Swedish News:

Coldest May on record in Sweden. No wedding details are too small for the Swedish prince Carl Philip. Russian bombers too close for comfort.  

  • No wedding details are too small for the Swedish prince. H.R.H. Prince Carl Philip / Fröken Sofia Hellqvist, Miss Sofia Hellqvist. Photo Erika Gerdemark/Kungahuset.se

  • Coldest May on record
    After a warmer than average start to spring all over the country, Sweden hasn’t had such a cold May in 10 years. It’s been five to eight degrees cooler than normal throughout most of the country, with snow falling in the north. Although some areas might experience a slight warmup before May is over, they weather systems are very unstable right now. If this continues through the end of the month, it will go down as Sweden’s coldest May on record.

  • Prince Carl Philip and his fiancee Sofia Hellqvist (shown here with their official monogram) announced on May 12 their new Prinsparets stiftelse (Prince Couple's Foundation), a charity that promotes and supports children and youth, in anticipation of their wedding on June 13, 2015. Gift givers are encouraged to donate to the foundation. Photo: Kungahuset.se

  • No wedding details are too small for the Swedish prince
    As the countdown to their wedding brings their big day closer, Prince Carl Philip, 36, and Sofia Hellqvist, 30, are planning the wedding of their dreams. They do have a wedding coordinator, but they are both very involved in the planning. In fact, they don’t want to leave anything to chance. According to Major General Håkan Pettersson, the court wedding coordinator, the royal couple is very involved in every decision, right down to the color and feel of linens. The Prince personally chose the chefs for their dinner, and the couple is currently “sweating” over the dinner guest seating for the reception at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. Even the entertainment was chosen by them — and it’s been announced that Swedish superstar DJ Tim "Avicii" Bergeling will make an appearance sometime during the royal wedding on June 13.

  • After a warmer than average start to spring it’s been five to eight degrees cooler than normal during May. Sweden hasn’t had such a cold May in 10 years but the temperatures haven't stopped the blue anemones from blooming. Bildbyrån photo.

  • Russian bombers too close for comfort
    Russian planes have been flying “provocatively close” to Sweden again, according to Supreme Commander Sverker Göranson. The Russian bombers flew near the southern tip of Öland coming from the direction of the Gulf of Finland, approaching Swedish airspace at noon May 21. As part of the incident preparedness plan, Sweden —accompanied by fighter aircraft from several other nations — sent up two JAS Gripens to ward off and identify the Russian planes, two TU-22M "Backfire" bombers developed during the Soviet era. Russia has been showing “a degree of aggressiveness that we have not seen before,” said Göranson. And they fly with no transponders turned on, a real risk of civil aviation in the area. “There is a clear indication that there is a much higher activity from the Russian side … they perform more exercises and of course it is a signal to the outside world. And then we must show that we are prepared to protect our democracy and our open society.”

  • Swedish Jas Gripen fighter jets were deployed to intercept two Russian bombers heading toward Sweden on May 21, the Swedish military has confirmed. At no stage did the Russian planes cross into Swedish airspace.