Sweden’s Princess Madeleine is finally putting her model looks to use. The royal graces Vogue Sweden’s November cover in an army green overcoat and a megawatt smile.
The 31-year old, who is third in line to the throne, is nearly five months pregnant with her first child, which she told the magazine happened ‘a little fast and very suddenly.’ She says that she and husband Chris O’Neill are excited and ‘very happy.’
Madeleine is due in March 2014 and is reading the famous book What to Expect When You’re Expecting in preparation, according to Hello.
Madeleine married O’Neill, a 39-year-old British-American, in a lavish ceremony this past June. Almost exactly twelve weeks later, the couple announced their pregnancy.
The palace said that the pregnancy would not affect Madeleine’s schedule this fall. The couple resides in New York where Madeleine works for the World Childhood Foundation, a non-profit group founded by her mother, Queen Silvia. O’Neill works as a financier.
The couple met after Princess Madeleine fled to the U.S. in 2010 with a broken heart. She crossed the Atlantic following the breakdown of her first engagement to Swedish attorney Jonas Bergstrom amid speculation that he had cheated on her.
Rumours of a romance with O’Neill first emerged in early 2011 when the pair were seen together at the Central Park Boathouse.
A source told the New York Post at the time: ‘She is always happy when she is with him.’ Madeleine says she and her husband were friends first, and a relationship blossomed over time.
‘I appreciate Chris for his warmth and his humor,’ she said. ‘He has a very big heart and he manages to make everyone in his presence feel good. Christopher is a very thoughtful and generous person.’
O’Neill, however, says that ‘from the very outset, I immediately felt something special with Madeleine.’ Madeleine told ELLE that he is a ‘true gentleman who makes everyone around him feel at ease.’