Princess Madeleine Opens Up About Struggling With Royal Life as Swedish Princess Reveals the Freedom She Longed for Growing Up

Princess Madeleine of Sweden has spent virtually her entire life in the public eye, but behind the formal appearances, royal titles and palace traditions was a young princess who often wished she could simply live like everyone else.

Now, in an unusually candid interview, the 44-year-old daughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia has spoken about her difficulty accepting the role she was born into, revealing that her siblings appeared far more comfortable with royal expectations than she ever felt.

Speaking to Vogue Scandinavia for its August-September 2026 issue, Madeleine admitted that she had long struggled with being a member of the Swedish Royal Family and recalled avoiding photographers as a child.

Her comments offer a rare glimpse behind the polished public image of a princess who has increasingly carved out a life beyond traditional royal duties.

Madeleine admits she struggled with the role she was born into

For her Vogue Scandinavia cover, Madeleine was photographed in two settings closely connected to her personal life: Djurgården, the green island in central Stockholm, and the Royal Stables, where her lifelong passion for horses developed.

The glamorous photographs present a confident royal at ease with herself. Yet the accompanying interview reveals that reaching that point was not always straightforward.

Reflecting on childhood, Madeleine said she was “always kind of struggling” with her position and felt that her older siblings, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Carl Philip, were more accepting of their respective roles.

Public attention was particularly uncomfortable.

When photographers appeared, Madeleine remembered being the sibling who wanted to escape rather than pose. Behind that reluctance was a surprisingly ordinary childhood wish: she wanted the independence to do things her friends could do without attracting attention, including simply taking the bus by herself.

For a child born into one of Europe’s oldest monarchies, that kind of anonymity was difficult to find.

Horses became an escape from being “the princess”

There was, however, one place where Madeleine found freedom: on horseback.

Her relationship with horses began when she was young and became much more than a royal pastime. Riding gave her an environment where status mattered far less than ability and discipline.

Madeleine became a competitive show jumper and, according to Vogue Scandinavia, competed under the name Anna Svensson. It allowed her to enter a world in which she could temporarily separate herself from the identity that followed her everywhere else.

That makes the Royal Stables a particularly fitting location for her latest photo shoot.

The princess still has a deep connection to riding and has passed that passion on to her children. In a video accompanying the cover story, she also spoke about the different emotions involved in now watching her children take on equestrian challenges themselves.

Building a family life with Chris O’Neill

Madeleine married British-American financier Christopher O’Neill in the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on June 8, 2013.

They have three children: Princess Leonore, born in 2014; Prince Nicolas, born in 2015; and Princess Adrienne, born in 2018.

O’Neill made an important decision when they married: he did not take a royal title, allowing him to maintain his private professional career.

The couple subsequently built much of their family life outside Sweden, living at various points in New York, London and Florida before returning to Sweden in the summer of 2024.

That international life gave Madeleine a degree of separation from the daily machinery of the monarchy, even as she remained a member of Sweden’s Royal House.

King Carl Gustaf’s decision changed the future for Madeleine’s children

A major change arrived in 2019 when King Carl XVI Gustaf restructured the Swedish monarchy.

The move was intended to clarify which members of the wider Royal Family would be expected to perform duties connected with the Head of State and concentrate the monarchy’s future responsibilities more closely around Crown Princess Victoria and her family.

As part of those changes, Madeleine and Chris O’Neill’s children, along with the children of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, ceased to be members of the Royal House.

They remain members of the broader Royal Family, but they are not expected to carry out royal duties in adulthood.

For Madeleine, the change offered something she herself had struggled to experience growing up: greater freedom for her children to determine the direction of their own lives.

Madeleine remains a Royal Highness and a member of the Royal House. However, the Swedish Royal Court describes her official programme as “limited,” with engagements carried out as determined by the King.

Madeleine is increasingly creating an identity outside royal duties

In recent years, Madeleine has expanded her work beyond traditional royal engagements.

She launched MinLen, a skincare brand developed in collaboration with Weleda. Because it is a private commercial venture rather than royal work, she uses her private name, Madeleine Bernadotte, in connection with the business.

The Royal Court confirmed in March 2025 that the venture had been discussed with the palace and was considered compatible with her position as a Royal Highness. It also noted that Madeleine has not received a share of the parliamentary appropriation for the Head of State for many years.

She has also moved into television.

Under the name Madeleine Bernadotte, she co-created the animated children’s series Hidden Islands, announced for SkyShowtime in 2026.

Alongside those projects, Madeleine continues her longstanding philanthropic work. She has served as Vice Honorary Chair of the World Childhood Foundation since December 2021, an organization founded by her mother, Queen Silvia.

A princess increasingly comfortable defining her own role

Madeleine’s latest interview is striking because she rarely speaks so openly about the emotional side of growing up royal.

The princess who once tried to escape photographers and wished she could take the bus like her friends has not abandoned the monarchy. Instead, she appears to have found a way to balance it with a more independent identity.

She still participates in royal events when required and remains firmly part of the Swedish Royal House, but her public life now also includes philanthropy, business, television, motherhood and the equestrian world that offered her freedom from royal expectations as a child.

For someone who once found the role difficult to embrace, Madeleine’s path has gradually become less about rejecting royal life and more about defining how much of it will shape her own.