For days now, people have been yelling at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for their absolutely ridiculous photo-op at an emergency call center in the middle of a global pandemic. While William and Kate didn’t shake hands with anyone, they didn’t do social distancing, and they, you know, did a completely unnecessary photo-op for their own PR purposes and possibly put vital first-responder healthcare workers at risk of exposure. I honestly thought that maybe it could be a teachable moment for royals all around: please don’t do this. But the Swedish royals had another idea.
Here are photos of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. The Royal Institute is researching tests – and a vaccine, one would assume – for the coronavirus. I was looking through these photos with growing horror. These are scientists and doctors and the work they’re doing is vital, timely and necessary. And… they had to stop doing their work so Vicky and Daniel could stop by and stand too close to them? SOCIAL DISTANCE, ROYALS.
I don’t really understand why royals keep insisting on “keeping a public schedule” or leaving their palaces to do events. Think outside the box, princes and princesses. Do Instagram videos of fun home-activities to do. Create a reading list or a binge-watch list. Show some easy games you play with your kids. Make videos about hand-washing and social distancing. Basically, act as responsible public servants because that’s what you are. Why is this so hard for so many of them?
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
omg royals. STAY HOME. Set an example.
I do like Victoria’s outfit though.
Coming here to say the same. Stay home! But nice suit…
Daniel had a kidney transplant and is immunocompromised.. Very odd.
my first thought was about his health. what is he doing?! he should be isolated away from victoria if she still needs to do events as the crown princess. their kids are so young.
Agreed. I stan Victoria and her family, but no girl no!
Some people are thick. I saw a guy approach two other guys today and shake their hands. I couldn’t believe all three of them could be that daft.
We are allegedly in lockdown in Houston, but you would never know it. People are out and about and not taking this seriously at all. I made one final trip to get supplies a couple of days ago (planning to work from home for the next month and not leave at all), and social distancing was essentially nonexistent in the store. You can’t fix stupid.
That’s so crazy. I read that New Orleans is blowing up cause of Mardi Gras and Houston may be next cause so many people travel back and forth between the two cities. Stay well and wishing y’all the best.
Same! We made a last trip before we go into shelter in place (we’ve been isolating ourselves for the last week or so) and no one cared about distancing. The store even had Xs in place so people could know where to stand in line to check out, meanwhile, as we shop, people were walking by, bumping into us, standing right next to us to look at items. Terrible.
I will say our state is taking this very seriously and our governor has rolled out an amazing plan thanks to science based on not overwhelming our medical system. Our curve will be long but hopefully very flat. I am very happy to be were we are, very lucky. As long as people are not so stupid!
Also in Houston suburb and NO ONE is taking this seriously. I had to tell someone at HEB when I was picking up a prescription to not stand so close to me, and she rolled her eyes and said I was being paranoid. I have sheer terror being in Texas right now.
To her credit, the pharmacist told her to take steps back to keep everyone safe. Esp since we are all ‘stay at home’ now (can’t call it shelter in place for some reason?)
It’s not just them it’s all of Sweden! School are open, cafes are full! They’re having dinner parties! My friends there just do not see this as a big deal.
A State of Emergency hasn’t been declared in Sweden for some reason, so that’s maybe why everyone is still acting like it’s a normal Spring day. SMH
I have a friend in Sweden who told me the same thing the other day, that even though there’s thousands of cases and there’s already been more than a handful of deaths, it seems like the Swedish are waiting for the pandemic to reach Italian or Spanish levels to be taken seriously. She told me her in-laws have been going out every night in case there’s a lockdown and they can’t do it anymore. She told them they were a risk group and should avoid that but they said they were more worried about losing their social life, and that the numbers there in Sweden aren’t anything to worry about.
Guys… Italy and Spain also had only a handful of cases and deaths before everything spiraled out of control. That’s how the epidemic spreads. You must get serious before the numbers do.
It is weird – apparently there’s a lot of confidence in the Swedish government’s strategy from the populace while there are several Swedish experts who have written an open letter criticizing what they think is a lack of action, they also point out that the hospitals are not adequately equipped to handle a surge in severe cases.
I’m living in Denmark where the lock down has just been extended – and we’re pretty baffled at the Swedish attitude. Stockholm alone had 18 deaths in one day, which is about half the collective death toll in Denmark so far. The Danish government advises against all unnecessary travels to our neighboring country. So the fact that it is almost business as usual is Sweden seems surreal and I fear for them.
An immunologist at the Karolinske Institute has said that he fears that the Swedish government is taking the herd immunity approach, which he finds dangerous and cynical. It seems like there’s strange cognitive dissonance between the public trust in the government’s present stance and the worry (and mistrust) from the scientific community.
ArtHistorian, all they have to do is look to England to see how well that “herd immunity” that was touted by that idiot BoJo worked for them.
I read an interesting article yesterday about this concept with an interview with an expert who explained exactly why herd immunity to corona virus is dangerous and unfeasible without a reliable vaccine. It was pretty interesting reading that also touched upon that the immune system “forgets” some diseases while remembering other after one expose, that’s why you only need to be vaccinated against measles once whereas you can catch the same type of flu several times during you lifetime.
EXACTLY! Herd immunity only works when there are ENOUGH people who are immune through a vaccine or (waaaay fewer) naturally. It’s not a case of “oh…let’s expose enough people and see who’s left standing!”! It’s insane in the BEST of times, let alone a pandemic that is HIGHLY contagious!
I have *never* been so scared in my life, even at my cancer diagnosis (and I had a complication that less than 20% of people who get Leukemia get)!
The swedish government hasnˋt put any big restrictions in place since it will hurt the economy.
Italian who lives in France.
We did the same in Italy.
They did the same in France.
And now we are allo locked down and our healthcaresystem is collapsing.
It’s beyon infuriating seeing all other countries making the same stupid mistake as you did, because we know the loss are going to be enormous.
People are going to die, alone in the hospital, because they must be isolated, and you cannot have a proper funeral because you cannot be more than one or two persons in a room. It’s excruciatiing.
As far as I know, Sweden’s coronavirus strategy differs quite a lot from most European countries. Maybe this affects the way their royals are acting during the crisis?
Not that I approve of this. Just trying to find a possible explanation.
This. In Europe they are I think the only country where schools are open, bars are still open, and I am guessing they are not social distancing as well?
Correct. Current guidlines is to stay home if at all sick, stay away from big crowds i general of course and they just banned serving food at the bar.
We are at a slow but steady rise of corona cases. Everything might change quickly though and further restrictions might still be to come, this has been communicated quite clearly.
But yes, day care and school (age 6-16) is still open. High school and higher education has their classes digitially.
People are encoured to if possible to work from home and take sick leave if at all ill in any way.
Yes, I think they are using the same strategy in the NL and it’s similar to what BoJo was attempting in the UK and well… You know how that plan worked.
???? First of all, no offense, but these people have better things to do. The royals need to stay out of the way. Why are they so insistent on being out and about?! Be an example for social distancing!
Exactly!! Even if it were safe to visit, these people are busy trying to save lives! Why do they need to take tea time with some outdated blue bloods (I like the Swedish Royals, but that’s what they all are) to talk about what they are doing to save lives? I think they have no idea how to show that they are relevant and worth the taxes if they aren’t seen “doing things”, so they are desperate to remain business as usual.
I would like to point out as a swede that we don´t have the strict isolation policy of other countries yet. So according to the national guidelines they are doing nothing wrong.
That may be, but they are interrupting people who are busy trying to stop a pandemic.
Sweden has a different approach, google it.
The Brits were really really stupid until recently about it.
Stay safe
“Why is this so hard for so many of them?” When have any of these Royals ever been told “No”?
That is why this is so difficult for them. In the case of Sweden though it was my understanding that they are not isolating currently and things are going on as normal.
Sweden is probably the only country in Europe that didn’t close thy gyms, bars etc. People in Stockholm are going out gathering..
They are doing what is currently acceptable in Sweden as the country is taking a vastly different approach to most others. But so were we in Britain until a week or so back! It could change (and we had already made our own choices about how to behave before the government made their announcements) so I agree that what they are doing is foolish but it is in line with the policy of their government.
While I don’t disagree with you, Victoria and Daniel will be extra careful. Daniel had a kidney transplant (having to take lifelong immunosuppressants) so he is at a higher risk. Daniel is known to be diligent about his health.
Exactly! Last week I saw photos of him video-chatting with one of his charities for this exact reason but this week he’s out and about, it makes no sense at all.
No, let the people doing crucial work focus on that, stay home, and set a good example.
Sweden’s government is not taking this virus to.
They have as of today 2,526. You would think they would start social distancing to avoid the mass infections.
I’m so fed up with these Royals trying to garner PR points by cozing up to health care workers as if they have nothing else to do but play photo-op for the rich and famous. I thought the whole point of royalty was to be role models for us dumb peasants? They sure are doing a great job of that (*sarcastic Pelosi clap*)
Things are pretty normal in Sweden right now. Restaurants are largely still open, people are going to the gym, congregating outside….
Prince Daniel is a transplant recipient and should definitely be self-isolating. In fact I saw a photo of him video chatting with one of his charities with the caption that he was doing this because he’s a transplant recipient and is on immuno-supressing drugs. But this week, he’s out and about, WTF??
Like, I’m sure they mean well, but STAY HOME!
No one in Sweden cares cause our goverment are not taking it seriously.
@A ..thanks for putting words in the mouths of a whole country, gah the nerve
Yes Sweden’s approach is very different, and no one knows how and when that might change..and/or if it will prove to be enough to flatten the curve to a level where our healthcare system has enough ICU (IVA in Swedish) beds.
But very many of us do still care, practice social distancing, choose to work from home and so on. A lot of people are also choosing to socialise at distance, outside, for that very reason..going for walks/hikes and the like. Schools (years 1 – 9) are open still.
But bars and restaurants are not open “like normal,” they only allow seated table service, you cannot get counter service or stand around and drink/socialise in groups (and restaurants and bars will be shut down if found in violation of these distancing recommendations).
I am not arguing for or against anything here, but in reading the comments on this post, particularly from what seems to be other people in Sweden, certain aspects of the approach carried out here, aren’t really coming across.
I would suggest to try to at least educate yourselves on why, and by whom, decisions are being made before critiquing them. Obv. this can be hard when you don’t speak the language but if you are interested in understanding it more ..and like I said, I am not necessarily in support of the approach myself, I personally found this to be a pretty impartial account of the multitude of aspects that factor into “our” decision-making right now:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/24/sweden-coronavirus-open-for-business/
..but yeah, people DO care but we also have (as studies have shown) a different level of trust in our fellow man, and in our government: who in turn trusts the Swedish Public Health Agency, and they basically run this (possible shit) -show rn.
Men asså helt seriöst har du varit ute? När vår regering gör lagar så att man kan fortfarande klubba så länge man är inte “nära” och gör lagar så att resturanger kan ha utserveringar tidigare så anser jag att de inte tar det seriöst.Vilket gör att de svenska folket inte anser allvaret. Bara för att du har chansen att kunna jobba hemifrån så har inte alla andra. Nej sverige tar inte det seröst när vi har 70 åringar som är ute och åker till skidresor.
I have read the FP article and it confirmed my suspicious on the situation as an American living in Sweden. It is technically correct that Sweden has not done nothing and that the royals here are not doing anything against official government policy, but it’s also fair to say, I think, that if the government put more serious restrictions in place then society would take it more seriously. I, as an American, have a strong skepticism of my government and something I like about Sweden is the trust factor. But, it’s great until it’s not, y’know? The message I’m getting from gov here is to not stop working or shopping, unless you feel sick. Then stay home until two days after you feel well. This does not seem sufficient given what we know. There will be those who push the envelope regardless. When things are already somewhat lax it makes for a lot of risky behavior happening. In my humble opinion.
This is insane! How can we beat it collectively when some countries are totally out of their minds. If Denmark for example or Poland to flatten the curve and Sweden fucks up completely it is all back to start and all for nothing
i have never said this before and never thought i would, and i most probably will never say it again: so lucky to be in germany right now. We got us a nice little Kontaktsperre, which means you can go outside but you cannot meet other people, and look at this nice 0.5% mortality rate that we have. really happy with our government right now. As happy as one can be in these weird circumstances.
Yes, totally. I live in a seaside resort an all tourists are banned, even those from the next city. It is very quiet, but safer. My cousins in sweden still go to school, work, shopping-dancing on the volcano, I think.
I wish to be in Germany right now. Lived in Dusseldorf 4.5 years and was unable to adapt to Germans 🤣 but now in time of crisis oh how much i wish to be in Germany
Also swede, living in Stockholm. It is not business as usual. People who can work from home. Our health insurance has been altered so everyone gets paid from day 1 staying home sick, which people do! In my daughters class between 30-50% are staying home due to colds, sniffles etc. The military are building two extra hospitals, one in Stockholm and one in Gothenburg to meet the increasing demand.
Frankly swedes practice SD ALL THE TIME 😂. We avoid sitting next to ppl on the train etc to a ridiculous degree under normal circumstances. People who move here complain that Swedes are hard to get to know cause we hang out with small circles of friends.
I don’t doubt that we will have a full quarantine within the next 2 weeks. They are trying to time it to our specific conditions.
India is under complete 21 days lockdown. No venturing out at all unless for emergencies and groceries.
I live in New Zealand and it is full lockdown here. Borders closed, everyone to stay at home except essential workers. No shops open except supermarkets and pharmacies. Only one person allowed into a pharmacy at a time, supermarkets are doing similar, only 20 people allowed in at one time, so one comes out, you get to go in. Markers on the ground to keep everyone 6 feet apart while waiting to get in and at checkout. People are taking this seriously overall, our PM Jacinda Arden is not playing games. We haven’t even had one death here yet. So grateful to be here and so horrified for you all around the world.
I live in Canada and everyone I know is taking sd very seriously to the point where most , who can, are working from home.The streets are deserted .People laugh at the suggestion by Trump that maybe things will reopen by Easter .(Btw we think Andrew Cucumo and Dr.F both deserve medals for telling the truth even if it is not great to hear ).This is going to last a long time and get much worse .The foolish unfortunately will learn the hard way ,on a intimate basis about natural selection and survival of the fittest.The problem is though they will take many others down with them by their disregard /taking chances.