Crown Princess Victoria: How Swedish royal overcame secret health battle
31 January 2023 – 08:08 GMT Gemma Strong Crown Princess Victoria: Insight into the Swedish royal family’s past struggle with an eating disorder ahead of her marriage to Prince Daniel
Crown Princess Victoria is well loved in royal circles and among Swedes, who praise her warm smile and down-to-earth attitude.
But the future queen has faced real struggles in recent years.
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In 1997, the Swedish Palace confirmed that the princess had anorexia. Intense media speculation and widespread concern followed when photographs were released showing Victoria in a sleeveless gown at the Order of Innocence ball.
It was a tremendously difficult time for the princess – but nothing she shied away from. Ahead of her 40th birthday in 2017, Victoria spoke about her disorder in a two-part show Crown Princess Victoria, 40 years old on Swedish TV4.
Crown Princess Victoria struggled with an eating disorder
The Crown Princess explained that as she began helping her parents with their jobs as she came of age, she began to demand more and more of herself.
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As her illness progressed, she knew she needed help, so she postponed her studies at Uppsala University and traveled to the United States.
With husband Daniel on their wedding day
She explained: “In the USA I got professional help, which was very important for me. Just learning to put feelings into words and thus to set limits and not to overwhelm myself too much, which was easy for me. I wanted so much more than I could do or be all the time.”
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While Victoria faced tremendous challenges during her anorexia treatment, it also resulted in a life changing encounter.
The couple are the proud parents of two children
The Queen met her now-husband Prince Daniel, who was a personal trainer at the time, as she headed to the gym for one of her doctor-ordered workouts.
The couple fell in love and married on June 19, 2010. They have since given birth to two children together: Princess Estelle, ten, and her younger brother, Prince Oscar, six.
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