SwedishNews

King pays for wedding. In Sweden, change your name online. Princess Estelle and the lighthouse. Cancer gene can be turned off. Less meat on the plates. Whatever happened to Jonas? 

• King pays for wedding
  The king himself, Carl XVI Gustaf, will pay for the wedding of Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill. Thus, the Swedish taxpayers are spared. The wedding, about to take place next summer, will be in Sweden but where is yet not known. "It's the king, not the taxpayers, who will pay for it," confirms Bertil Ternert, Director of the Information and Press Department at the Royal Swedish court. When Crown Princess Victoria married Daniel, it was the state that paid for the wedding, and so the issue was brought up in a debate article by commissioner Staffan Norberg (of the Left Party) in Södertälje; Norberg questioned the justness of having Swedish tax money pay for Madeleine's wedding. And now the king (and the Swedish court) is letting it be known that it is the king who will pay. The Swedish king (and his family) has a private fortune, which dates back to the days of the first Bernadotte, and this presumably is what will pay for the celebrations this summer. Though Madeleine and Chris O'Neill live in New York, the wedding will take place in Sweden. "Definitely Sweden, and Stockholm I suppose. But we'll see," said O'Neill to Expressen last week. And he continued: "It is Madeleine who makes me this amazingly happy. She is the star in my life." And Madeleine could do nothing but agree: "I am just as happy. This is simply amazing, just as Chris says."

• In Sweden, change your name online
  Did you always secretly wanted to be called Moonbeam or Ursus? No problem. If you're in Sweden, feel free to change your name right away - online. The changing of a name used to be a time-consuming process, taking up to seven weeks. Now it's easier than ever. Patent och registreringsverket (the Swedish Patent and Registration Office) has developed an online service. Within a week, from applying online, proceedings begin. Says Åsa Ekvall at PRV: "We want to make it easier for our customers, couples about to get married, people in need of a new first name or those who just want to create their own unique last name." In order to use this service, you need to be able to verify your identity electronically, and you also need to be able to pay online. You also need to be over the age of 18, and a Swedish citizen or registered in Sweden. To change your last name costs 1800 SEK ($265) and to change your first name 1000 SEK ($147).

• Princess Estelle and the lighthouse
  Little Princess Estelle is finally allowed to enjoy the christening gift from Orust municipality: a piece of art in the shape of a lighthouse. A private person living in the municipality appealed the gift choice as the municipality is in dire straits, and it's not necessary to give this gift to a child who will grow up without financial problems. The municipality maintains the gift is good PR for Orust and therefore a good idea. Crown Princess Victoria received a dried common ling (a fish) from Orust as a wedding gift. That gift was not appealed.

• Cancer gene can be turned off
  With the help of a genetic "switch" a cancer gene can be turned off and significantly reduce the risk of cancer. This according to scientists at Karolinska Institutet, who have experimented with mice. They have managed to switch off a region of genes connected to, among others, cancer of the large intestine. When switched off, the mice became more or less resistant to the development of tumors. The scientists now hope that in the long run, this “on/off” switch will be able to work in people with increased risk for certain cancers.

• Less meat on the plates
  The Swedish consumption of meat is decreasing. During the first seven months of 2012, it went down with two percent according to Sveriges Radio's "Ekot" program. And the prognosis of the rest of the year points to a continuation of that trend. One reason is that prices of meat are getting steeper, which in turn has to do with that it's getting more expensive for the farmers to raise animals. "Meat is a product where we are very price sensitive," says Åsa Lannhard Öhberg, administrator at Jordbruksverket (the Swedish Board of Agriculture). "When the price goes up, people cut their meat consumption or choose cheaper meats." This is hardly a new pattern; the last time the meat consumption decreased in Sweden was during the financial crisis in 2009.

• Whatever happened to Jonas?
  Wonder whatever happened to Princess Madeleine's former boyfriend and fiance Jonas Bergstrom? The Svensk Dam magazine reports he has also gotten engaged. It was in April 2010 that the princess broke off her engagement with Jonas, a lawyer and her long-time boyfriend with whom she had gotten engaged at Solliden Palace on Öland the summer before. The broken engagement came after it was discovered Bergström had had an brief affair with a young Norwegian woman. Anyway, Bergström has since moved on and is now engaged with Stephanie af Klercker, a friend (or former friend?) of Madeleine.