Princess Madeleine of Sweden had the honor of meeting with Pope Francis on Monday, and to mark the special occasion, the royal made it a family affair. Madeleine brought her daughter Leonore to the event, while the princess' mom Queen Silvia and Madeleine's husband Chris O'Neill were also invited.
In keeping with papal tradition, Madeleine and Queen Silvia were dressed in black and partially covered their heads with lace veils. Only Catholic queens and queen consorts are permitted to wear white in the presence of the Pope, following the privilège du blanc rule.
Arriving at the Vatican City, Madeleine, who is due to give birth to her second baby in June, looked the picture of health and happiness. The pregnant royal glowed and was seen encouraging her little girl to wave at onlookers as they walked by.
During their meeting the Pope was clearly charmed by 14-month-old Leonore, who looked cute as a button in a cream frock and cardigan.
Madeleine, 32, shared a couple of sweet photos of the pair's encounter on Facebook, captioning it, "Three generations of my family met with the Pope today at the Vatican, all of us united in the fight against child trafficking."
The Swedish royal was making reference also to a second meeting scheduled for the afternoon, during which her mother Queen Silvia met the Pontiff.
Silvia was due to meet with the Pope in private and also open a seminar on human trafficking, with a focus on children, that is being held at the Vatican. The issue is an important one to the reigning monarch, who founded the World Childhood Foundation, also known as Childhood, in 1999.
Silvia's charity aims to protect children from sexual abuse, as well as those who are already victims of it. Her youngest daughter Madeleine has been a keen campaigner of the foundation, and works for her mom's organization in New York City, where she lives with Leonore and businessman husband Chris. Although Madeleine told Sweden’s Sveriges Television network that they will be moving to Europe “in the near future.” The Princess added, “That’s where we have our families.”
