Princess Sofia, Prince Alexander, and Prince Alexander / Swedish Royal Court
Princess Sofia, Prince Alexander, and Prince Alexander / Swedish Royal Court

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia of Sweden have chosen a name for their newborn son!  At the Council of State, the King announced that The Prince will be called Alexander Erik Hubertus Bertil, and will be known as Alexander. The Prince will be assigned the Duchy of Södermanland.

The couple certainly chose relevant names for their little prince!  According to babynames.com, Alexander is of Greek origin and means “Defender of the People;”  while the name Erik is Scandinavian and means “Always Ruler.”

Prince Alexander was born on April 19.  Per royal tradition, the baby’s name was not publicly announced until King Carl XVI Gustaf convened a Council of State (more commonly known as a cabinet meeting).  According to the Royal Court of Sweden’s website, a Council of State is held on the occasion of a royal birth to inform the Swedish government of the title, name, given name, and assigned duchy of the heir to the throne.

Prince Alexander is the first child for the Prince couple and is fifth in line for the throne.  Princess Sofia and Prince Carl Philip married in June of 2015; announcing their pregnancy a few months later.  He is the second prince born to the Swedish monarchy this year; Crown Princess Victoria (Prince Carl Philip’s elder sister) gave birth to her second child, a son named Prince Oscar, on March 2nd.