This Saturday saw a historic event in the European monarchy. The first royal baby born through surrogacy, Gustav Albrecht, son of Carina Axelsson and Gustav von Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, was christened in the Berleburg Palace Chapel.
The event was sponsored by Christian from Denmark, accompanied by Theodora from Greece, Ellen Hillings, Arabella Gaggero, and Princes Franz-Albrecht von Oettingen-Spielberg, Carl-Anton von Waldeck, and Pyrmont.
A baptism with numerous godparents following the marriage between Gustav de Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Axelsson, whose godparents they were last June. The marriage culminated in an odyssey of almost two decades during which they had to challenge the will of their grandfather, who stipulated that one had to be “noble, Protestant, and of Aryan descent” to be part of the royal family.
After the connection, the couple decided to become surrogate parents as they were in their 50s. The couple then thanked “those involved who helped find a legal way forward.” However, at the time, they asked the press for discretion. “In the interests of the child, please refrain from asking any further questions. More information will be released in due course,” they said.
Anonymity seems to have been lost three months after the birth, and photos of the christening surrounded by the royal family attest to this. It also stars the little boy’s grandmother, Princess Benedicta, sister of Queen Margaret of Denmark (and Ana Maria of Greece), and her daughters, Princesses Alexandra and Nathalie.
