It was a changing of the guard at the Royal Palace in Stockholm as Sweden’s future queen chose military uniform for the first time for a big annual event.

Since the 1990s, the Swedish army has held a celebration in Stockholm to mark the ‘name day’ of Crown Princess Victoria. In 2025, for the first time, the heir to the throne came dressed in uniform as she continues her own military training. The Swedish royals recently announced that she’s just been promoted to second lieutenant.

The celebration was marked by a short ceremony in the inner courtyard of the Stockholm palace. The Swedish Army Music Corps played for the Crown Princess, finishing with the Victoria fanfare. There were tributes from the Swedish Life Guards as well as the Main Guards of the Life Regiment’s Hussars.

Then, the heir to the throne met the many wellwishers who had gathered with flowers, cards and presents to celebrate the day.

Every year, in March, crowds gather at the palace to celebrate the name day of Crown Princess Victoria. Most days in the calendar in Sweden are also marked for the celebration of people with certain names and March 12 has been chosen for Victoria. The Swedish military decided to start marking it in Stockholm as the Crown Princess is usually in Oland for her birthday in July and the name day provides a chance to celebrate her in the country’s capital.

The date also has a royal significance. While many name days trace their roots back to medieval times and the earlier Christian calendars of celebrations of saints, Victoria is a more modern name, first recorded in Sweden in 1669. The date of March 12 was selected as a commemoration of the date of the engagement of Princess Victoria of Baden to the future Gustav V. They became King and Queen of Sweden in 1907. Crown Princess Victoria, born in 1977, is their great, great, granddaughter.