Sweden's crown princess joins the army

21/01/2003 - 14:22:43
Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria has joined the army.

The 25-year-old future queen will spend three weeks at Swedint, the military’s international arm, beginning on March 3.

Victoria will be treated just like any other recruit, Brigadier General Claes-Goeran Heden said today.

She will live with the other recruits in the barracks, learn to handle weapons and practice survival skills, he said.

“This is part of her training to become a queen,” he added.

When she finishes the course she will head to Washington to study conflict resolution, a spokeswoman for the royal family said.

The Crown Princess is King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia eldest child.

She studied history and political science at Yale University in America before returning to Stockholm in 2000.