Carl Philip and Sofia of Sweden
These royals are also parents of four
The family of the Swedish royal couple Carl Philip and Sofia continues to grow.
© imago/PPE
Carl Philip and Sofia of Sweden will soon be parents of four children – and are therefore no exception in aristocratic circles.
With this news, the Swedish palace caused a surprise on 2 September: Prince Carl Philip (45) and his wife Sofia (39) are looking forward to another child, who is due to be born in February 2025. The couple already has three sons: Princes Alexander (8), Gabriel (7) and Julian (3). With four offspring soon, they will be the Swedish royal family with the most children: Carl Philip’s parents, King Carl Gustaf (78) and Queen Silvia (80) each had three children. While his younger sister Madeleine (42) also has three children, Crown Princess Victoria (47) is a mother of two.
But if you look at other aristocratic families, Carl Philip and Sofia are in good company with their gang. Because some royals have also been able to celebrate having a baby four times.
Royal couples with many children in Denmark, Belgium and Jordan
The Danes are proving to be particularly keen on having children. King Frederik X (56) and Queen Mary (52) have Crown Prince Christian (18), Princess Isabella (17) and the twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine (13). And the king’s brother, Prince Joachim (55), is also a father of four. He had two sons from his first marriage, and he had a son and a daughter with his second wife Princess Marie (48).
The Belgian royal family also has many children. King Philippe (64) and Queen Mathilde (51) are parents of two daughters and two sons. Will heir to the throne Princess Elisabeth (22) follow suit?
Princess Caroline of Monaco (67) also gave birth to four children. Her marriage to Stefano Casiraghi (1960-1990) produced sons Andrea (40) and Pierre (36) and daughter Charlotte (38). With her third husband, Prince Ernst August of Hanover (70), she had another latecomer: in 1999, at the age of 42, the Monegasque gave birth to her fourth child, Princess Alexandra (25).
Jordanian King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein (62) and his wife, Queen Rania (54), also provided a royal gang. They have two sons, Crown Prince Hussein (30) and Prince Hashem (19), as well as two daughters, Princess Iman (27) and Princess Salma (23).
By the way: The former British monarch Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) was also a mother of four. With her husband Prince Philip (1921-2021) she had three sons and a daughter.
These nobles had even more children
While it used to be quite normal for nobles to have a lot of children – just think of the legendary British Queen Victoria (1818-1901) with nine offspring – royal families with more than four children are rare these days. Grand Duke Henri (69) and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa (68) of Luxembourg, for example, are parents of five children. The German Stephanie Countess von Pfuel (63) had six children. In 2019, the large family suffered a terrible blow of fate: son Charly died in a traffic accident at the age of just 26.