Christopher Paul O'Neill, KNO (born 27 June 1974) is a British-American financier and husband of Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland, with whom he has three children. He declined to become a Swedish citizen and accept any titles; he could then continue as a businessman with no royal duties.[1][2]
Christopher O'Neill | |
|---|---|
 O'Neill on his wedding day, 8 June 2013 | |
| Born | Christopher Paul O'Neill 27 June 1974 London, England |
| Nationality | American, British |
| Alma mater | Boston University (BA) Columbia Business School (MBA) |
| Spouse | |
| Children |
|
Early life
editO'Neill was born in London to Paul O'Neill (1926–2004), an American investment banker who came to London in the 1960s to set up the European head office of Oppenheimer & Co.[3][4] His mother is Eva Maria O'Neill (née Walter).[5][6] O'Neill has two half-sisters on his mother's side: Tatjana d'Abo and Countess Natascha von Abensberg und Traun, and three on his father's side: Stefanie, Annalisa and Karen. He grew up in London, St. Gallen, Austria and Germany, and holds dual American and British citizenship.[3]
Education and career
editO'Neill was educated at Eaton House and Westminster Under School in London,[7] Institut auf dem Rosenberg in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and graduated with a BA degree in International Relations from Boston University. He also obtained an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York City. He was a Partner and Head of Research at Noster Capital and former employee of NM Rothschild and Sons and Steinberg Asset Management.[3] His marriage to a Swedish princess necessitated that, if he continued with Noster Capital, the fund would have to divest entirely from companies that traded on the Stockholm Stock Exchange and, moreover, divest from any company which had more than a third of its sales in Sweden.[8] O'Neill resigned from Noster Capital in consequence of these demands.[9]
Marriage and family
editThe first time Princess Madeleine and O'Neill appeared publicly together was in January 2011.[4] Their engagement was announced in an official interview on 25 October 2012,[10] and in late April 2013, it was announced that their wedding would take place on 8 June 2013 at the Royal Chapel, Stockholm Palace, and be followed by dinner at the Swedish royal family's residence, Drottningholm Palace.[11]
Unlike his brother-in-law Prince Daniel and his sister-in-law Princess Sofia, O'Neill is untitled and undertakes no royal duties, since members of the Swedish royal family must hold Swedish citizenship, which O'Neill has declined. The Royal Court refers to him in Swedish as Herr Christopher O'Neill, a form of title which is not normally used (it would normally be herr).[12] Thus, remaining a private citizen, he can continue his career in finance.[13]
Their daughter, Princess Leonore, was born in New York on 20 February 2014. Their second child, Prince Nicolas, was born in Stockholm on 15 June 2015. In February 2015, the Swedish Royal Court announced that the family had moved to Stockholm from New York.[14] In May 2015, the Swedish Royal Court announced that O'Neill had moved to London in April. In Autumn 2015, several months after the birth of Prince Nicolas, the entire family moved to London, where O'Neill's business is located.[15] On 9 March 2018, their second daughter, Princess Adrienne, was born at Danderyd Hospital, Stockholm.[16][17]
In August 2018, the Swedish Royal Court announced that the O'Neill family was moving to Florida.[18][19]
Distinctions
editHis father-in-law, King Carl XVI Gustaf, conferred upon O'Neill:
Commander of the Royal Order of the Polar Star (KNO) (6 June 2013).[20]
Recipient of the Commemorative Ruby Jubilee Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf (15 September 2013).[21]
Recipient of the 70th Birthday Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf (30 April 2016).[citation needed]
Recipient of the Golden Jubilee Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf (15 September 2023).
References
edit- ^ Hellomagazine.com (25 October 2012). "Chris O'Neill. Biography, news, photos and videos". hellomagazine.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ "Chris O'Neill: how Princess Madeleine's husband created his own role among Sweden's royals". Royal Central. 27 June 2021. Archived from the original on 21 August 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ a b c "Mr Christopher O'Neill's biography". Swedish Royal Court. 23 February 2012. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
- ^ a b Hellekant, Johan (25 October 2012). "Vem är Chris O´Neill?". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ Naslund, Anne-Sophie (8 June 2014). "Här har du din släkt, prinsessan Leonore". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- ^ Lapidus, Arne (12 May 2013). "Så hamnade Maddes svärmor i finrummen". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ "Chris O´Neill er veldig anonym" (in Norwegian). NRK. Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
- ^ "Inte inblandad i svenska företag". Veckans Affärer (in Swedish). 21 November 2012. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- ^ Näringsliv, SvD (13 June 2013). "Chris O'Neill har lämnat sitt jobb" [Chris O'Neill has left his job]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- ^ "Engagement between Princess Madeleine and Mr Christopher O'Neill". Swedish Royal Court. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ "The wedding weekend, 7-8 June 2013" (Press release). Swedish Royal Court. 29 April 2013. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ "Special courtesy according to Magdalena Ribbing". Dagens Nyheter. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014.
- ^ "Mr Christopher O'Neill's title" (Press release). Swedish Royal Court. 20 May 2013. Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ "Princess Madeleine registers as a Swedish resident" (Press release). Swedish Royal Court. 5 February 2015. Archived from the original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ^ "Princess Madeleine of Sweden's London move confirmed". Hello!. 29 May 2015. Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ^ "Announcement from HE The Marshal of the Realm". Swedish Royal Court. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ^ "HRH Princess Madeleine and Mr Christopher O'Neill have had a daughter". Swedish Royal Court. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ^ Petit, Stephanie (1 August 2018). "Princess Madeleine of Sweden Is Moving Her Family to the United States!". People. Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ "Prinsessan Madeleine och herr Christopher O'Neill bosätter sig i USA - Sveriges Kungahus". www.kungahuset.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
- ^ "The Order of the Polar Star". Swedish Royal Court. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ "Princesa Estelle Estrella 40 Aniversario Abuelo Rey Carlos Gustavo Suecia" (in Spanish). Europa Press. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013.