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Sweden’s Prince Carl Philip and his wife Princess Sofia have tested positive for coronavirus.
The pair, aged 41 and 35, are suffering ‘light flu symptoms’ and are isolating at their home in Stockholm with sons Prince Alexander, four, and Prince Gabriel, three.
King Carl XVI Gustaf, 74, and Queen Silvia, 76, will now be tested as a precaution, a royal spokesman said, along with Crown Princess Victoria, 43, and her husband Prince Daniel, 47.
Sweden’s Prince Carl Philip (left) and Princess Sofia (right) have tested positive for coronavirus and are isolating at their Stockholm home with children
Crown Princess Victoria (right) and husband Prince Daniel (left) will be tested for the virus after they met Prince Philip and Princess Sofia at a funeral last week
Prince Philip and Princess Sofia’s diagnosis was first reported on Thursday, a week after the royals gathered for the funeral of Walther Sommerlath, the queen’s brother.
The funeral was attended by fewer than 10 people, a royal spokesman revealed, and precautions were in place throughout the ceremony
Tests were also carried out on all attendees before the gathering took place and all came back negative, tabloid Aftonbladet reported.
King Carl XVI Gustav and Queen Silvia (file) will be tested as a precaution after they also met the infected couple at a wedding
Contact tracing is now underway within the royal household to find the source of the infection, and test anyone they came into contact with.
The royal family doctor has recommended that all royals be tested as part of the contact tracing.
It is unclear exactly when the royal pair tested positive, but a spokesman said Sofia is swabbed as part of her work at Sophiahemmet – a private hospital in Stockholm.
She has been pictured donning scrubs while treating coronavirus patients at the hospital amid Sweden’s outbreak.
Sweden is currently in the midst of a second wave of coronavirus that is among the fastest-growing outbreaks in Europe.
The country, which until now has taken a soft-touch approach to fighting the disease, has been forced to rush in lockdown measures as cases have spiralled.
Sweden’s seven-day average case figure now stands at 4,867. That figure is more than four times what it was at the height of the first wave, when a lack of testing led to cases being under-reported.
But it has also doubled in less than a month, causing fears that hospitals could soon be overwhelmed.
It is unclear exactly how the royal couple got infected or when they tested positive, but Princess Sofia (right) is regularly swabbed due to her work at a private hospital in Stockholm
The average daily death figure currently stands at 33, well below what it was during the first wave and having fallen in recent days.
Because of the way Sweden reports its data, Mail Online uses the seven-day average figure because it makes comparison easier.
As a result of the rising cases, the country has now banned sales of alcohol after 10pm and banned public gatherings of more than eight people.
Anders Tegnell, the country’s top virus expert, has also warned that restrictions will be in place over Christmas, while urging people to only plan small gatherings.
Tegnell previously said there would be no second wave in Sweden, predicting that natural immunity built up in the first wave – when the virus was allowed to circulate freely – would shield people.
He has now been forced to backtrack on that strategy, though said on Wednesday that he ‘cannot understand’ why he is getting so much criticism.
‘We have been clear that this is a disease that will persist for a long time,’ he said.
Sweden is currently in the midst of a second wave of coronavirus infections that has seen the seven-day average rise to 4,867 – doubling in less than a month
Deaths are still below their first-wave peak but are rising rapidly, leading lockdown-free Sweden to introduce some measures to slow the virus’s spread
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