William and Catherine, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, began the second day of their Scandinavian tour yesterday, with a tour of the Karolinska Institute in Solna, followed by a visit to Matteusskolan school and tea with Sweden’s Crown Princely family at Haga Palace.
After a full day of engagements on Tuesday, the couple were welcomed to the Solna area of Stockholm by cheering crowds, waving British and Swedish flags, holding out their hands to greet them, and their hosts, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel.
Prince William greets the crowds in Stolna with Crown princess victoria and prince daniel (kensington palace)
William and Kate join Crown Princess Victoria and husband Daniel at the Matteusskolan school in Stockholm #RoyalVisitSweden pic.twitter.com/V7Um5KlGIp
— Victoria Murphy (@QueenVicMirror) January 31, 2018
The Royals, who greeted each other warmly with kisses, entered the Karolinska Institute to learn about how Sweden is dealing with mental health issues; this is a continuation of William and Kate’s support for mental health charities back home in the UK.
The royal quartet met a number of academics working on the front line of research into mental health and the impact of physical activity on the mind. The royals discussed their Heads Together charity with Sweden’s top mental health doctors and researchers.
Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel spoke to one of the Professors who studied at university with the Swedish princess at Uppsala University, and Victoria quickly visited the maternity ward at the hospital where she was born in 1977.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
The Duke briefly spoke at the event and commented: “One lesson that we will take home with us is that children are actively encouraged to spend time outdoors, whatever the weather.”
William, Catherine, Victoria and Daniel then visited the nearby Matteusskolan school, where as usual, crowds of cheering children awaited their arrival. The visit to school came about because it partners with the Karolinska Institutet on mental health. As it was also the 10th anniversary of the Youth Aware of Mental Health initiative, William and Kate wanted to see what has been achieved in this area of the past decade.
The Cambridges took the time to meet and greet the waving children and William was seen shaking hands with some of children, telling one boy that he had cold hands. Kate seemed to be concerned that they were all warm enough: “Are you cold? Are you all wrapped up?”
the duke and duchess of cambridge were greeted by enthusiastic children at Matteusskolan school (kensington palace)
One boy, Lucas Tinseau, asked Kate if she knew J Hus, a Swedish rapper. Kate told him that she “would look out for him”.
The couple also watched a role-playing exercise that had been championed by the Youth Aware project and listened to a student named Hugo Steg talking about his experiences with mental health in English.
After an already busy day, the foursome visited one of Sweden’s oldest and largest department stores, Nordiska Kompaniet, to see the variety of British products that are sold there.
The Duchess of Cambridge seemed interested to hear about shoe-making during the event focussed on British designers in the Scandinavian country.
On an informal visit, William and Kate headed back to Victoria and Daniel’s home at Haga Palace. The British duo were introduced to Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar, the children of Victoria and Daniel, aged five and almost two.
William was photographed kneeling down to greet the children and smiling. In true English fashion, the Swedish royals treated their British guests to a cup of tea in fine china cups.
the duke and duchess of cambridge visited haga palace, home of crown princess victoria and prince daniel (kensington palace)
william and kate enjoyed tea with victoria and daniel, and their two children, estelle and oscar (kesnington palace)
That evening, the couple also attended a reception, again with Victoria and Daniel. They quartet had quickly changed into more glamorous attire; the reception was to celebrate stars of Swedish film, music, the arts, and sport.
British artist Nick Veasey said tonight that Prince William said his wife “takes pictures of her children every day”.
‘That was a quick change,’ Kate laughed, as she greeted Crown Princess Victoria with a kiss tonight #RoyalVisitSweden pic.twitter.com/tytMeu3lQL
— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) January 31, 2018
