowing that the second their child draws its first breath we can read about it on Facebook.
I am all for social networks and the wonders it can do for reporting news almost even before they happen, but there are times when this is not appropriate.