Princess Madeleine of Sweden has had to say a fond farewell to her beloved pet dog Zorro. The mother-of-two is mourning the death of her Jack Russell, the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet has reported.
A royal court spokeswoman declined to elaborate further on the pet's death, but Madeleine is likely to be sad to see her loyal companion of nine years go. Zorro was given to Madeleine as a gift in 2006 from her former fiancé Jonas Bergström, and she kept the pet when the couple parted ways in 2010.
Princess Madeleine is mourning the death of her beloved pet dog Zorro
Madeleine brought Zorro along with her when she moved to New York later that year, where she met now-husband Chris O'Neill. The banker is also said to have developed a close bond with the pet pooch, with Swedish magazine Svenskdam suggesting that he regularly took Zorro for walks.
"They are the ones who have gone out early mornings and late evenings," they reported.
The Princess has lots to keep her preoccupied in the coming weeks; on Thursday evening Madeleine and Chris will attend the Nobel Prize Banquet in Stockholm, while their first ever joint TV interview will be aired the following day.
The Princess gave her first ever TV interview with husband Chris O'Neill
A clip already released from the Norwegian-Swedish talk show Skavlan sees them joined by Adele and Jamie Oliver, who both give their best attempts at saying Merry Christmas in both Swedish and Norwegian – much to the amusement of Madeleine and Chris.
The Swedish royal seemed to enjoy being back in the spotlight after taking a step back to care for her son Prince Nicolas, who was born in June. Madeleine and Chris, who relocated to London over the summer, are set to celebrate their first Christmas together as a family of four with baby Nicolas and their daughter Princess Leonore, one.