This past week, Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel of Sweden have been carrying out an official visit to Peru and Colombia. As well as strengthening bonds between the nations, the couple also hope to increase awareness for Swedish culture.
The couple’s first stop was at the University of Lima where the Crown Princess made a speech to encourage prospective students to undertake international study in Sweden, with the help of the BECA 18 scholarship. Victoria herself studied in the USA, and recalled her experiences to encourage those listening.
After a stop at H&M, a Swedish brand favoured by Victoria, to learn about the company’s operations in South America, the official welcome from President Ollanta Humala took place at the Government Palace of Peru.
After lunch with the president the visit continued on to the National Museum of the Archaeology, Anthropology and History of Peru where the pair were shown 2000 year-old textiles that had once been kept in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel attend a dinner during their first day in Peru pic.twitter.com/XjkeLLwkHU
— Simo.R (@Like_aPrincess2) October 20, 2015
Their busy first day was rounded off with a reception at the Swedish Consulate-General in Lima, hosted by the Swedish Ambassador.
Day two was an emotional one for the Crown Princely pair, as the main event of the day was a visit to the INEN Cancer Institute, where they spent time with a number of children who were being looked after there. Victoria was visibly upset by the stories she heard during the visit. Victoria and Daniel have one daughter, Princess Estelle, and are expecting another child early next year.
The day also included a visit to Volvo where they were shown a project that aims to educate about the importance of traffic safety. The issue is one of great importance in Peru as an average of ten people die on the roads every single day.
Crown Princess Victoria & Prince Daniel; currently on an official tour of Peru and Colombia #sweden pic.twitter.com/1L1ndAUrbT — RoyalCrowns (@WindsorHeiress) October 20, 2015
The Crown Princess couple’s time in Peru concluded with a tour of Lima’s historic centre, which included an exhibition displaying some of the works of Nobel Laureate, Mario Vargas Llosa.
The second half of the tour took the couple to Cartagena, Colombia where they first made a visit to the Colombian Reintegration Agency who work closely with the Folke Bernadotte Academy in Sweden. Their aim is to develop and promote effective peace keeping operations.
Visit to Colombia Day 1: Crown Princess Victoria wore the ASOS Maternity Placed Floral Scuba Midi Bodycon Dress pic.twitter.com/ZSSLdagmKA
— Princess Victoria (@Pvictoriastyle) October 22, 2015
Following a tour of the city’s historic centre, they made their way to Cartagena Port where Prince Daniel had some fun testing a simulator used to train crane operators. Swedish technology plays a vital role in the running of what is one of the most important caribbean ports.
A reception was then held in honour of the Swedish Royals, where Mayor Dionisio Vélez presented them with the key to the city. That evening Victoria and Daniel made their way to their final stop of the tour, the Colombian capital, Bogotá.
It was on the last full day of the trip that the couple awoke to the heartbreaking news of an attack back home in Sweden. A man, armed with a sword, attacked a student and a teaching assistant at a school in Trollhättan. Victoria made a statement revealing her shock saying, ‘it is a sad day for Sweden. This is something terrible that has hit the entire country’.
Despite the news, the day continued as planned with the main focus of the day being the promotion of sustainable businesses. The day also included and official meeting with President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón.
The tour came to an end with a low-key tour of the Gold Museum followed by lunch. After what was a busy five days, the couple finally made the trip back home to Sweden and their three year-old daughter, Princess Estelle.
Featured photo: Glyn Lowe
