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So… what’s going on with Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria and her husband Prince Daniel? They’ve always seemed happy together and adoring of each other in an almost wholesome way. They’ve been together for about twenty years, and married since June 2010. They have two children, Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar. There’s never been a whiff of scandal about them since their marriage, or at least not a whiff of scandal which has made it mainstream. But they posted this Instagram (above) with this message. Here’s the version translated by People:

“It has come to our attention that there are widespread negative rumors about our private relationship. Allegations are being spread about betrayal in the relationship and an impending divorce. Normally, we do not comment on rumors and speculation. But in order to protect our family, we wish to make it clear, once and for all, that the rumors that are now spreading are completely unfounded.”

[From People]

So what is this all about? This is the first time where Victoria and Daniel have issued any kind of joint statement to combat negative press or gossip about their marriage. But then again, I’m not aware of much bad gossip about them anyway. It’s more than possible that the Swedish tabloid/gossip press has been running stories about the state of their marriage for years though, and that the goss has just never gone mainstream.

Speaking of, we were sent this story from a Swedish tabloid (I think it’s called Stop the Press), which claimed that Victoria and Daniel have been in crisis since Christmas, when she learned of an “incident” involving Daniel. This is why Daniel didn’t go to The Swedish Academy’s Christmas show (the palace claimed he had a cold and that’s why he didn’t go). Since then, Daniel and Victoria have been in crisis talks and couples therapy, and Daniel has also been talking to his father-in-law, King Gustaf, about what would happen if Victoria decides to divorce him. Victoria has also informed her father that she’s considering divorce too. According to these sources, Vicky and Daniel’s marriage woes have been an open secret among staff, especially since Daniel has basically moved out? The king bought a country villa, Villa Loviseberg, which will be Daniel’s home if Victoria divorces him, and Daniel has already been “seen” at the country home several times over the past month.

So… there seems to be some really detailed gossip about the state of their marriage, so much so that they issued the denial. Given the tabloid story, doesn’t the denial kind of read as terse? I don’t know. It could be that Victoria hasn’t decided whether or not she wants a divorce. Or it could be that they have had some problems and they’re working through them and all of this hit way too close. Or maybe it’s all bullsh-t.

While Victoria went solo at the Swedish Academy thing on December 20th, she and Daniel were together at an event on January 27 (Vicky in the black pantsuit). And before that, they were together at the Nobel Prize ceremony on December 10th. Hm.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.