Princess Madeleine engaged? (Updated - YES!) Prince Laurent enters hospital

Princess Madeleine AP/Shiho Fukada 

UPDATE: The Royal Court has announced that HRH Princess Madeleine and Jonas Bergström are engaged!  It is morning in Sweden as of this writing, more news to come soon! 

In interesting news, there was what appears to be either a big scoop or a false alarm in Sweden today. Svensk Damtidning (a magazine that specializes in royal reporting) reported that Princess Madeleine had become engaged to her longtime boyfriend Jonas Bergström. They stated that not only had they become engaged but that the royal family had held a private engagement dinner with Jonas’ family. They are claiming that an official announcement will be delivered Monday. The comment from the royal family’s Information Secretary is that “When we have something to tell, we will.” So is an engagement imminent? We’ll just have to wait. Until then, the country eagerly awaits the wedding of Madeleine’s older sister, Crown Princess Victoria. She is the first heiress apparent to the Swedish throne after Sweden became the first country to adopt absolute primogeniture (inheritance without regard to gender). On the date of her wedding, it will be the first time ever that a commoner man marries the female heir apparent and is granted a royal title. Stay tuned for possible big news on Monday (or possibly no news). 

On a more concerning note, Prince Laurent of Belgium has been admitted to the hospital for an undisclosed health problem. While on vacation in Sardinia the Prince was admitted to a local hospital. He asked to be transferred to his home country and that apparently was done quickly. The Prince is now currently being treated in Belgium. No other details have been released by the palace. Prince Laurent is the youngest son of King Albert II. He is married to Princess Claire and they have three children