Princess Madeleine's Daughter Leonore Is Growing Up So Fast

When it comes to royalty, we usually hear about the British royal family, whose seemingly unending string of scandals never fail to catch the world's attention, more than anyone else. But though they may not get as much coverage stateside as, say, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's controversial new Netflix series or Kate Middleton's cancer journey, this doesn't mean other European royal families aren't as interesting. From the royal financial scandals faced by members of Spain's royal family to the rumors that King Frederik X of Denmark cheated on his wife Queen Mary, there's plenty of drama to be found beyond just King Charles III's extended family.

Sweden's unconventional royal family has had its fair share of unfavorable press over the years, including allegations that Crown Princess Victoria's husband Prince Daniel had an affair, which led to speculation that they were heading for divorce as a result. The spotlight has been increasingly focused on Victoria's family in recent years as they've become the face of the Swedish royal family alongside King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. In comparison, the families of Victoria's younger siblings Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine haven't received quite as much attention, with their kids stripped of royal status by their monarch grandfather and being raised away from the spotlight.

Due to this, not much is known about Madeleine's eldest child, Princess Leonore, who will remain ninth in the line of succession unless her aunt Victoria and uncle Carl Philip welcome more kids or until her cousins start families of their own. But based on Madeleine's updates on social media, we know that Leonore is growing up incredibly fast.

King Carl XVI Gustaf got his first grandchild when his daughter Crown Princess Victoria and her former personal trainer husband Prince Daniel welcomed their eldest, Princess Estelle, on February 23, 2012. Almost exactly two years later, the Swedish monarch received more happy news when his youngest daughter Princess Madeleine gave birth to her first child with her husband, banker Christopher O'Neill, in New York on February 20, 2014. At the time, the king announced that he bestowed his second grandchild, Her Royal Highness Princess Leonore Lilian Maria, who was fifth in the line of succession at the time of her birth, with the title of Duchess of Gotland.

Madeleine and Christopher soon took to Facebook to share a close-up photo of their newborn daughter and ask those who wanted to send Leonore gifts to instead donate to children's charities in order to spread the love to underprivileged kids. Around two weeks after she gave birth, Madeleine also shared a sweet photo of newborn Leonore's tiny hand holding onto her mom's finger, along with a message of gratitude: "We are so happy to have Leonore in our life. She is a little angel and like her name, she brings sunlight even on cloudy days. From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank each and every one of you for your lovely best wishes for our daughter. She feels very loved."

Leonore made her first official public appearance in June 2014 when she was christened in the chapel at the Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm. In attendance were Leonore's beloved grandparents Queen Silvia and King Carl XVI Gustaf, her aunt and godmother Victoria, and her toddler cousin Estelle, who is also growing up fast.

In 2016, Princess Madeleine posted a portrait of Princess Leonore on Facebook to celebrate her eldest child's second birthday, giving fans a close-up look at the adorable toddler's blonde hair and blue eyes. The royal later revealed a tidbit about her daughter's burgeoning personality when she shared a photo of Leonore playing in a tree. "Our little adventurer who never sits still!" Madeleine captioned the snap.

That year, Leonore, whose younger brother Prince Nicolas was born in June 2015, got two more cousins in quick succession: Crown Princess Victoria's second and youngest child Prince Oscar and Prince Carl Philip's eldest son Prince Alexander. 2016 was also a special year for Leonore as she not only made her first royal engagement as the Duchess of Gotland but also met who would later become one of her most beloved companions. In May 2016, Leonore and her parents visited the Swedish island of Gotland, where the toddler was supposed to pose for photos with a 2-year-old horse named Haidi — which was gifted to her by the island's people — and go on a walkabout to greet well-wishers. 

But little Leonore apparently didn't want to do any of that as she instead simply frolicked in the pasture, far away from the pony. Though the diminutive royal eventually approached Haidi, she mostly ignored the filly and even stole its carrot at one point. However, her mother seemingly predicted the strong bond Leonore would later form with Haidi. "She and Haidi will probably become good friends one day. It takes some time to get to know a horse," Madeleine said, per People. Time indeed helped as Leonore appeared much more comfortable with the horse when they reunited just a year later. 

As she had already hinted at just 2 years old, Princess Leonore does what she wants, and she once again proved this during the christening of her younger sister Princess Adrienne in June 2018. The entire Swedish royal family, including King Carl XVI Gustaf, was in attendance when Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill's third child was christened at Drottningholm Palace Chapel in Stockholm. But 4-year-old Leonore had absolutely no qualms about showing everyone she was the real star of the family when the princess interrupted the ceremony with her hilarious antics.

In a video shared by My Royal Blog on YouTube, the youngster was seen lying down on the floor right in front of the bishop and rolling around in her prim white dress. She'd also apparently ditched her shoes before deciding to do so as she was also barefoot. Leonore's dad tried to persuade her to get up, while her mom, who was holding her baby sister in her arms, looked visibly unhappy about her behavior. Despite the brief disturbance, the service was successfully completed, though Leonore continued to go barefoot when she and her family posed for photos outside the church.

The freespirited princess had another diva moment later that year when she participated in a holiday ballet performance. Madeleine took to Instagram to post a snap of her eldest jumping on stage dressed in a pink tutu as she and several other little girls performed "The Nutcracker." The diminutive royal looked happy and right at home, with no sign of stage fright in sight. "Our very own Nutcracker ballerina!" Madeleine captioned the photo.

A lot can change in a year. In 2019, Princess Leonore looked like a proper little lady in a portrait shared on Princess Madeleine's Instagram to mark her fifth birthday. In the sweet snap, Leonore wore a girly pink dress and rocked shoulder-length blonde hair. During this time, Leonore and her family had just moved to Florida from London, and she may have been still in the process of getting used to the vastly different weather and culture. But the move wasn't the only major change Leonore experienced.

In October 2019, her grandfather King Carl XVI Gustaf officially removed five of his then-seven grandchildren from the royal house, prohibiting them from using His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness titles. This meant Leonore, her siblings Nicolas and Adrienne, as well as their cousins Alexander and Gabriel — the sons of Prince Carl Philip — could not become working royals and receive taxpayer money. Additionally, while they can still use their prince, princess, duke, and duchess titles, they can't pass them on to their kids. 

This also applied to Carl Philip's son Julian and daughter Ines, who were born in 2021 and 2025, respectively. Only Crown Princess Victoria's two children, Estelle and Oscar, were not affected by the king's move, which notably came three years before Denmark's Queen Margrethe II announced her drastic decision to take royal titles away from four of her own grandchildren. However, unlike the Danish royal family, there appeared to be no hard feelings over the decision, with Madeleine writing on Instagram that this gave their respective kids "a greater opportunity to shape their own lives as individuals in the future."

Princess Leonore had been living in Miami, Florida, with her family for three years when she turned 7 years old in February 2021. For her birthday, she got plenty of colorful balloons and brought them to the beach, where the adorable royal proudly posed for photos. "Happy 7th birthday to our Wild and Adventurous Leonore! We hope you stay just the way you are: fun, sweet, curious, caring and completely unique — just like the unicorns that you love!" her mother, Princess Madeleine, captioned the Facebook snaps of her daughter, who sported a short white dress and matching headband for the occasion.

Madeleine continued to share updates on their life in Florida via social media. In 2019, she posted a photo of Leonore playing with her baby sister Princess Adrienne at the beach, with the siblings looking adorable in their swimsuits. In another picture shared a year later, Leonore had her arms wrapped around both Adrienne and their brother Prince Nicolas as they stood on the sand. According to Madeleine's caption, the family was celebrating the Fourth of July at the time.

Based on her posts, Madeleine and her husband Christopher O'Neill have been trying to provide their children with as normal an upbringing as possible. In 2016, Madeleine shared that despite being royals, their typical daily routine wasn't all that different from that of many regular families. "They wake me up and we fix breakfast together and the breakfast flies all over the place! And then we go out to the park and we swing, we try to do a lot of activities because my little Leonore, she has lots of energy, so we have to keep her stimulated and busy," she detailed to People.

After moving to Florida in the fall of 2018, Princess Madeleine and her family fully embraced American Halloween practices and took to dressing up for the occasion each year. Due to this, their Halloween photos show how much Princess Leonore and her siblings Prince Nicolas and Princess Adrienne have grown since relocating stateside. In 2018, 4-year-old Leonore looked adorable in her mermaid costume, while Nicolas channeled Batman in his mask, bat wings, and Batman T-shirt. Their mom, who went as a black cat, dressed up baby Adrienne as a pumpkin. By 2022, their Halloween costumes were much more elaborate, with Leonore sporting a full witch costume, her brother rocking a mini "Top Gun" flight suit, and a then-4-year-old Adrienne going as a unicorn.

Madeleine and her family sold their Florida home and moved back to Sweden in the summer of 2024, but they notably brought along with them their spooky annual tradition. For Halloween that year, 10-year-old Leonore looked much taller as she posed with her sister while donning a ghost costume. Adrienne, for her part, appeared to be dressed up in a modern Little Red Riding Hood look. Both siblings had their faces painted with white and black to resemble the undead. 

But there are certain things that Madeleine likely didn't miss about living in the U.S. "The children have been looking forward to coming to Sweden for such a long time [...] because we are outside so much more here than we are in Florida. It's so hot there, and you can only be outside for short periods, so for them to be able to be out in the forest and run around, it's a dream," she explained to Swedish magazine Mama in 2019. 

If there's one thing that royal families around the world all have in common, it's a love of horses. The late Queen Elizabeth II was so passionate about racehorses that she likely would have pursued a career training and breeding them if she hadn't been a monarch, while her daughter Princess Anne and granddaughter Zara Tindall are both accomplished equestrians. Beyond Britain, other royal horse lovers include Japan's Princess Aiko, Thailand's Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana, and Spain's Princess Leonor. Like her counterparts, Princess Madeleine loves riding horses, even participating in showjumping competitions when she was younger. 

"My father-in-law [Prince Gustaf Adolf] was definitely the best rider among the Swedish royal family to-date. I believe my daughter, Princess Madeleine, has inherited his talent and his love for horses," her mother, Queen Silvia, proudly told Equnews in 2016. So, it's no surprise that Madeleine's daughter Princess Leonore has taken after her mom not just in looks but also in terms of hobbies. To mark Leonore's 11th birthday in February 2025, Madeleine shared a photo on Instagram of her eldest child smiling as she held the reins of her beloved pet horse, Haidi. 

"Happiest 11th birthday Leonore! It warms my heart to see your love and passion for horses and especially for Haidi! The two of you have a special bond," she captioned the post. Aside from looking much more comfortable handling the animal all these years after their initial meeting, Leonore was all grown up in her black fleece jacket and navy jodhpurs, with her hair tied in a neat low ponytail.